Philip Rube "Flippy" Hoffman (January 24, 1930 – November 10, 2010) was an American big wave surfing pioneer and businessman.

Early life

Hoffman was born in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

in 1930 He graduated from

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. Histo ...

in 1948. Hoffman began

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

off

San Onofre, California San Onofre State Beach (''San Onofre'', Spanish for " St. Onuphrius") is a state park in San Diego County, California. The beach is south of San Clemente on Interstate 5 at Basilone Road. The state park is leased to the state of California ...

. In 1953, he was one of the first surfers to brave the outer reefs of the Oahu's North Shore where he was a big wave surfing pioneer. Hoffman also worked as an

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

fisherman while he was not surfing.

Hoffman California Fabrics

In the late 1950s, Hoffman helped run his family's textile business, Hoffman California Fabrics, along with his brother Walter. The company was started in 1924 by their father Rube Hoffman, originally selling woolen flannel fabrics. Hoffman oversaw the company's business that sold directly to retail stores. He was also involved in researching the production processes and creating new designs Hoffman Fabrics was integral in creating and manufacturing surf apparel from the late 1950s onward. In the 1980s, the

aloha shirt The aloha shirt (), also referred to as a Hawaiian shirt, is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. They are collared and buttoned dress shirts, usually short-sleeved and made from printed fabric. They are traditionally worn untucked, but ...

worn by

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations f ...

in the TV series ''

Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on ...

''was made from Hoffman fabric. It is now in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. "When the surf was really big, he'd take off and go surfing," said his brother. Hoffman worked with surfboard designers such as

Mickey Munoz Mickey Munoz, nicknamed "The Mongoose", is an early surfing pioneer and surfboard shaper. He was featured in the 2004 surfing documentary '' Riding Giants''. He currently resides in Capistrano Beach, California and designs boards for Surftech, a ...

Hobie Alter Hobart "Hobie" Alter (October 31, 1933 – March 29, 2014) was an American surf and sailing entrepreneur and pioneer, creator of the Hobie Cat catamarans, and founder of the Hobie company. Biography Hobie Alter will be remembered for creati ...

and Bob Simmons to improve the design of surf boards.

Personal life

Hoffman died at

Mission Viejo, California Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities eve ...

from pulmonary fibrosis complications. He was survived by his partner Suzy, brother Walter, daughter Dana, and son Marty. His brother's daughter Joyce Hoffman was a champion surfer, and great-grandson Greyson Fletcher a professional skateboarder. Both he and his brother Walter were honored in the

surfing walk of fame Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

in 2006 for their contributions to

surf culture Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle surrounding the sport of surfing. The history of surfing began with the ancient Polynesians. That initial culture directly influenced modern surfing, which began to flourish ...

References

External links

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Philip Hoffman - In memoriam
Hoffman Fabrics article {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Philip Sportspeople from Glendale, California American surfers 1930 births 2010 deaths