R.I.P. Mickey McCarthy Outer Banks rocked by the loss of legendary local Renaissance man By Matt Pruett

Published: December 23, 2016

December 23, 2016 Views: 3,426







R.I.P. Mickey McCarthy Outer Banks rocked by the loss of legendary local Renaissance man.





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Related The 2M Philosophy: "Treat others like you want to be treated, try not to be too serious and just flow with it — I know it’s kind of hippie, but that’s what’s gotten me through all these years."

Photo: Chris Bickford

"My favorite things about the Outer Banks are the waves and the camaraderie," Mickey told Surfline before he passed. "A lot of surfers come and go, but the core local guys who stick it out know it’s not easy to live here, and they’re part of something special." Photo: Mickey McCarthy

"Experimentation is what I'm known for," 2M told Surfline. "My ‘Goo Goo Muck,’ a wide-nosed funboard for our summer waves, was really popular, and I made some crazy boards over the years: hoop fins, weird channels, ping-pong ball dimples… I’ve been a builder of some type or another my whole life, from houses to surfboards to my own water housings." Photo: Dugan/ESM

George Greenough, a shaper/lensman/mad tinkerer who embraced experimentation, was always one of Mickey's chief influences. Another was Mike Moir, whose unique pier angles drove Mickey to producing some of the most captivating action shots in OBX history. Photo: Mickey McCarthy



Whenever asked about his countless contributions to surfing over the past 40 years, Mickey "2M" McCarthy would always downplay it.



Born in Norfolk, VA, Mickey Calhoon McCarthy started surfing in 1966 and regularly burned up Highway 158 heading towards the Outer Banks' tubular treasures an hour-and-a-half away. In the mid '70s, Mickey moved into a trailer in Buxton, NC, and was instantly drawn to the surfboard revolution happening down the street at Natural Art, where Floridian fixtures Greg Loehr, Pete Dooley and Scott Busbey provided artistic and scientific inspiration. Mickey started goofing around with his Sun Surfboards label before Wave Riding Vehicles offered him a job back in Virginia Beach.



Down in Nags Head, the acid-smear “Surfboards by Don” sign was gathering dust when Mickey began doing some soul-searching with his wife Betsy in 1980. He found all the soul he needed here, plus a legitimate saltwater canvas on which to take advantage of the most exciting and rapidly changing time in surfboard design history. The relocation was immediate and permanent. Like most budding boardbuilders, Mickey did plenty to sustain himself while waiting for business to pick up: carpentry, landscaping, wallpapering… but as the local population grew, so did the surfboard business.



Profoundly influenced by Busbey and friends, Mickey sought to do the same in town with partner Mike Hamil — a VB-by way of-Florida-by way of-England innovator who was known for his Catri-inspired stinger pintails. In 1980, the duo bought Don’s old shop, ideally located right across the street from the iconic Nags Head Pier, re-naming it New Sun Surfboards. “We didn’t have a lot of talent to pull from,” said Mickey. “So we had to train our own. I had three apprentices. But over the years, everyone went his own way.”



Meanwhile, Whalebone Surf Shop owner Jim “Biggie” Vaughn tapped his wealth of contacts to acquire better equipment to properly complement Outer Banks surf. “I can remember going to the early Kissimmee tradeshows,” remembers Biggie, “trying to transmit to shapers like Rusty, Pang, Minami and other Californian and Hawaiian companies that it wasn’t flat-water surfing here; it was hollow, powerful, and we needed more rocker and gunnier equipment. They’d pat me on the head and pander to me, ‘Oh yeah, brah, we know you got waves.’ Then Mickey shot some photos from Kitty Hawk Pier in 1982 and Surfer Magazine had a virtual feast on them. Then it was, ‘Ho, where dis, brah? No, you need waaaay different boards!’ Mickey’s photography brought light to what we had here.”



