Beachboy-turned-tire man Brodie marks 97th birthday

One of Hawaii’s greatest entrepreneurs turned 97 this week. Born Alexander Brodie in Kekaha, Kauai, in 1914, Lex and his family moved to Honolulu when he was 11. He took to surfing, and his parents signed him up for the Outrigger Canoe Club, then between the Moana and Royal Hawaiian, for $25 a year, he recalls.

Lex was class president of the first graduating class at Roosevelt High School, but he spent his spare time at the beach. He soon became a Waikiki beachboy.

"My first business was with Sam Kahanamoku," Lex recalls. "We gave canoe rides to tourists, including Bing Crosby, Jeanette McDonald and Shirley Temple."

"Sam did most of the selling. He’d offer tourists in front of the Royal Hawaiian and Moana hotels three canoe rides for a dollar. I’d take them out. If one was a good-looking young lady, I’d put her next to me in the canoe. We’d make conversation, and often I’d be invited to dinner. After dinner her parents would retire and we’d dance until midnight," Brodie recalls. "She’d sign the chits. I did this for three years from 1933 to 1935 and had a ball."

In 1935 Shirley Temple came to Hawaii. She was just 7 years old but was the top American actress at the time. The beachboys made her an honorary surfing captain. Standing directly behind her in the photo is Sam Kahanamoku and, to his right, a tall Lex Brodie. You can see a video of it on YouTube.

Lex Brodie sold his tire business in 1990, stepped down from the school board a few years later and retired to Kauai. He was still surfing until age 90. Happy 97th, Lex!

Bob Sigall, author of "The Companies We Keep" books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.