Huntington Beach’s Own Surf Legend

Rockin Fig – Rockin the Surf World

A Surfrider Sponsor Story

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Huntington Beach local Rick Fignetti – known as Rockin Fig to his friends and fans – is a surfer’s surfer.

Along with multiple surfing championships and a surf board shop on Main Street… 

 

Fig is in both the Surfers’ Hall of Fame and the Surfing Walk of Fame.

Anyone in earshot of Fig is likely to recognize his voice from his many years on the radio as KROQ’s Surfologist.

Or as the longtime announcer of the U.S. Open of Surfing (19 years in a row).

Fig’s life revolves around surfing whether it’s catching waves on the north side of the HB Pier, hanging out at Rockin Fig Surf Headquarters (316 Main Street), sponsoring the Fig Team Riders surfers, or mentoring the local groms.

Whenever SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel see Fig at beach events he’s always right in the middle of everything, lending a hand and helping to represent the community.

Fig has made the Rockin Fig surf shop more than a place to find boards and accessories.

It’s a meeting place where everyone from beginning surfers to surfing legends can stop by to share stories and talk about the sport they love. If you’re lucky enough to be in the shop on a day that Fig is there get ready for a warm welcome and a chance to learn a lot about surfing.

Just being around Rockin Fig will put a smile on your face. For someone who’s in the surfing stratosphere, it’s surprising how down to earth he is.

Tony Soriano, Surfrider Foundation Huntington/Seal Beach Chapter Chairperson, says, “Fig is a real surf community hero, who supports Surfrider and a clean environment of our oceans, waves and beaches"

In an age when so many celebrities seem superficial and manufactured by the media it’s clear that Rockin Fig is the real deal.

SurfWriter Girls 

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Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given. 

Coast-it Notes #2

From SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Fact, foto & fun notes about surfing and the coast

Featured Fotos:

March is the windy month – the perfect time to fly a kite on the beach. These photos from Seal Beach show how much fun it is.

 

If you need a kite or kite-flying lessons, talk to Jason and Melissa at Up, Up & Away Kites in Old Town Seal Beach. Than let out some string… and see how high you can fly!

Test Your Knowledge:

 

1. A young surfer is called a:

a. tadpole   b. grom   c. munchkin

  

2. When you’re riding a wave and are enclosed inside the tube you’re in the:

a. green room   b. boardroom   c. control room

  

3. At Bogart’s coffee shop in Seal Beach a painting of what well-known surfer is on the wall?

a. Brett Simpson   b. Kelly Slater   c. Michael Pless

4. People who use lots of plastic bags or don’t recycle them are called:

a. Plasticos   b. Bag Monsters   c. Cyclotrons   

5. The non-profit Surfrider Foundation, which protects the world’s oceans, waves and beaches, was started 30 years ago at what beach?

 

a. Malibu    b. Doheny     c. Huntington

Answers: 1. b;  2. a;  3. c;  4. b;  5. a 

Featured Funnies:

Why did the surfer cross the beach?

To get to the other tide.

Featured Facts:

The sign on this early surfboard shop in Huntington Beach was spelled wrong, but the owner kept it anyway to save money on a re-do.

Every year 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. Of those, 100 billion bags are used in the United States alone.

Seabed mining – excavating the resources on the ocean floor – barely existed a decade ago. Now over 450,000 sq. mi. of sea bottom are under contract to mining operators, creating questions about the effect this will have on the ocean eco-system. 

Gidget, the “girl-midget” teenage surfer of the 1957 novel and 60s surfing movies, was based on a real person, Kathy Kohner. Author Frederick Kohner turned his daughter’s surfing adventures in Malibu into the fictionalized stories that launched the surfing craze. 

Even with the recent rains that California received, more than 98% of the state remains in a drought, making it more important than ever to emphasize water conservation.

Do you have any facts, photos or funnies to share?

Send them to SurfWriter Girls and we’ll “Coast-it.”

SurfWriter Girls

Please post your comment below. Comments will appear the next day.

“Like Us on Facebook!”

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.