Kaopuiki, Joseph "Scooter Boy" (1911 – 1985)

Kinetic high-performance surfer from Honolulu, Hawaii; sometimes thought of as the original hot-dogger. "For sheer skill and athletic talent, the guy was fabulous," big-wave pioneer Wally Froiseth recalled. "He did whatever he felt like doing, whenever he felt like doing it."

Joseph Kaopuiki was born (1911) in Halawa Valley, Molokai, moved with his family to Honolulu at age six, and two years later began surfing at Waikiki. After being expelled from Kamehameha School for Boys, Kaopuiki devot...