Huntington Beach homeowners have long known of Rick Fignetti, better known as “Rockin Fig.” The surfer / shop owner / radio host was recently inducted into the 2013 class of the Surfers’ Hall of Fame. He joins fellow surfing icons Shane Dorian and Skip Frye. The event took place outside of Huntington Surf & Sport on July 26th.
The Surfers’ Hall of Fame has been around since 1997 when they inducted their first class of athletes. While the event used to take place inside Huntington Surf & Sport, the City of Huntington Beach gave its blessing to allow the ceremony to move outside to the corner of PCH and Main where a bronze statue of Duke Kahanamoku sits. Fittingly, the ceremony takes place less than 100 feet from the famed Huntington Beach Pier, site of the U.S. Open of Surfing.
Surfers’ Hall of Fame founder Aaron Pai said, “Rick ‘Rockin Fig’ Fignetti is a home grown Huntington Beach surfing legend; one of Huntington’s finest. He’s been an amazing ambassador for our sport both in and out of the water.”
Rockin Fig’s voice has been a familiar one for more than 20 years. He was a DJ on KROQ FM for years in addition to announcing at major surfing competitions like the U.S. Open, Bud Surf Tour and NSSA Nationals. Additionally, older surfers probably remember hearing his voice when they called 976-SURF for reports and updates. Most recently, he’s been the voice of Toyota of Huntington Beach on their radio and TV commercials.
But despite all of his success in radio and announcing, first and foremost, Fig is a surfer. And a Huntington Beach one at that. He’s been active in the sport for more than 30 years, including competing in the first NSSA National Championships in 1978. He was also a part of the Orange Coast College surfing team that won titles in both 1979 and 1980. He’s a 10-time West Coast Surfing Champion, including winning his first and second titles last year as a 55-year-old.
Fig said, “I’ve made a lot of final appearances, but have never been able to pull off the win. I’ve waited forever. I thought I’d never possibly get a national title before I died. There’s always been an empty spot in my heart, thinking every time I’ve kind of messed up. So I’m kind of at peace with myself.”
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