His father an amateur photographer, Mickey naturally fostered an interest prior to picking up a camera. It wasn’t until he started riding waves and shaping boards, however, that shooting became a primary motivation beyond tinkering. “I seriously started shooting surfing to see how my boards looked in the water,” Mickey admitted. “In ‘79, I got one shot published in Surfer Magazine of a wave off Duck Research Pier — an ancient picture of a big ol’ barrel. That was a great feeling, because I really didn’t have the equipment to compete with the big guys. Then photographers like Dick Meseroll gave me a lot of great professional hints. I sent photos to Tom Dugan, who had this mag called South Swell and there was this little mag in VB called Shred that used some shots, but I wasn’t pursuing it all that strong. Then ESM started in 1991 and they used my shots from the start. From that point on it was fairly steady.”



Mickey’s photography and boardbuilding each took on lives of their own. His crafting evolved into Sun’s offspring company, New Sun Surfboards, which he ran for more than 17 years. Between that, odd jobs, and shooting the island’s better swells, Mickey was able to carve out a relatively comfortable existence for him and his wife Betsy. He soon learned how to play the light and angles of his beloved OB hollows, and while he was far from a major blip on the international media radar, he felt a purpose nonetheless to document what was going on at his beach. “We’ve always had the waves here, but nobody really covered it,” Mickey said. “I remember seeing some of my pictures and thinking it looked as good as anywhere. I mean, the waves would be so good that anybody could’ve taken those pictures. But no one really was. The surf scene around here has always had a lot of depth to it. The older guys my age were the first ones to turn it into a lifestyle.”



And as pros-in-breeding Jesse Hines, Billy Hume and Matt Beacham followed local vanguard Noah Snyder’s wake in the 1990s, followed by fresh force Brett Barley, other photographers made their presence known on the Outer Banks. Californians and Hawaiians began visiting regularly while other locals stepped in to cover the action from their respective angles. Mickey couldn’t be happier about the increased attention for his longtime subjects. “Even in the off-season, Mickey is Santa Claus in disguise,” former Surfing Magazine Staff Photographer DJ Struntz told ESM back in 2003. “He’s honestly the jolliest person I’ve ever met. Most photographers are weird about working around other shooters. But Mickey’s always so genuinely happy to be around you. He gives back so much to his community, too, whether it’s submitting photos to the local newspaper, giving stuff to the mags, or doing slideshows in his basement. He’s truly one of a kind.”



Besides, more shooters on the OBX just gave Mickey more reason to chase another crew. Find a different angle, from the pier perhaps. Meanwhile, he’d also manage to cover a grom contest or a local fundraiser, or give a surf report on the radio or for Surfline, or shoot video of the local dogs from a Greenough-inspired water housing he built himself... Or maybe just kick back with his wife Betsy at their Colington home and take pictures of the sunset.



“2M was a hardcore lifer cranking out amazing photos from the Outer Banks for nearly 40 years,” testified Dick Meseroll, Co-owner/Photo Editor Emeritus of Eastern Surf Magazine, in a plea to get Mickey into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame. “No other ACTIVE photographer has been doing it longer, or with more commitment. The guy made his own freakin’ water housings for Christmas sake! It’s hard to quantify just how much good he’s done or how many lives he’s touched, especially through his photos, not to mention the whole boardbuilding side of his resume. I don’t know a lot of things, but I do know East Coast surf photographers, and what Mickey has done for one of the true surfing Meccas of the surfing world, and the crown jewel of our coast, is unparalleled.”



Surfline sends our most heartfelt condolences out to everyone who knew and loved this wonderful man. Feel free to post remembrances below.



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But the fact remains: Mickey McCarthy has done more than any other person to nail North Carolina's Outer Banks onto the grand compass of surf culture. He is, quite simply, the single most integral figure in the history of Dare County surfing. He died today from complications stemming from a heart attack he suffered earlier this week. He leaves behind a loving wife, Betsy, and legions of close friends and extended surfing family.