SPORTS SPORTS
Collecting a
SURFING SAFARI
With one of the largest collections of surfboards in
PHOTO BY )AR9 DOAN
the country, at 120 and counting, Gary Roberts
has room for more.
The 48-year-old Fort Pierce native still surfs and operates
a surf décor business on the Web, which includes the
theme, “Old Guys Rule.”
“Each board has a story. I bought a board from a man
whose son had bought it, but never used it. He went to
Vietnam and was killed. I have never sold any of my
boards. I have traded them,” said Roberts, owner of Gary
Roberts Nursery and Landscape in Fort Pierce.
Captain Hiram’s in Sebastian has 14 of his boards on
display in the lobby. He has 24 in his living room and 20
on display in his office. “Some have never been ridden
and some barely ridden. Old boards are collectible. The
ones you find from New Jersey and Pennsylvania are
often in pristine condition while the ones from Florida
have been used and have dings,” Robert said.
“I paid $3,000 for a personal Greg Noll board at an
auction and I have picked some out of the garbage back
when the short boards came in.”
Roberts’ love of surfing began in 1969 when he learned
on South Beach in Fort Pierce. “No one told me you had
to put wax on the board. I kept slipping off so I wore my
Converse tennis shoes. I learned the hard way.”
Aptly enough, Roberts’ sideline company is called
Endless Summer Lifestyles.
Greg Gardner
On the Web
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