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Although Sato Hughes was never a surfer, she wound up making such a big impact on the surf world that her contribution can’t really be overstated. On Sunday, the Seal Beach resident will be honored by the community with a pier walk on the Seal Beach Pier. It will be a tribute like the traditional paddle outs held in honor of surfers.
In the ‘60s Kanvas by Katin, then a manufacturer of canvas boat accessories, was transitioning into the famous surf wear company it has now become. The small shop in Sunset Beach needed a seamstress to make surf trunks and the owners, Walter and Nancy Katin found Sato working in a local dry cleaners. Traditional swim trunks did not hold up well to saltwater use, so surfers needed something more durable. According to a story in the Orange County Register, it was local surfer Corky Carroll who went to a canvas company and asked if they could make a pair of trunks out of the tougher canvas material used for boat covers and other things.
After some trial and error, they found a canvas material strong enough to last, but light enough to be wearable. Now they needed to produce them. Enter Sato.
Her skills as a seamstress allowed her to make up to 20 pairs of trunks, often custom ordered, per day. Before long, the shop and Sato, were known throughout the surfing community. Professional surfers from around the world would visit the shop when they were in town to order the famous board shorts. Over the decades, it is estimated that Sato made more than 300,000 pairs of trunks.
Sato was born in Kawasaki, Japan on May 22, 1928. In her late 20s, she met and married an American soldier and they had a son, Glenn. When Glenn was about two years old, Sato and Glenn were offered a chance to move to America and stay with a colonel and his family. She accepted the offer and she and Glenn relocated to Seal Beach.
Her first marriage eventually ended, but Sato would find love again with a Seal Beach man named Forrest. Sato and Glenn also became part of the Walter and Nancy Katin’s family. Walter passed in 1967, but Nancy and Sato continued to run the shop until Nancy’s death in 1986.
At that point, Sato learned that Nancy had left the business to her. It was then that Glenn took over the operations of the business and Sato continued to make trunks. Eventually Glenn bought Sato out, though she continued to work at the sewing machine. It wasn’t until the pandemic that she finally retired, at the age of 91.
“She was an immigrant who worked hard, contributed to her community, provided for herself and her son and passed on a great legacy for her to be remembered,” Kim Hughes said.
Sato never left Seal Beach, first moving herself and Glenn into a small apartment on Electric Avenue and later purchasing a home on Coastline Drive. Glenn would marry Kim (who now runs Kanvas by Katin with him) and the couple had a son, Marshall, who would become Sato’s greatest pride and joy. Marshall is now 24, and serving in the Marine Corp.
Sato spent her final years enjoying Seal Beach and marveling at the little town she ended up calling home for so long. She enjoyed daily walks on the pier, always stopping to pet ‘Slick the Seal,’ on her way out. Sato passed on September 28, at the age of 96. On Sunday, at 10 a.m., the community will gather for a pier walk, a different take on the paddle out tribute, but fitting for her contribution to the surf community.
“She lived a full life of travel, adventure, hard work and truly lived out the American dream,” Kim Hughes said.
