Luis and part of his collection at the North Shore Surf Shop in Haleiwa (L), and a valuable board ridden by the GOAT (R).
“Through surfing and the North Shore surf community, I met the best people I had ever come across. My best friends, my business, my wife, my kids… everything I have, has come from surfing,” Luis Real said. “So I want to pay back all that I have gained.”
That payback has come in the form of one of the world’s most valuable and meaningful surfboard collections. That it has been compiled and curated by a Mexican basketball player who grew up without waves is almost as remarkable as the 450-board collection itself.
Real had moved from home in inland Mexico to Arizona to play college basketball in 1998. After an injury curtailed that dream, he transferred to Hawaii to finish his university studies on the East Side of Oahu.
“In 2002 I went over to the North Shore for the first time and watched that famous Final of the Pipe Masters with Kelly Slater and Andy Irons. I just walked into that as my first surfing experience,” laughed Real.
Real was hook, line and sinkered. Although he had never surfed, he immediately fell in love with surfing culture. He moved to the North Shore and got a job in a Haleiwa surf shop. Twenty years later, he’s now the co-owner of that business: the North Shore Surf Shop.
Real’s surfboard collection started in the early days when a customer walked into the shop selling a Sunny Garcia board. Real bought the board himself, intrigued by the sponsor stickers and what he thought was a Spanish or Mexican surfer. When he discovered Sunny was a Hawaiian World Champion, he delved into the board’s history.
“That board became the template for my collection; a famous surfer, shaped by a famous shaper, and the board having been ridden in a famous competition or film. They are the three elements I still look for,” said Real.
His next board was one of Andy Iron’s, his favorite surfer from that first Pipe experience, and he said that 10 boards quickly became 50, 50 became 100, and after ten years of collecting it now stands well over 400. It is divided into three main categories; surfboards owned by World Champions, Pipe Masters Winners and Hawaiian legends. Most are housed in his surf shop, on display on the ceiling.
“My ultimate goal is to build a museum for the surfboards, so we can showcase the boards, plus the posters or singlets and paraphernalia that come with it,” said Real. “That doesn’t exist here on the North Shore. I’ve discovered that many of the groms we sponsor, and support have little or no knowledge of Hawaii’s incredible surf history. But with no resources or physical place to learn, it’s understandable. A museum is my plan to give back to the community.”
The valuable boards as seen on the ceiling of the North Shore Surf Shop. Luis wants these pieces of art to have a permanent home for all to enjoy – and learn from.
He says sourcing the surfboards has become increasingly difficult. His interest often now adds a premium to the price. His business model has always been to sell the pretty ones so he can fund the meaningful ones. He has a network of spies on the lookout for undiscovered gems. He farms out the restoration jobs to local craftsmen and that process is overseen by Randy Rarrick, who he describes as a good friend and his great mentor.
And while there are valuable boards in the rafters, he says it is the boards owned by surfers that he formed close relationships with that are the most precious to him. His most prized boards are the pieces of fiberglass owned and ridden by Buttons Kaluhiokalani , Gerry Lopez and Larry Bertlemann. A board that Dick Brewer shaped for Mark Richards is another that has pride and place in his surf shop.
“It’s wild that I’ve gained this rare and real slice of surfing history,” Real concludes. “Now it’s all about opening it up and telling their stories and history to future generations. That way, hopefully, I can just return some of the love surfing has given me.”
