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A Conversation With Surfer Pete Lopez

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By NICK WILLIAMS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2008

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH - Pete Lopez, 57, was born in New York and moved to the Bay area when he was 4.

He is the father of professional surfers Shea and Cory Lopez, and third son Matt is an up-and-coming amateur.

He became their manager, helping find sponsorships. He took care of travel plans and traveled with them. He was the liaison between the industry and the boys. He no longer manages Shea, but he still handles negotiations and contracts for Cory.

Now, he manages Nekton Surf Shop in Indian Rocks Beach.

He started surfing when he was 14, won a few amateur contests and has always loved the beach.

He also runs a landscaping and real estate business.

He recently sat down with the Tribune to talk about his endeavors.

Do you think we've passed, or are we currently in, the "Golden Age" of surfing?

I think we're in the golden age of surfing. I'm not sure what the definition of the golden age of surfing is, but it seems to be continuing to grow as a popular sport. There are more and more people surfing all the time.

Do you wish you had the opportunities surfers have today when you were growing up?

I wish they had more competition and I had supportive parents. If they would have had the time and the resources to take me to competitions, that would have been a great thing. Yeah. No doubt. Surfing was natural. My neighbors surfed. It was easy to get to the beach from Largo. Heck yeah, I wish my parents had time to take me to competitions on the East Coast. My sons have been blessed, because I stayed into and I'm still into it. We just got back from a trip to Costa Rica in May. Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, California ... I mean, we chase the swells all over the place.

What's the most memorable place you've traveled for surfing?

Indonesia. On the island of Java there is a surf camp called G-Land, and it has a perfect wave. It's a beautiful camp in the middle of the jungle. You stay in houses on bamboo stilts because of the wildlife roaming around at night. That's the best surf spot I've ever surfed.

Why do you think people who don't surf are so intrigued by the surfing culture?

The surfing companies and the surfing magazines try to make an image of what it's like to be a surfer, and it's succeeding. People read the surf mags and they see the surfers and think "Hey, that's the way I want to be. They seem pretty happy and they're at the beach." I don't know. Why is hip-hop popular? I don't get it. Surfing is appealing because the clothing that the kids wear is stylish and the sport is fun.

Would you say you taught Shea, Cory and Matt everything they know?

Yeah. Well, no. I gave them the opportunity to go to the beach and to develop their skills. I took them to every single contest. I took them to the movies they needed to watch to mimic the professional surfers. As opposed to doing business all the time and building my landscaping business and real estate business, I spent a tremendous amount of time with Shea and Cory, traveling. They always made good grades, so I wanted my time to be flexible enough to pull them out of school on a Tuesday or Wednesday to go surfing here or to the East Coast for a day. They took the skills that they had and developed them.

What lies ahead for you?

I just want to surf more (laughing). I'm just trying to figure out how to get myself in position where I can work less and surf more. I started this surf shop and I'm trying to get it to a point where it's going to run smoothly and work for us as a family. At 57, I just want to get away from responsibility. Ideally, I'd like to wake up every morning and from my bedroom, look out at the waves I'm going to paddle out to and surf.

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