On March 4th, as the surfers paddled out to celebrate local warrior Lyon Herron who lost his decades-long battle with cancer shortly before Christmas. Just as the community was embarking on the healing, the community was forced to grapple yet another tremendous loss, Malibu legend Matt Rapf who sustained a heart attack in the ocean wading his way through the waves to pay tribute to his friend.
Rapf, a lifelong Malibuite who grew up in the Malibu Colony, touched many lives throughout the decades as a respected husband to Jill, father to Chloe and Luke, friend, mentor and realtor.
“Matt Rapf is the beloved son of Malibu. I don’t think there’s another person in our town who exemplifies all that is so precious about living in and loving this ocean hamlet. We’ll never forget Matt’s quote that will live on forever ‘Don’t change Malibu, let Malibu change you’. Matt was the very heart of Malibu.” -Jae Flora-Katz
His life was celebrated Saturday, April 13th at Surfrider Beach.
Photos by Jean-Pierre Provo.
The Malibu community came together to celebrate local legend Matt Rapf on April 13th, at Surfrider Beach.
Editor in Chief Cece Woods considers herself the “accidental activist”.
Having spent most her childhood on sands of Zuma Beach, Cece left Southern California in her early 20’s, but it was only a matter of time before she returned to the idyllic place that held so many wonderful memories from her youth.
In 2006, she made the journey back to Malibu permanently, the passion to preserve it was ignited.
In 2012, Cece became involved in local environmental and political activism at the urging of former husband Steve Woods, a resident for more than 4o years. Together, they were involved in many high-profile environmental battles including the Malibu Lagoon Restoration Project, Measure R, Measure W, and more.
Cece founded influential print and online media publications, 90265 Magazine in 2013 highlighting the authentic Malibu lifestyle, and The Local Malibu, an online news media site with a strategic focus on environmental and political activism.
In the summer of 2018, Cece broke multiple global stories including the law enforcement cover-up in the Malibu Creek State Park Shootings, and is considered by major news media as a trusted authority on Malibu.
