As one of San Clemente's surfing icons of the 1970s, Jeff "Midget" Smith rode liquid mountains all over the world. Life was good. Since then it has been a rollercoaster ride – 22 years ago he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and, after a two-year ordeal, he beat it.
Now, after two decades of good health, with a blip in the middle, the ride has bottomed again. Smith, 55, was diagnosed with adrenal cancer. Unable to obtain medical coverage for cancer, he has struggled with his bills but sees an upside. He is confident he will beat cancer again, and the surf community is behind him.
On Oct. 27, friends will toss a benefit party at Duke's. On Nov. 15, OC Tavern will host a benefit. And in January, a benefit surf contest is in the works at the pier to help with Smith's bills.
"He has already gone through three treatments of chemo, and his medical bills are piling up," said Sean Haggar, general manager for Hobie Surfboards and Smith's son-in-law. The Midget Smith benefits will, for some, rekindle memories of a 1985 surf industry benefit for him that drew 400 people to the Coach House.
The Sun Post News asked him about life, friends and beating cancer.
Q. I don't want to make you shy or anything, but you were San Clemente's best surfer at one point in the 1970s.
A. Actually, at that point in time, probably, because the shortboard thing had just started to happen a few years before. The old-school guys couldn't adapt to it, so it was us younger guys who came along.
Q. How far did you take it, competitively?
A. I won quite a few amateur titles here. I did turn pro. I think my best finish was equal 17th in South Africa. I had a modicum of success, not a lot.
Q. In those days you couldn't make a living off of it.
A. No, but it sure was fun.
Q. When did you switch from pro surfer to contest judge?
A. 1978-79. I got tired of complaining about the judging and figured I'll do something about it. I was head judge here in North America for 12 years. Then I moved on to do the ASP World Longboard Tour as the head judge for five years.
Q. And all the while, you were making surfboards.
A. I started in 1969. I went to work for Hobie, general cleanup, making fins. I wound up spending most of my time watching Terry Martin shape. He caught me one day peeking around the corner and dragged me in.
Q. When did you start shaping your own boards?
A. 1972. Then I opened my shop in 1978.
Q. When did cancer strike you?
A. 1985. Testicular cancer, same thing Lance Armstrong had. They went in to take it out and found three other tumors of different types of cancer. It made it a bit more involved. It took two years to get through that whole thing.
Q. And they declared you clean?
A. Yes. I wound up going to City of Hope.
Q. And you couldn't get insurance after 1985?
A. I could, but they wouldn't cover anything that was related to the cancer. So I'm pretty much out on my own at this point.
Q. How did you discover the new one?
Q. I went to France in May and didn't feel very well when I came home. I thought I just picked up a bug. I started to lose a lot of weight, about 15 pounds. I knew immediately that something was up. This one is a carcinoma. It's on the adrenal gland, which sits on top of the kidney. They say it's fairly curable. I seem to be responding really well.
A. And your medical bills?
A. Pretty astronomical. One chemotherapy cost me $15,000, and I've got to have six of those. And I was admitted to the emergency room, and that one ran $20,000, just to go to the emergency room for three days.
Q. And insurance won't cover any of it?
A. No. So far, I've paid everything ... I've ruined my business, just taking all the money out of it. You do what you have to do.
Q. But you have the surfing industry behind you. It's got to feel good.
A. Very good. It's kind of surprising how quickly everything has come together.
Q. What are your hopes for this time?
A. I have no idea what to expect.
Q. Are you surfing now.
A. No. The chemo knocks the (heck) out of your immune system, so I can't take a chance picking up an infection from the water. The last time I surfed, a couple of weeks before I went into the hospital, I had a great time surfing.
Q. Are you judging?
A. I'm not judging at this point, until I get through the disease. I've already had to turn down a couple of jobs. One was in Chile, unfortunately! But I've got to get through this first.
Q. What would you like to say to the community?
A. Come on out and have a good time! I appreciate everybody coming through like this for me.
Q. If you had to say it, what would you say is your place in San Clemente surf history?
A. I'd like to think that I've steered a couple of guys to the right path on their careers … like Dino Andino and Andy Fomenko, two guys that actually wound up having a career and making some money at it and turned out to be really nice human beings.
JEFF (MIDGET) SMITH
Born:Michigan, 1951
To San Clemente:1961, age 10
First surfboard ride:Age 13
First surf photo inSun Post:1972.
Duke's benefit:6 p.m. Oct. 27, 204 S. El Camino Real, $5 donation at door.
OC Tavern benefit:7 p.m. Nov. 15, 2369 S. El Camino Real, $10 donation at door.
To donate raffle prizes or help in any way:Call Sean Haggar at 949-525-3784 or e-mail haggar@hobie.com.
From the Orange County Register
