Surfing Heritage & Culture Center

Surfing Heritage & Culture Center Home to the most comprehensive and significant collection of surfboards and surfing memorabilia in the world. Cover photo 📸: Warren Bolster
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www.shacc.org/donate The Surfing Heritage Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, presenting and promoting surfing’s heritage for the appreciation and education of current and future generations; and to achieving our goal of surfing being more accurately understood, represented and enjoyed. Preservation
Focusing on the complete spectrum of surfing’s history and development

, including but not limited to significant surfboards, photography and the full range of other forms of information and objects of cultural value. Presentation
Establishing a world-class museum/resource facility, including an outreach program that creates exhibits and develops venues for effective traveling and/or off-site display: that this facility might serve as a symbolic center for the wave riding culture in the United States, dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of surfing as a sport, lifestyle, and culture. Promotion
Building a community who actively support the Surfing Heritage Foundation with fundraising, promotion and advocacy.

04/30/2026

The last six months at SHACC have been a bit insane as we've been getting our new forever home in Laguna Beach ready. Words can't describe how excited we are to welcome all of you in this summer (stay tuned for more details). In the meantime, here's a little glimpse of where we're headed and how you can help. We're so grateful for all your support and excitement. See you soon!

12/02/2025

On this Giving Tuesday, and in this giving season, your support of SHACC means more than ever as we prepare for this big move to Laguna Beach in 2026. We’re extremely grateful to all those who choose to support us in whatever way feels meaningful, simply because they appreciate surfing, surf history, and surf culture.

Every dollar donated will help us make the most of this dream opportunity: from the buildout of our beautiful new home to the preservation, education, and celebration of surfing’s heritage and cultural impact.

To all you existing SHACC members, there’s no better time to step up your membership level and/or bring a new friend into our family. And if you’re not a member yet, we look forward to welcoming you. Of course, if you prefer to make a one-time donation to help us bring this bright new future to life, we deeply appreciate it. Together, we’re building something extraordinary.

Link to donate in our bio or go to www.shacc.org/donate

11/20/2025

In late spring of 2026, the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center will move from the hills of San Clemente to a new home in Laguna Beach, just south of where, in the 1920s, Duke Kahanamoku surfed, spread aloha, and helped create the first true surfing hub outside Hawaii.

Today, after more than six decades of collecting, preserving, and sharing surf history, no one is more excited about this next chapter than SHACC founder Dick Metz, who grew up in the 1930s among a colorful cast of Duke’s Laguna-based disciples. In the years that followed, Dick and Duke became friends, and Duke’s influence played a central role in inspiring Dick to save the surf stories, artifacts, and memories that eventually led to SHACC’s creation.

SHACC’s upcoming move marks a major milestone, and a look at its rich past will help you understand where it is headed next. We can’t wait to open the doors and welcome you in.

10/21/2025

Brad Gerlach has been a student of high-performance surfing techniques for more than 40 years. Specifically, the relationship between body and board movements. But his best teacher in that area wasn't a surfer at all. It was his father, former Olympic diver Jumpin' Joe Gerlach. This is their story.

10/10/2025

The ocean was a great escape for California surfers of the 30s who were grinding their way through the Great Depression. Naturally, after Hawaiians introduced surfing to California the mere idea of traveling to Hawaii became intoxicating for Golden Staters. Some, like Wh**ey Harrison, famously stowed away on ocean liners to get there. But Bill Grace and his buddies went to an even greater length in their famous attempt. Grace's story has seldom been told because, well, legally, he wasn't allowed to talk about it. But Grace passed away in 2011 at the age of 89, so the story of when he became known as one of the three Tira Pirates is safe to tell now. He was only 16 when he embarked on a legendary misadventure with two 17-year-old friends. This is their story.

10/01/2025

In 1960, a chance meeting between Californian Dick Metz and South African John Whitmore changed the course of surfing history. Join us, Saturday, October 4th, at the Rivian South Coast Theater in Laguna Beach, as Dick Metz himself takes the stage along with Miles Masterson, author of the new book "The Oom: The Biography of John Whitmore." After their chat there will also be a special screening of Birth of the Endless Summer, the award-winning film about Metz' three year oddysey that became the inspiration for The Endless Summer.

09/10/2025

Lorrin "Wh**ey" Harrison is one of California's most renowned surfing pioneers. Once hooked, he was enamored by Duke Kahanamoku as well as anything and everything Hawaiian. So much so, he stowed away on a steamer bound for Honolulu in 1932 in the hopes of becoming a beach boy. the frineds he made there changed him forever, and his island ties got even stronger when his little sister, Ethel, married Hawaiian Joe Kukea, and moved to Oahu in 1935.

While much has been written about Lorrin and his various adventures, Ethel, Joe, and their family also made some serious waves. Here's a little glimpse of the Kukea family and thier enduring legacy.

Note: existing still images of Wh**ey (on the beach) and Ethel (surfing) were brought to life for pure fun and flavor.

08/08/2025

Mickey Munoz has been a surf-stoked grom for 88 years now. Though the legendary surfer/shaper/artist/photographer/boat builder isn't pulling into barrels like he was back in his 70s (and still on shortboards no less) he's traveled through enough of them to understand their true value. The way he sees it, tubes are worm holes that transport surfers into their younger years. To this day, he's living high off barrels he scored during his ast trip to Indo, more than a decade ago. "When they were looking for the fountain of youth, they should have just jumped overboard."

Join us Saturday, July 12, from 4–7 PM at SHACC for the unveiling of Blue Glass—a new exhibit celebrating the enigmatic ...
06/24/2025

Join us Saturday, July 12, from 4–7 PM at SHACC for the unveiling of Blue Glass—a new exhibit celebrating the enigmatic lens of Ron Stoner, surfing’s first true visual poet.

Stoner’s sun-drenched, dreamlike images captured the soul of 1960s surf culture and helped define its golden era. Blue Glass will showcase never-before-seen photographs recently uncovered by the Stoner family and his former girlfriend, Paulette Martinson Auster, alongside his most iconic work from the pages of SURFER Magazine.

To honor the man behind the myth, we’ll host an intimate panel featuring:
• Billy Hamilton – the iconic surfer and one of Stoner’s most frequent muses
• Jeff Divine – legendary surf photographer and former photo editor at SURFER
• Friends and family of Ron Stoner – offering rare stories and personal reflections on his life and mysterious disappearance

Admission:
Free for SHACC Members (registration required – use provided promo code or call to RSVP)
$15 for Non-Members
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ron-stoner-legendary-surfer-photographer-exhibit-opening-tickets-1424996405609?aff=oddtdtcreator

Book signing event with Sam George tomorrow at SHACC from 5-8PM. Talk Story, slideshow, and Q&A - FREE, all ages, bevera...
05/16/2025

Book signing event with Sam George tomorrow at SHACC from 5-8PM. Talk Story, slideshow, and Q&A - FREE, all ages, beverages and book copies available for purchase. Sam has traveled the world extensively (he and his brother Matt were both featured in our Surf Travel exhibit) and Sam was Senior Editor at both Surfing and Surfer magazines at various times. He's been involved in filmmaking (both behind and in front of the camera), including "Hollywood Don't Surf!" and even won an Emmy for "Hawaiian: the Legend of Eddie Aikau." See you here!

Address

239 Broadway Street
San Clemente, CA
92651

Telephone

(949) 388-0313

Website

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