From Hermosa Beach to Huntington Beach
Ed Sakal’s connection to surfboards began before shaping rooms, retail shops, or a family label. It started with rented surf mats in Hermosa Beach and a fascination with riding waves.
Ed began surfing in 1959, when he was ten. At thirteen he got his first real surfboard. Two years later, a Boy Scout trip took him to Killer Dana on a day reported to be around 15 feet. Ed and the scoutmaster were the only two from the group who paddled out. That early appetite for serious surf led him into Western Surfing Association contests and onto the Greg Noll surf team.
Learning the surfboard craft
In Southern California, Ed worked for Greg Noll. When he lived in Hawaii, he worked for Town & Country. Those experiences put him close to the people, tools, and production methods behind some of the most influential surfboards of the era.
After returning to the mainland, Ed worked for ET Surfboards in Hermosa Beach. He later opened his own glassing and shaping operation, known as Sakal Glassing, and built boards for surf shops and labels around Southern California. The work eventually led to Bullit Surfboards in Huntington Beach. Bullit later became Sakal Surf Shop and moved into downtown Huntington Beach.
Two generations of Sakal shapers
Ed and his wife Sandy raised Tristan, Shawna, and Ryan around surfing and the family business. Both sons competed in NSSA events. When Ryan was about five, Ed began bringing home scraps of foam and sandpaper so he could learn how a board took shape. Eventually, Ryan received a full blank and began developing into a shaper in his own right.
That makes Ed and Ryan two generations of Sakal surfboard shapers. The family’s third generation refers to Ed’s grandkids as surfers; it should not be confused with three established generations of professional board builders.
Custom Ed Sakal surfboards in Huntington Beach
Just Surfboards takes custom orders for Ed Sakal boards. The process starts with a real conversation about the surfer: where you normally paddle out, what you ride now, your height and weight, the waves you want the board to handle, and what you want to change. That information gives Ed a useful starting point instead of forcing the surfer into a stock formula.
Call Just Surfboards or visit the Huntington Beach shop to discuss an Ed Sakal custom surfboard. Online custom ordering is coming soon.