FORT
Name: Bruce “Spunky” Strunk
Age: 56
Family: Wife, Melody; five children.
What most people don’t know
about me: “I cried at the movie
‘The Notebook.’ “
What inspires me: “My wife and kids.”
Proudest achievement: “Putting the Fort Pierce
Inlet State Park into the hands of the public. It
was going to go to a private developer. I was part
of a grassroots effort. We were able to get 10,000
signatures and it was passed by referendum in
St. Lucie County.”
PIERCE
FORT PIERCE FOLKS
Good times
begin at Roy’’s!
69
Visit our Boozgeois Saloon!
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(772) 461-3097 | Fax (772) 461-3587
720 South US 1 | Fort Pierce, FL 34950
e-mail keith@winokeith.com
systems. It took me two-and-a-half
years to pay everyone back. They
must have backed up a box truck
because they literally took everything
but the kitchen sink. That’s when we
decided to move to Hawaii.”
When they moved to Hawaii, the
couple wanted to live there permanently.
“It was inhospitable,” Strunk said.
“The mokes locals didn’t like the
haoles whites. We had every intention
of staying. But we finally sold our
Blazer for $3,000 and came back.”
For the last 15 years, Strunk’s surf
shop was on U.S 1 near the South
Bridge but he recently moved to a store
less than a mile north at 1403 N. U.S. 1.
The Strunks have five children,
two who used to surf and two who
still surf. “I have a heart for the
youth of this community,” he said.
“We’ve been working on getting a
skatepark for eight years. Last year it
became a reality. It’s half finished.
We’re hoping for June 1.”
Strunk hasn’t been all about surfing.
He was a firefighter/EMT for 11
years in St. Lucie County and
coached baseball locally for 16 years.
As one of the senior surfers in the
line-up, Strunk often finds himself in
the role of mentor and peacemaker.
“It’s dealing with antisocial attitudes,”
he said. “Surfing etiquette hasn’t been
passed down. These young guys are a
little self-absorbed. I find myself having
to police things. Tell guys to take it
down a notch. People come here from South Florida and the
west coast. It’s instant mania, but you have to respect the
locals. It’s not about the biggest barrel or who busted the
biggest air. It’s about the memories.”
A review on the Internet of Spunky’s Surf Shop seems to
sum him up. “The way back machine: I bought my first
board from Spunky in 1972 at another store he had. I think
he let me pay him $10 a week, if memory serves me. He’s the
real deal. He was the surfer at the Last Supper.”
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