Johnny Rice Surfboards

This page will be my on going conversation with Johnny Rice, Master Surf Board Shaper. His times, his experiences, his thoughts on life, surfing, shaping, his friends and anything else that comes up.

I met Johnny Rice one day when my son Nathan and I went over to his house to have him shape a custom board for Nathan. Nathan introduced himself to Johnny at the "Lane" one cold winter day as they picked off waves together.

Nathan knew what he wanted his board to do and explained that to Johnny. Johnny and Nathan talked a little about what Nathan hope for in board performance. Johnny's wife, Rosemari help Nathan pick out the floral nose pattern and help with color ideas. The results was a beautiful custom board that does just what Nathan wants.

To me, Johnny is an enigma, he is private but at the same time out going in some ways. He's very strong in his belief about the creator, but explains it in a simple story telling style. He is full of life and will make you laugh until your sides split. But can be very solemn and serious. He is a master story teller, master shaper and surfer in his own right, on his own path. He has a wealth of knowledge about life, the Indian way, surfing, mother earth and many other things. It is a pleasure to have a friend like Johnny.

Editors note: Johnny was originally from around the Santa Cruz area, later he moved to the coastal areas of Los Angeles and San Diego, Florida, Brazil and then back to Santa Cruz. He used to shape in Brazil where he owned his own surf shop and learned to speak Portuguese.

Johnny: In Santa Cruz: Fred, Gene & Peter Van Dyke, Peter Cole, Jose Angel, Mike Winterburn, Teddy Pierson & Jim Fisher. In Santa Barbara: Rene Yater. In Malibu: Dale Velzy, Matt Kevlin, Mickey Dora, Mickey Munoz, Richard Jekel, Tom Zahn, Peter Lawford, Terry "Tubesteak"Tracy, Red Gaines, Richard Zanuck, Ricky Greg, George Carr & Charlie Reiners.

In Manhattan Beach: Henry Ford & Greg Noll. In Hermosa Beach: Dewey Weber, George Kepua, Dale Velzy, Billy Ming, Rick Stoner, Bing Copeland, Hap Jacobs, Allen Gomes & Sandy Vanderman. In San Clemente: Jim Irwin, Hobie Alter, Gordon Clark, Mel Ross & Steve Pezman. In La Jolla: Mike Diffenderfer, Pat Curren, Ricky Burns, Butch Van Artsdale, Wayne Land, Al Nelson, Carl Eichstrom. In Hawaii: Rabbit Kekai, Buffalo Keaulani, George Downing, Wally Forsthe, Blackout Whaley, Blue Maku & Steamboat.

Hollister Ray: When did you first start surfing and how did you get your first board?

Johnny Rice: Body surfing was first, it started at Cowell's Beach just diving through the waves and jumping over 'em. Until Wes Reed should me how to go body surfing swim and catch the wave put my hands out in front and go straight off in the waves. That's the way I got started, body surfing.

The next year he took me down to the river mouth, and I had some fins my mom bought me, he taught me how to go left. One day it was real big and we swam way out and we're catching waves... I saw guys on surfboards and I said, Hey Wes Reed what's that! He said, that's surfboarding. I go, THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO DO!

He sezs, well there's a whole bunch of surfboards all chained up in the board locker down there at Cowell's Beach. If can get one out of there you can probably go surfing. So I got me a hack saw... And cut those chains... And started using those old paddleboards that belonged to Buster Stewart, Bill Grace, Harry Mayo and Doug Thorn and all those guys from the old days. I don't think they knew because they were busy working.

I was there everyday after school ridin' those 14 foot hollow boards Tom Blake models. All those Bill Grace boards they were wonderful. Well those were my first boards, I didn't own any board I used theirs, well actually I stold'em but I put them back and used them the next day.

My first board I got from Fred Van Dyke it was one that Bill Grace had made it had an Octopus painted on it. But then he took it out on a big day and pushed it through the wharf and it broke in half so that was the end of that. So he gave me a redwood balsa plank to make up for it, it had real knife rails I didn't like it to much, but I rode it. Then I bought another board from Fred for 25 bucks and it was a redwood balsa plank but it had rounder rails it didn't have those real knifey rails. I rode that for a long time.

So those were my first boards. I could go on about boards like getting George Camian board and reshaping that and on and on and on. But those were the first ones.

Johnny: I moved down there about the summer of 1953 down to west Los Angeles because my step father had a job down there so he moved the whole family down there, my sister my mom and me. I surfed Malibu all the time. I met a lot of guys at Malibu from Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach they were telling how cool it was down there so I told my step-father about it... So we moved down there. That's the way I got down South.

Johnny: I enjoy working with my hands for number one. I was always hanging out at Velzy's shop sweeping up cutting out templates, sanding. He had a little electric sander he gave me 50¢ a side. That was enough money to put gas in my car and buy a little beer for me and Rosemari. Why did I start? Well, I liked it, it looked like a great lifestyle to me you could go surfing when you wanted to... It wasn't real hard work I didn't like real hard work anyway.

And why did I stay with it? Well, it's all I knew actually cuz when I got out of high school I went into the coast guard a long time, 8 years, and didn't have anything to fall back except for shaping. It paid pretty well and it took me different places, it took me to Florida it took me to Brazil and back again. It feed the family pretty good course it always feast or famine when you're Ghost shaping for someone. So you just travel kind of like a gypsy.

Johnny: He let me hang around the shop and cutin' out templates, sweeping up and sanding in the winter time he'd go "you want to learn how to shape"... I said, "SURE!" So he started me out on balsa wood boards. Those were lean days though and some days we had to go carry hog in El Segundo, instead of shape, that was the shits. But anyway that's the way it was.

Johnny: Well, he was about 8 years older than I was. He was somebody to look up to and he had all the cool stuff. He had all the cool cars and cool motorcycles, cool life and all the ladies loved him. I go, "hey man, that's the way to go".

Johnny: A lot of guys, Billie Ming from San Pedro, that was one of his big buds. Matt Kevlin was a good friend of his who lived up there in Santa Monica who shaped surfboards too but who's now a contractor and now in construction. I think he even named his son after Matt Kevlin, Matt Kevlin was a good surfer, good shaper too.

Other guys that ran with Velzy were Tommy Rice he was a fireman he was no relation to me. Another guy who did real good sanding was Bobby Jensen he was around for a long time. Also Ed Edger those Edger brothers, and there was Stu and Ray Linder they used to hang around Velzy.