Shell Yeah! Local Crowned Conch King in Key West ‘Conch Honk’

By Kami-Leigh Agard

This past Saturday, March 7, Breezy Point’s Bob Hauck puckered up and blew the competition away at Key West, Florida’s 3rd Annual “Conch Honk.” Not an easy feat as Hauck traveled more than 1,400 miles from Breezy to the epicenter of ‘conch-petition’ to show Key West locals who’s boss when it comes to conch blowing. And at a little over 20 seconds, Hauck a.k.a. “The Local Shaman,” crushed it with lung power that earned him a gold medal in the men’s division.

Conch blowing is so synonymous with the Florida Keys that the conch shell is on their flag. In 1982, the U.S. island-city dubbed itself as the Conch Republic when residents staged a humorous secession from the U.S. to protest a disruptive Border Patrol roadblock that caused massive traffic jams, hurting the archipelago of islands’ crucial tourism-based economy. As a satirical protest, then mayor, Dennis Wardlow, declared Key West’s independence, calling it the Conch Republic.

A Key West resident is called a conch. A “saltwater conch” is a native-born Keys resident, while a “freshwater conch” is a resident who has lived there for at least seven years. The term originated in the 1800s to describe British loyalists and white Bahamians who migrated to Key West, bringing with them a culture that heavily featured the conch as a diet staple.

The quirky annual “Conch Honk,” is hosted by the Old Island Restoration Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Key West’s architectural and cultural heritage since 1960. And while it may sound quirky, the conch holds power for Key West just like the Lone Star does for Texans.

Competitors are judged based on tone, volume, length and creativity. Hauck won the men’s divisions because of the length of time he blew the eponymous shell.

As for practice, the “Local Shaman” shared that he practices multiple times a day.

He said, “I blow the conch as frequently as possible. I have a few of them on my deck that I rotate. They have different tones or keys. The bigger ones are a deeper bass, the smaller ones are higher. When my grandkids come up to visit, they run right to the conch and start blowing.”

Hauck shared that he learned about the competition from his girlfriend who saw a post on Facebook and encouraged him to pucker up for the gold.

As for how Hauck, a commercial fisherman, sailor—an all-around sea dog—got into conch blowing, coincidentally enough, he shared that it began in 2016 when he was visiting a friend in Key Largo.

“A friend of mine had a boat down in Key Largo. I picked up a conch in a shell shop, and I just started blowing,” Hauck said.

The Calusa, the native people who inhabited the Keys centuries before European settlement, blew conch shells to signal across distances. Seafarers later adopted the practice. And some ships wouldn’t ever leave shore without a conch on board, just in case they needed to call for help.

Hauck said that once he started blowing the conch, it became a passion that he wanted to share all over Rockaway.

“I’ve done conch-blowing at Connolly’s, Rogers, Bungalow, The Rockaway Hotel, Whit’s, Fort Tilden, Poseidon’s Parade, Arverne East Nature Preserve, weddings and more.

“Connolly’s Open Mic Night was the kickoff of my conch blowing in Rockaway. Plus, I would do stand-up comedy with conch jokes. For example, I’d start with, ‘I am actually very self conch-scious.’ ‘People tell me I’ve got to come out of my shell,’ or ‘What was the name of the ape that climbed the Empire State Building? King Conch.’

“Wherever there’s a band playing that I like, I don’t just walk up and invite myself to blow the conch. These are bands who know me. For example, Squid, GrassLighters, Hell Or High Water. At Whit’s, I’d do a mindful intro: ‘Let us give thanks and thank the farmers.’ Also, when I first started conch blowing, I did it at Bungalow Bar when they were the hosting the Annual Steve Belson Memorial Ocean Swim and Music Festival,” he said.

As for how Hauck got the name, “The Local Shaman,” he said, “When I started doing open mics, it became an expression of what blowing the conch does. It casts out the bad juju in the village.

“The Hindus believe that if you pour water through the conch, it’s sanctified. I’ll go down to the beach and get some of our blessed Rockaway water in a container. I’ll make a joke about my lovely assistant, Vanna White, who is pouring water through the conch. I’ll catch it in my hands and cast a blessing as I’m throwing the water onto everybody, and blowing the conch. It’s kind of snap-your-neck WTF guerrilla theater, but blowing the conch is a sacred tradition, that I respect and hold dearly.”

As for Hauck’s love-relationship with Breezy, he shared that he’s been coming to the beach haven since he was eight years old.

“Back in the ‘60s, my mother used to rent here. At that time, there was a threat from the city that they were gonna take it over and make it like a Coney Island. They were going to flatten all the homes in Breezy Point by eminent domain with no recompense. Houses back then were going for $10K to $15K.

“I was a Montauk commercial fisherman. My wife was from Newark, but she summered at the Jersey Shore. We didn’t want to drive to the Hamptons, Montauk or the Jersey Shore. So, in 1985, we bought a house in Breezy, which we upgraded to a year-round house, that we lost during Sandy,” Hauck said.

He shared that during that transition, he lived on a sailboat for two years while his house was being repaired. And like many peninsula residents, he resolutely came back.

As for his future plans, now holding the crown as Key West’s conch-blowing king of 2026, Hauck said that like Miss America, he’s going to be an ambassador for conch blowing.

“The conch travels with me. So, I’m going to tour all over, sharing my love of blowing the conch. And I’m not just representing Key West, but my home, Rockaway. I don’t leave home without my conch,” he said.

However, Hauck—the seasoned sea dog—said he plans to sail the Caribbean.

But don’t be surprised if you see Hauck blowing his best blast locally this summer. Stay tuned!