Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison

Who was Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison?

Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison was an American surfer and surf equipment innovator.

Born in Garden Grove, California, Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison soon moved to Santa Ana Canyon, where he went by horse and wagon through Aliso Canyon to reach the ocean at Laguna Beach. He credited his interest in surfing to a trip to Redondo Beach in 1920 when he saw people surfing standing up for the first time.

He built his first surf board in fifth grade, a 5-foot, 18-inch-wide plank covered with canvas. This would be his basic design for later boards. Through the late 1920s and 1930s, Harrison was one of a small number of Orange County surfers living what would later be called the surfing lifestyle.

In 1931, Harrison went to work for a manufacturer of prefabricated homes in Los Angeles. As a side business, the company, named Pacific Ready-Cut Homes, made surfboards - because they had the equipment to laminate together wooden blanks. Harrison would complete four boards a day for a monthly salary of $100. These surfboards were called "Swastika Boards" and they sold for about $25 each.

In the 1930s, Harrison stowed away to Hawaii, succeeding on his second attempt. While in Waikiki, Harrison worked as a beach boy and was in the company of other surfers, including the Father of Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku.