Hanna Chu
Assistant A&E Editor
Almost everyone on campus owns a pair of Rainbow sandals, but not everyone knows the entire history of the sandals like senior Rudolph “Pat” Huber.
“My dad started making them out of his apartment and selling them in a parking lot by the beach,” Huber said.
This past summer, Huber worked about 50 hours a week at the outlet store in San Clemente, Calif. Even during the school year, he goes there every Saturday.
Back on campus, he’s a public relations major who transferred to Pepperdine from Santa Monica City College. He said one of his favorite places to be is in the library. “I like being in the library just to see the ocean,” he said.
When Huber isn’t studying or working, he plays guitar, paints, plays tennis and reads but mainly surfs. Although surfing is pretty typical for Pepperdine students, not everyone started when they were 5 years old.
“My favorite moment in surfing is still when I first stood up fast when I was 5,” Huber said.
Huber can also be found in rainbow sandals advertisements in surf magazines: He’s in the back of a truck in front of the ocean playing his guitar in his Rainbows.
What’s so great about Rainbow sandals?
Finding the good rubber was like finding the good drugs. This guy showed him like “look what I got” and the good rubber that doesn’t flatten out and put it under the sink one day and rubs it and was like, “whoa, this is good stuff.” The original ones, we can’t find the sole anymore, they don’t sell it, but the bottom sole would literally last 30 years no problem. They wouldn’t wear out from the bottoms. They’d wear out from the top before they would wear through the bottoms. Now, if you wear them everyday and you’re hard on them, you’ll get like a year. But we can’t get that rubber anymore.
Best part of working at the store?
Beautiful girls come in all the time.
Plans for the future?
Ideal job would be a rock star, but realistically, I’m going to work at Rainbow sandals. I have to develop my own niche in there hopefully. My dad wants me to take over the business, but I don’t know if I can do it yet.
Who inspires you?
My biggest hero is my dad, Jay (Sparky) Longley, because he came from nothing and endeavored. Just his outlook on everything, and he’s all about helping the people inland. He doesn’t flaunt anything that he has. The first nice thing he ever bought himself was a new Hummer, but before then he had the same car, a ’73 Mercedez, for 20 years. Even when he was making money, he never bought anything new; he just bought what he needed. Then there’s Vince Esquivel, he’s got the best backhand on the West Coast, and Jerry Lopez, the Pipe master. There’s this surfing spot in the north shore called Pipeline, and he pioneered the spot.
What kind of music do you identify with?
Funk bands, rock and roll. Red Hot Chili Peppers, their older stuff more. Alice in Chains. Nirvana – everything, really.
How do you like life at Pepperdine?
I like it more as a transfer student probably because I just want to get my studying done. If I came here from the beginning, I probably would have hated it. I probably would have gotten kicked out; I like to have my fun.
08-29-2005
