Best of the Beach 2026: Surf Shop – Spyder Surf
Archival photographs only partially convey Spyder Surf’s contributions to the Beach Cities over the past, nearly five decades. Former pro surfer and shaper Dennis Jarvis founded Spyder Surf in what had been a liquor store on Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach in 1983. Jarvis’ wide ranging interests extended from shaping surfboards for top pros, to providing surf instruction on Hollywood productions, including “Point Break,” “Blue Crush,” and “The David Letterman Show.” Spyder Surf’s support of women’s contests such as the South Bay Boardriders Queen of the Beach have boosted local girls’ and women’s participation in surfing. Photo by Steve Gaffney (SteveGaffney.com) In the summer of 2019, when Teen Choice took over Hermosa Beach, Jarvis shaped and airbrushed the surfboard trophy presented to a then little known singer named Taylor Swift. Professional surfers Jeff Deffenbaugh and Greg Browning were made up as surf stuntmen for The David Letterman Show’s bandleader, PaulShaffer, and Letterman when the show was shot in Los Angeles in 1994. Spyder’s Dennis Jarvis shaped the boards and coordinated the surfing. Photo by Mike Balzer Jarvis soon recognized he needed a business…
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