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

Surf culture philanthropist from Newport Beach, California; cofounder of the Surfing Heritage Foundation. Croul was born (1955), raised in Newport Beach. Jack Croul, Spencer's father, a teenaged World War II B-17 navigator who earned a Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross, married into the Behr Paint family and eventually became chairman of the company. Jack also collected vintage cars and WWII fighter planes; the 

 described his collection as "a living tribute to the Golden Age of racing." Janet Behr, Spencer's mother, was an artist whose shows were reviewed in the 

Spencer Croul began surfing at age 16, at Newport, and later worked in the family business. He started collecting surfboards and surf memorabilia in 1996, after attending the Newport's first surf-themed auction. "I have always been fascinated by surfboards," Croul later said, "which I always considered art objects. I was also intrigued by what the boards tell us of the history and the evolution of the sport.”

Croul would go on to collect surfing-related art, focusing on Rick Griffin, John Severson, Bill Ogden, and John Van Hamersveld. 

In 2002, Croul teamed up with former Hobie Surfboard retailer and fellow board collector Dick Metz to found the Surfing Heritage Foundation (later renamed Surfing Heritage and Culture Center), a nonprofit archive and surfboard museum. Both men donated their collections to the project; Croul also purchased and donated SHACC's original building, in San Clemente. From 2020 to 2025, Croul served as co-chairman of the SHACC board of directors. 

Croul Publications, which Croul owns and runs, has produced a handful of essential biographies on pioneering American surfers, starting with Tom Blake, and moving on to Dale Velzy, Hobie Alter, and Peanuts Larson. 

Croul remains active in surf culture preservation while maintaining and exhibiting his father’s collections of cars and planes.

Croul, Spencer

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

The Sunday Joint

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

The Sunday Joint