About

Surf Museum Hawaii (SMH) was established to honor the fact that the culture, lifestyle, and sport of surfing was born in the Hawaii Islands, namely on the South Shore of Oahu in Waikiki Beach. Our permanent exhibit will take visitors on a journey from the earliest recorded history of wave riding in Polynesia through to Hawaii’s undeniable influence on global surf culture of today. Meanwhile, we will bring in quarterly exhibits to showcase the arts, culture, lifestyle, and history of the Sports of Kings (and Queens).

Our team is growing at the moment, but check back often as we add team bios in the months ahead.

Board of Directors (Meet the Team)

Jonathan Rotmensch

Co-Founder | Big Kahuna

Bio coming soon (pictured on the left)

Marcus Maraih

Co-Founder | Chief Curator

Marcus (pictured on the right) has been working in digital marketing for the Hawai'i travel industry for two decades, and in the action sports industry for more than a decade. He is SMH's resident surf historian and curator of surf history + culture artifacts. Marcus can be found surfing at Canoes in Waikiki or Chun's Reef on the North Shore, when not buried in his laptop at Hawaiian Aroma Caffe. Follow Marcus on his vintage surf-picking adventures on Instagram at @marcus_ocean

Mark Fragale

Primary Consultant | Surf Historian

Bio coming soon (pictured in the center photo on the far left with the sweet mustache)

Greg Lui Kwan

Consultant | Renowned Collector & Surf Historian

Greg Lui-Kwan has been a surfing history and surfboard design enthusiast since 1964. His focus has been on the evolution of surfboard design from ancient times in Hawaii to the Hawaii short board revolution of the late 1960s and early 1970s. His Hawaii-based collection consists of over 120 surfboards which have been featured in youtube videos, and books and magazines on collectible surfboards and surfing lifestyle since the mid- 1990s. For over 10 years, he has been a mentor and board member of Surfrider Spirit Sessions, a non-profit organization that mentors at-risk and disadvantaged youth in a surfing-based program in Waikiki. Since 2019, he has been the chief organizer for the Landshark Invitational Surf Meet which is an annual event for lawyers, law professors, law students and their families.

Randy Rarick

Consultant | Restoration and Valuation Expert

Randy Rarick (pictured in the middle with the red t-shirt) is the world’s foremost vintage surfboard restoration and valuation expert. SMH is honored to lean on Randy’s expertise in appraising and restoring surf-craft that are curated by SMH.