I first heard of Henry Hester through legendary surfboard shaper/designer Rusty “R-Dot” Preisendorfer in the mid-1970s. I don’t want to risk misquoting so great a surf legend as Rusty, so I will simply say that his description of Henry’s surfing was that it was of the highest caliber.
Hester, like Preisendorfer, belonged to an elite fleet of La Jolla Shores surfers that included Tim Lynch, Tony Staples, Gary Keating and Gary Goodrum. While this crew never made world headlines, their radical moves made rumblings all the way through the Swami’s lineup, where I sat wondering, “Who is this Hester Guy?”
I never did meet Henry in those days but heard about him again after he began sending shockwaves through the skateboarding world, often taking top honors in slalom races, which were popular at that time, and then starting his own “Hester Series” competitions.
Through it all, Hester continued surfing and skateboarding, venturing off into another offshoot of surfing by getting involved in snowboarding, and moving to Washington to work for Lib Tech Snowboards after the snowboard became the vehicle of choice for those seeking a rush on frozen terrain.
Henry and I knew all the same people, and I often went to parties at his sister Loraine’s house. Still, we somehow never crossed paths. Then, a decade or so ago we became friends, and he asked me to work with him on a project called “Surf Serve” where he used computer software to take surfboard orders.
While brilliant, the venture was short lived. Still, it was not in vain, at least from my point of view, as I surfed with Henry a lot at that time, and we forged a lasting friendship based upon love of the ocean, friends, good food and hard laughter.
He was always dabbling in something he loved: motorcycles, skateboards, surfboards, surf mats, and while not exactly ignoring the past, he had a keen eye peeled to the future, awaiting whatever new form of recreation caught his eye.
A few years back, Henry began riding Paul Gross’ 4th Gear Flyer Surf Mats. You may be aware of these wave-riding, George Greenough-inspired surfing vehicles, but, if not, rest assured they are nothing like those rash-inducing, hard canvas devices rented at liquor stores throughout Southern California.
The new mats are different. They are soft and, contrary to what seems reasonable, require that they not be filled to capacity — they actually prove faster when they are seemingly underinflated.
I bought one of Henry’s mats from him, but try as I might, never came anywhere near his ability. He always seemed to be in the right spot, and whenever he saw me struggling to ride waves, he kicked over and made valuable suggestions — blow it up more, deflate it a little, don’t try to turn so hard, move further forward, move further back.
I never did get very good on a mat and for that reason never found them to be much fun. There was that one day, however, where I picked up a head high wave, pinched hard on the outside rail and began racing through section after section at blinding speed. But that was it; I never again caught a wave like that, and I never did what mat riders call “going through the gears.”
I think mat riding is for a special breed of surfer, a surfer like Henry Hester, who quietly observes the ocean’s changing mood and adapts to it quickly.
Maybe that’s why Henry’s newest passion is sailing. Sailing requires patience, knowledge and timing, all attributes that have taken Henry Hester to the top of the sports he loves.
Chris Ahrens’s newest book, “AlphaPhoenicia, A Gangster’s Fairytale,” is available as an e-book or in print on Amazon.
