Back in the ’60s, when Gidget was cool and triple cheeseburgers only cost a dollar, Will Rogers State Beach was the epicenter of all things bitchin’ and Roy’s diner and custom surf shop on Entrada was its headquarters. A sort of ‘locals only’ spot, State Beach attracted surfers and wannabes from Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica and Malibu as well as the likes of Hollywood stars Nancy Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and Mia Farrow and basketball legends like Pat Riley and Keith Erickson. But owners of Roy’s, Roy and Dody Colburn, could never have predicted that they would play such a major role in the Southern California surfing culture and lifestyle when they purchased a one-quarter share of The Entrada Motel and its adjoining diner in 1948. ‘They thought the hotel would be the moneymaker,’ recalls Tom Colburn, Roy and Dody’s son. ‘War rationing was over and people were starting to travel again. The diner had four booths and stools and a takeout counter. The motel had 10 units. That was it. They hired a cook and they were going to run the motel.’ Quickly however, the diner became a hotpot for surfers and beach bums patronizing State Beach. Since there was nowhere else to grab a bite to eat between Santa Monica and Malibu, they made Roy’s the place to be. Even Wilt Chamberlain frequented the diner’between games of beach volleyball. ‘Wilt came into Roy’s all the time and always ordered two hotdogs and an orange Crush,’ Tom said. Soon, Roy himself was working in the diner. ‘One morning the cook showed up drunk, on a Saturday morning, and my dad fired him on the spot. Dad ended up doing the cooking.’ Tom said. ‘And he got to know the guys coming into the caf’.’ That’s when Roy decided to get into the swimwear business. Shortly after purchasing the other three-quarters of the motel and diner from business partner Pierce Sherman, the Colburns started their own line of custom-made beachwear. ‘My parents started the swimwear business because they saw a need,’ Tom said. ‘At the time everything looked the same’Jansen, Catalina, hokey stuff. In our shop guys came in and could design their own trunks. Mom had all these bolts of material, she took measurements, they saw the color they wanted and then she would make the suit.’ ‘Surfers want proper fit’above all comfort is a must!’ Roy told California Apparel News in 1964. ‘There must be plenty of room in the crotch and athletic supporters are out. Waistbands must be flexible’never elastic’our laced front suit (eyelets with shoestring-type laces) is the most popular as it can be expanded or pulled in to meet a growing youth’s waistline.’ In 1956, the Colburns expanded the sportswear business and opened their own store, where Canyon Beachwear exists today. ‘They were really one of the first modern swimwear makers, on the ground floor of the surf-wear industry’the California beach lifestyle. They were at that particular place, at that particular time,’ said Tom, noting that other surf brands indigenous to Southern California, like Hang Ten, weren’t established until around 1962. ‘Located at 106 Entrada, right off Pacific Coast Highway and State Beach, Roy’s stress FIT first, and INDIVIDUAL fashion second,’ said the October 2, 1964 edition of ‘California Apparel News.’ ‘The store is patronized by thousands of surfers and pseudo surfers alike who wish to be known as mythical, golden demi-gods of the blue Pacific. This is 35 percent accomplished by wearing an individual, custom-made suit with the ‘Roy’s Customs’ trademark. The other 65 percent is done on a board in the water’which is the final test.’ By 1964, Roy was making 1,000 pairs of custom-made swim trunks a year. A lot of the trunks were for local guys, who would have their measurements taken, and choose their trunk cut and style, but would choose a pattern based on what their other surf buddies were wearing. ‘They’d all come in and order their stuff so they looked like a club,’ Tom said. Still, some surfers, like the legendary Mickey Munoz, a pioneer of modern surfing who played Sandra Dee’s surfing stunt double in ‘Gidget,’ opted for trunks that were totally original. However, the most notorious pair of customs, Tom recalled, were for the King himself, Elvis Presley. ‘Mom made trunks for Elvis for the movie ‘Blue Hawaii. Somebody from the studio came down with his measurements,’ Tom said. ‘Total secrecy. He said they needed six pairs perfectly engineered and they picked out the pattern. She worked really hard to get them right but by the time they made the movie, Elvis had gained weight and never wore them.’ Eventually, in the late 1970s, after 30 years in business, the Colburns retired to a vineyard in Northern California. Roy’s became Patrick’s Roadhouse and Roy’s customs gave way to new brands like Quiksilver, Body Glove, Billabong and other more modern surf labels, that target a youth market. In 2002 though, nearly 25 years after the last pair of Roy’s custom swim trunks were created, Tom came across a dusty old scrapbook when his parents sold their vineyard. Filled with pictures of the Entrada Motel, State Beach and Roy’s diner, the scrapbook sparked an idea. Tom believed that there were other guys out there like him, who had grown up in Southern California, surfing and hanging out on local beaches, but were perhaps not quite young enough to wear the brightly colored, long shorts and other more outrageous surf-wear that kids and teenagers were wearing. It was time for Roy’s to make a comeback, this time for an older set. Tom turned to good friend Corb Donahue,who grew up in Rustic Canyon and spent most of his time on State Beach or at Roy’s, and the two re-launched Roy’s Custom Sportswear, using Roy’s original label (a caba’a inspired, Tom believes, by the caba’as at the Bel-Air Bay Club). They created shorter shorts with zipper flies made of strong, lightweight cotton with clean lines, in classic colors like navy, red, light blue and khaki. They also offer hooded sweatshirts with Roy’s logo on the front, and black and white photographs of the California coastline in the silk lining, as well as shirts, jackets and other sportswear for in and out of the water. The line is available online at www.royscabana.com and at BOCA Man on Antioch, among other places. ‘A lot of guys who like the lifestyle, don’t want to give it up,’ Tom said. ‘It hit a nerve, really started to take off.’
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