Bobby "Challenger" Thomas, 69 - Pioneering surfboard manufacturer

[BobF]

http://m.utsandiego.com/news/2012/sep/22/tp-surf-icon-bobby-challenger-thomas-dies-at-69/

SURF ICON BOBBY CHALLENGER THOMAS DIES AT 69

Jeremy Ogul

Originally published September 22, 2012 at 12:01a.m., updated
September 21, 2012 at 08:25p.m.

It almost feels like an understatement to call Bobby Challenger Thomas
a San Diego surf icon.

A founding member of the Pacific Beach Surf Club in the late 1950s,
Mr. Thomas took over Challenger Surfboards and made it one of the most
successful surfboard manufacturers of the late 1960s. After a detour
into the financial sector in the 1980s, Thomas returned to San Diego
to sponsor surf tournaments, advise the PB Surf Club and even compete
in surfing contests.

“The guy put his heart and soul into whatever he did,” said friend Jim
Cerone, a fellow surfer and former classmate.

Mr. Thomas died in Escondido on Sept. 16 of complications from lung
disease. He was 69.

Born in San Diego on July 16, 1943, Mr. Thomas started surfing at age
14 on a board he shaped himself. When members of the Kanakas Surf Club
told him he was too young to join, Mr. Thomas rounded up some friends
and started a new club, the Pacific Beach Surf Club. That first
incarnation of the club had disbanded by 1963, but Mr. Thomas was just
getting started in the surf industry.

After graduating from Mission Bay High School in 1961, he went to work
making surfboards for Gordon and Smith.

“He had quite a creative mind,” Cerone said.

Frank McCleary, who owned Challenger Surfboards, took note of Mr.
Thomas’ surfboard shaping skills and asked him to take over the
fledgling Challenger business. At first, Mr. Thomas scoffed.

“I told him Challenger didn’t have any following and lacked design,”
Mr. Thomas said in a 2008 interview with Ocean Magazine. “Keep in
mind, McCleary was from La Mesa, and we kids living on the coast
thought everyone living east of Interstate 5 was a kook.”

He ultimately accepted McCleary’s offer, though, and turned Challenger
Surfboards from a one-man shop into a powerhouse surfboard
manufacturer.

“His idea was to have the ultimate wave-riding experience, and that
was possible through great design,” said Donna Thomas, Mr. Thomas’
ex-wife.

He made dozens of surfboard designs, some tailored for children and
smaller bodies, others for different styles of surfing. Mr. Thomas was
so passionate about his product that he even changed his middle name
to Challenger.

Several of Mr. Thomas’ friends recalled the intensity of his approach.

“He always was a perfectionist,” said Mike Burner, who went to school
with Mr. Thomas and was part of the original Pacific Beach Surf Club.
“He wanted things to look good. He demanded a lot from people to do
good work and create a good product that had his name on it.”

Mr. Thomas took a break from manufacturing surfboards after a doctor
diagnosed him with the gastrointestinal disorder Crohn’s disease,
which Mr. Thomas attributed to the fumes he ingested during the
manufacturing process. He moved to Texas and worked as a commodity
broker until his retirement in 1983.

When a group of surfers got together in the early 1990s to restart the
defunct Pacific Beach Surf Club, Mr. Thomas was there to advise the
club and mentor a new generation of surfers. He also competed on its
team, winning numerous trophies throughout his retirement.

“Bobby really believed in the PB Surf Club and felt an obligation as
its senior member to be a mentor to those who sought him out, and to
encourage club competitiveness with its rivals up and down the coast,”
wrote club historian Richard Steadham in a eulogy posted this week to
the club’s website.

Mr. Thomas is survived by his ex-wife, Donna, with whom he lived in
Carlsbad until his death; a brother, Jerry Thomas of Escondido;
daughters Kristina Backman of Carlsbad and Holly Bradford of Newport
Beach; and four grandchildren.

Family and friends are planning a “paddle out” memorial, at which Mr.
Thomas’ ashes will be scattered in the ocean, at Tourmaline Surf Park
in mid-October. The date is pending.

Jeremy Ogul is a San Diego writer.



--

"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen

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Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
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[sue...@gmail.com]

Jeremy, I don't know where you got your info about my transaction with Bobby "
" thomas but it's all wrong. Bill Bahne, "Tinker" Carl West and I were in business for about 5 years starting in 1960 . Tinker went back east to start Challenger //////east Bill Bahne wanted to get into skateboards and I was making a 36' trimarran . I offered the company to Thomas for $5k and he jumped
on it. At the time all he had was a crappy little surf shop on Mission
beach Dr. My brother Bill told me that Bobby T was the biggest blowhard he'd ever met !! Please get your story straight . One would think you work for CNN !! Sincerely, Frank McCleary

[Michael OConnor]

Did he make boards for Mark "Cutback" Davis or Bob "Jungle Death" Gerrard?