[5][6] At age 19, Clark worked for Tom Blake, a legendary figure who invented the surfboard fin.
[10] Hobie Alter soon set up a separate operation in Laguna Canyon experimenting with polyurethane surfboard blanks as an alternative to balsa wood.
[9] Clark introduced a number of innovations in the production of surfboard blanks, including the use of steel reinforced cement molds, hydraulic glue presses, hot coating, and the use of computers in the manufacturing process.
[11] Clark's catalogue eventually offered customers more than 70 shapes of blanks, in 8 densities, incorporating 4 different woods for stringers.
In a seven-page fax, Clark cited several issues pending with the EPA as his reason for shutting down, although no known action was under way against him.
[12][13] The abrupt closing of Clark Foam sent shockwaves through the industry and left surfboard shapers scrambling for new suppliers.