“THAT’S PAT!” DropZone profile on Legendary Shaper Pat Ryan
What can’t Pat shape? Photo by Mark Kawakami “It was the perfect time to learn how to shape because no one really knew what they were doing.” — Shaper Pat Ryan on the late 1960s shortboard revolution Jr. For over four decades, Pat Ryan been contributing to the evolution in surfboard design. The San Diego native moved to Manhattan Beach in 1965, when he was 11. “I remember riding my little Sting Ray, cruising down to Hermosa on The Strand. The Biltmore was there all boarded up. A little further down was Taco Bell with all the Hell’s Angels guys,” Ryan said. “Seeing all that was like, wooo.” Ryan rode his Makaha and Continental skateboards in San Diego and got into surfing when he moved north. “My first board was a 9-foot-8 Hobie with a yellow slipcheck band around the middle my sister air brushed on,” Ryan said. “My sister’s boyfriend would take me to the Hermosa Beach Pier.” Pat Turning down the rails. Photo by Mark Kawakami Hermosa was home to the miracle mike of surf shops. The young gremmie soaked it up. “I hung out at the Greg Noll store at 1402 PCH. One day a salesman couldn’t make it and lo and behold I became a salesman for the day.” Ryan moved into production at Noll’s…
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