VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — An East Coast surfing icon died on Tuesday. He was 86 years old.
Pete Smith sparked surf culture in Virginia Beach as we know it today, opening the first surf shop in the city and kicking off the Virginia Beach Surf Carnival with a group of friends, which is now the oldest continually ran surfing competition in the world.
In 1962, close friends and surfers including Smith, Bob Holland and Butch Maloney of Virginia Beach travelled to Gilgo Beach, New York for the first East Coast Surfing Championships, according to Smith’s East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame profile.
The young men were inspired to bring a championship to their hometown and started the Virginia Beach Surf Carnival, which has run for 63 years and is now known as the Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships.
The sign outside the Coastal Edge Surf Shop currently honors Smith's legacy:
The Smith and Holland Surf Shop was also opened in the early days to further bring surf culture to the city. Although Holland left the business in the late 1960s, Smith stayed at the Virginia Beach store for decades and renamed it to be Pete Smith’s Surf Shop, according to the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame.
News 3 Virginia Beach reporter John Hood will interview Coastal Edge founder D. Nachnani to discuss Smith's legacy and impact on East Coast surf culture. Check back with us for updates.
