A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Alexandre, João (Dapin)

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Can-do surfer and competition organizer from Honolulu, by way of Long Beach; founder of the Waikiki Surf Club, as well as the Makaha International Surfing Championships.

Lind was born (1913) in Berkeley, California, the son of a shipwright, and moved with his family to Long Beach before the decade was out. John and younger brother Tom were both swimmers and lifeguards; Long Beach at the time was a hot spot for California surfing, and Lind began surfing as a young teen.

Not long after graduating high school in 1933, Lind, a solidly-built six-footer founded the Long Beach Surf Club. Over the next few years, LBSC was among the dominant groups of its kind. In 1938, Lind and the club, in conjunction with the local Junior Chamber of Commerce, organized the first National Surfing and Paddleboard Championships, held in Long Beach. A little over a year later, after accepting a job in Hawaii with a hotel supply company, Lind packed up a chest full of clothes and two boards, drove his new Dodge Club Coupe convertible onto the 

, and sailed for Honolulu. He was 25. Within a few months of arrival, Lind not only organized the Hawaiian Surfing Association but saw to it that the new group's debut was covered by the local press. Lind himself served as president, club meetings were held at City Hall, and HSA-sponsored surfing and paddling events were held regularly.

The Waikiki Surf Club, formed by Lind in March of 1948 and housed in the beachfront basement-level floor of the Waikiki Tavern, while more of a social group, was equally popular. In early 1949, as noted in the 

, "the new beach club has been growing in leaps and bounds," and that the group had just hit the 400-member mark. Club members included Wally Froiseth, Rabbit Kekai, George Downing, and Walter Hoffman. Lind served as the WSC president for 11 years.

In 1950, Lind founded and became president of the Hawaii Canoe Racing Association; two years later the group organized the debut 38-mile Molokai-to-Oahu canoe race; as of 2020, the event was still taking place annually.

The idea for the Makaha International Surfing Championships was conceived by Lind just prior to a meeting with the Waianae Lions Club, on Oahu's West Side. The Lions and Waikiki Surf Club together hosted the debut Makaha event in 1953, with Lind serving as meet director. The Makaha contest ran until 1970, and Lind was involved all the way through.

Lind founded the Honolulu Restaurant Supply Company in 1959, which he ran until his retirement in 1998.

Lind died in 2010, in Honolulu, at age 96.

Lind, John

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Features

The Sunday Joint

Videos

Contests