Ted James*
Forever a man of the ocean, Ted James was a revered figure in the South Florida surfing and fishing community.
In the mid-60s, James began shaping surfboards and in 1968, while on a fishing trip for tarpon and snook, he came up with the brand that would define his career: Fox Surfboards. But it wasn’t just shaping that James excelled at; he was red hot in the water as well. In 1970, he traveled to Victoria, Australia to represent the East Coast in the World Surfing Championships.
Back home in West Palm Beach, James continued to build Fox into a board building machine, eventually becoming the largest surfboard retailer in South Florida and a major wholesaler. Soon, his boards could be spotted in the water from Puerto Rico and the white sand beaches of Miami to the rocky points of Maine. James possessed a full on commitment to surfboard production that made serious surfers gravitate towards him. When Puerto Rico’s rare talent Jorge Machuca busted onto the world stage, it was Ted James who made sure Machuca had the boards and support to travel the world to showcase his amazing surfing.
In 1972, Fox team riders Bruce Walker (ECSHOF, Class of 2002) and Lewis Grave (ECSHOF, Class of 2004) became business partners with James opening Fox Surf Shops in Miami Beach and Melbourne Beach, while expanding into skateboards. Later, James moved to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where he expanded into manufacturing sailboards. He promoted long time employee John Parton (ECSHOF, Class of 2022) to run the West Palm Beach store and factory, eventually becoming partners. The Outer Banks also wasn’t a bad place to keep on fishing — in-between shaping, James worked as a commercial fisherman. He eventually sold his share of the business to Walker and Graves.
You know you’ve made an impact when you look at the list of fellow surfing pioneers who count you as a mentor. Sadly, James left us far too soon in the spring of 2004. Four years later, his legacy was solidified when he was inducted into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame.
