Bird Huffman of Bird’s Surf Shed
If you’re a surfer from San Diego, you know who Eric “Bird” Huffman is. He does the 94.9 surf reports, he updates Surfline, and for a long time, he owned South Coast Surf Shops.
When the worst of the fires happened in San Diego 10 years ago, Bird offered to give free boards to kids who lost theirs in the fires. That’s when I first heard the name Bird Huffman, and I always thought he had to be a really nice guy to do something like that. I was right. When I went down to interview him, he was gracious, insightful, and willing to help me in any way he could (including, fixing my dead tape recorder).
Can you talk about how The Shed came about?
The Shed came about as a result of a partnership break-up. After a 20-year partnership in another retail store, it came time for me to part ways. I combined everything I collected in my life of 40+ years of working in surf shops, and put it together in one environment to make, what I feel, is a true surf shop. And I try to keep that kind of stoke and that kind of spirit around for the people. In a nut shell, that’s basically what The Shed is about: it’s for the people.
Can you tell us about your family?
I’ve got a huge family. I’ve got eight brothers and sisters. Some of them still live in San Diego, one lives in Hawaii, one lives in Australia for about 40 years now, one lives back in Washington, D.C. area. I’ve got a lovely wife, Amy, and I’ve got four of my own kids, all born and raised in San Diego. Our parents came from Minnesota when they were obviously, much younger. They came to San Diego and enjoyed the weather and never went back. So here’s where I ended up.
What is your definition of happiness?
Happiness, for me, in simple terms, is a good open communication with God. In a nut shell, that’s it. If you’re comfortable with your creator, whatever you want to call him, her, it, whatever, higher power, for me it’s God. If you can be comfortable with him and know he has your back and that everything happens for a reason, that’s pure happiness in a spiritual sense.
In an emotional sense, or a human sense, having my wife, having a woman who shares my life and who has raised kids with me for 30 years. That’s another source of happiness, being able to share that with somebody is pretty amazing.
And then just being able to pretty much live a healthy, productive life doing something that I want. I’m not making a lot of money doing it, but it was never about the money for me. That’s pretty happy. Coming to work and being able to have a good time stoking people out. That’s pretty happy.
When did you learn to surf? Who taught you?
I started riding waves back as long as I can remember. My mom was from Minnesota, and was a stay at a home Mom, which was very common at that time, especially with that many children. She really enjoyed the ocean, so we’d go whenever at all possible. La Jolla Cove, you know, we’d body surf and play around there. And then we started to ride little foam surf boards, I was probably like 3 or 4. When I actually started to seriously ride waves, I was probably about 8, maybe 9, and I knee-boarded. There was nobody really to teach me so, I basically emulated my older brother, Mark, and the oldest, and Rex. I tagged along with them a little bit to get the foundation down, and then it was kinda like riding a surfboard, once you get out there and do it a few times…
Do you ever do that anymore… knee-board?
Very rarely, I’ll only do it in the situation that I find myself not being able to make a wave on my feet. It’s kinda nice to have that chance or that ability to fall back, because I knee-boarded for quite a few years before I started stand up surfing, and still it’s fresh in my mind. Deep down inside of me I started being a knee boarder, so I’d drop in on a wave and not even try to get to my feet, I’d just stay on my knees, it’s not that hard for me to do.
What’s something you know about happiness now that you did not know at 25 years old?
Oh boy, the older you get the more you learn. Probably again, letting God into my life more. Giving up all the things that you as a human think you can do when you realize that it’s all going to be done no matter what you want. It’s going to be done the way it’s supposed to be done.
As you get older, you learn to give up the dread and the normal fears that come along with living a life. That’s a pretty solid one: the happiness of letting yourself be happy. Don’t be afraid to be happy. It might sound weird, but there are a lot of people that are hesitant to let themselves be stoked, because they’re afraid it’s going to turn bad or the bubble is going to burst, or whatever. Live each day happy. Live every moment of the day as happy, giving as you can. You’ve got down days, but keep the stoke going and keep the happiness flowing.
