Remembering Dick Baker, Part I

"Dick was always their for me. When ever I would call he would answer. Whenever I needed some advice he was there. When ever I needed a new perspective he was there. Whenever I just needed a friend he was there. Now he can't be reached and I am sad to not have my friend there."

Adel Kamil, Fyasko

"I talked to Dick Baker at the trade shows or running into him around town for over a decade.

"He always had the nicest words of encouragement, acknowledgement, making everyone feel important, even 'the little guys.'

"I will surely miss the kindness and enthusiasm he exulted. He epitomizes that descent human kindness we all look for.

"Rest in peace Mr. Baker and thank you for being a friend to us all!

Updated with new posts below, Wednesday, 2 p.m.

Josh Hansen, Hansen's Surfboards

"I did not know Dick well, but the time I did get to spend with him made it very clear to me that he cared so much for the industry we all love to work in. He always created a comfortable environment for the tough topics in our industry that needed to be discussed. Dick always wanted my thoughts on certain subjects and made me feel like my ideas on a subject were important. We have lost a great industry leader and from the crew at Hansen's, our thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family."

Jimmy Olsson, former Rip Curl CEO

"Dick was an amazing mentor and friend. When I arrived at Rip Curl, Dick was the first to welcome me and immediately started coaching me on how to navigate the surf industry. I spent two years with him on the SIMA board and learned a great deal from him. He was an incredible man with a heart of gold. We should all aspire to be the man that he was to his family, his friends and his profession. He will be missed."

Kathy Hoffman, former international licensing director, Op

"Working at Op when Dick arrived on the scene was truly an experience. Once he got over the shock of what he had committed to taking on, he developed a drive and hunger to learn everything about the industry. He learned more in his early years than most of us after a lifetime in the business.

"It didn't take him long to give up the hard sole shoes for flip flops. Working with him definitely had its challenging moments but overall, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. He was a teacher, always pushing those around him to do better, look beyond. He was a friend, recently calling to talk dogs and check on the health of my husband, while downplaying his own situation. But to me, one of the most inspiring things about Dick was his pride in and love for Una, Ryan and Jack, no matter where or what he was doing, they were in the forefront of everything he did. Gramps, you will be greatly missed by all of those people whose lives you touched."

Jason Runes, former OP / Seven2 designer

"I met Dick Baker while designing the OP line for Rays. He was always friendly, and always said what he thought, which could be insightful, funny or even withering, depending on how you were performing.

"Along with his vast business knowledge, he had a genuine enthusiasm for surf apparel. Once at a line review for Seven2, he said that he liked a certain shirt style, so I was pretty stoked! Later, at the ASR tradeshow, I was dismayed to find the sample had gone missing. Had it been lost? Or stolen? I was tearing up the booth trying to find it. Then in walks Dick, smiling, and wearing the shirt, which he had pulled out of the sample line the night before!!

"My condolences to his family and friends."

Dean Quinn, co-founder, O'Quinn

"Dick Baker was the very first person I sat down with to talk about this crazy idea we had to start O'Quinn. He look me in the eye and said follow your heart and don't let anybody talk you out of your dreams. He gave me some very real and honest opinions about what to look out for and what to expect in starting a new brand. To this day I think about what he suggested to do to be successful in this very small and competitive world we work in. He was a very welcoming and warm person to sit and share your dreams with and he was always very honest in his answers. I was very lucky to have the time I had with him. I will miss him and his humor. Our prayers go out to his family."

Shaun and Carla Tomson

"The President of Aloha - 

"Dick's house was always filled with people and good vibes - it was like everyone was coming to receive aloha and advice from the master - he was the surf industry guru, part Duke, part Dalai Lama, part Obi Wan - always knowing the essence of the problem or when there was an opportunity.

"Man, he was loved, and whoever met him, loved him. I never saw Dick on a board but never saw anyone who loved surfing more. He was the heartbeat of our industry and he brought the competing factions of the industry together, off the battleground and into the boardroom - he was our president of aloha and we will miss him dearly.

"All his mates from the apparel business couldn't believe that an outsider could become the ultimate insider. He had a beautiful surfing wife in Una, his sons Ryan and Jack were great boys, and a wonderful pad on the edge of the Pacific - 7th Avenue was a world away and all his old apparel pals were envious about his escape to a life of the endless summer.

"We first met Dick and Una at a barbecue when he first joined OP back in 1997. At the time he had inherited a brand that was a dead duck. I left that night thinking that he had an impossible task ahead of him but in his true elegant and inspired fashion he turned it all around, made it viable again and along the way became the most loved man in the surfing industry.

"This last Saturday I spoke to him about it and he said, "I had a strategy and I never wavered." And that sums Dick up - he never wavered - in business, in life and in ill health. I never heard him complain or bemoan his fate and never be anything else other than positive and inspiring.

"He changed all of our lives in so many ways. We will miss you deeply, our dear friend."

Candy Harris, brand director, Billabong Girls and Tigerlily

"Words could not do justice in describing Dick Baker. He was, and still is, one of my greatest mentors in life. I am sure the role he played in my life could be echoed by many others as that was his gift. He had a way of making everyone feel special. He had an ability to inspire self confidence in young people and has truly set the bar in showing by example what it means to be a great leader.

"I met Dick 13 years ago and was blessed to have him as a friend and mentor ever since. He showed a faith in me when I was just 22 and worked for an agency where OP was our client. I had heard he was tough and direct and I was nervous preparing for our first meeting. But from the instant I met him, Dick was the most gracious, generous human being I ever met. Over the past decade, Dick has weaved his magical advice throughout my life as he has done for so many others in my same position. He has been a father figure for our industry and it goes without saying that there are many of us feeling a little lost, a little empty and undoubtedly devastated that we are on our own. A true humanitarian, a devoted family man, and a mentor for so many. Dick, we should all be so successful in life to have accomplished what you did, and you will be dearly missed.

"Truly a sad day for our industry"