“Surfing lost a legend in Hank Byzak.”
— Joel Tudor, three-time Longboard World Surfing Champion
In the mid-1970s, there was a surf shop standing where Leucadia melts into Ponto, perhaps in the very building where Roberto’s now serves carne asada burritos to famished surfers.
The surf shop, Pure Fun, was one of those now-extinct surf establishments where the owner shaped and glassed in the back room while foam dust clouded the air and catalyzed resin wafted through the showroom.
The owner, I was told, was named Hank Byzak, and while many board builders in town were treated by his out-of-state craftsmanship, he was creating what he would later term “functional art.”
It was around that time when La Jolla’s golden arm, Rusty Preisendorfer, asked me if I knew anyone who needed a shaper. I sent him to two factories: Country Honk, where John Kies and company were building beautiful surfboards, and Pure Fun.
Rusty, who would go on to be known by his first name and then his first initial, R, was hired by both companies. To return the favor, Rusty offered to shape me a board anytime I wanted. I was ready to cash in the favor when I drove up to the front door of Pure Fun.
There, Hank greeted me with a scowl, bluntly asking what I wanted. “I’m here to see Rusty,” I said, to which he responded. “Rusty’s working,” before walking away.
A native Californian, I was not used to such greetings. I left in a huff. But Hank was going nowhere. He simply moved locations and continued building some of the finest surfboards in our town or any other town.
Hank had overpaid his dues as a board builder by the time the longboard renaissance of the late ’80s hit. By then, he had become a master among masters. According to longboard genius Joel Tudor, “Hank became the go-to ninja for many [surfboard] labels, and he earned the nickname ‘Hank the Crank’ through his old-school, Brooklyn, New York-level honesty.
“But he worked with me to shape the board I won my last world title on. Surfing lost a legend in Hank Byzak. I love you, Hank.”
Hank’s reputation as a brilliant shaper often eclipsed his ability as a glasser, glosser, pin liner and air brusher. He could do it all, and so was in constant demand from labels like Tudor, Hansen, Greg Noll, Brewer, Linden and Dewey Weber.
When not employed as a “ghost shaper,” those in the know often located Hank to order from Hank’s own label, Byzak Custom Surfboards.
As I write this, it seems odd to say so much about the board and so little about the man. In Hank’s case, however, they are one and the same. Whenever I look at one of his boards, I see focus, dedication and perfection, things that lived beneath his deep love that was sometimes masked by a New York-born gruff exterior.
Shortly after that first encounter at Pure Fun, I learned to admire Hank Byzak. Eventually, I learned more than that, and can now stand with Joel Tudor in saying: “The surfing world has lost a legend. I love you, Hank.” Aloha, dear brother.
Hank Byzak passed away on May 22 at age 77. He is survived by three children: Aaron, Matthew and Jennifer. A paddle-out memorial for Hank is planned for July 18 at 10 a.m. at the Oceanside Pier. I look forward to seeing you there.
