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Baby-faced surfer from Cocoa Beach, Florida; winner of the 1966 East Coast Surfing Championships; the first international-caliber surfer from the Eastern Seaboard, and the top-paid pro of his generation. "Gary was a hotdogger in every sense of the word," fellow Floridian pro Mike Tabeling said of Propper. "He was flamboyant and cocky, had the muscle tone of a jaguar, and there was nothing he couldn't do on a board."

Born in the Bronx in 1946, Gary Kapinski was adopted by Irving Propper, a judge, and his wife. The family moved to Miami, then Cocoa Beach, at which time the 13-year-old Propper began surfing. Five years later, the fast-talking regularfooter won the juniors division of the 1964 East Coast Surfing Championships. He went on to become, as 

 magazine put it, "the East Coast's hotdog ambassador to the world."

Propper's range was limited (at the '66 Duke contest, held in 15-foot surf at Sunset Beach, he stroked out for his heat but returned to the beach without catching a wave), but from the mid-'60s to the early '70s, he was omnipresent on the surf scene, partly as a successful competitor—in the finals of the 1966 East Coast Championships he beat West Coast stars Dewey Weber and Tom Leonardo; he also competed in World Championships in 1966, 1968, and 1970—but also as a surf products promoter. The Gary Propper model surfboard, made by Hobie Surfboards and introduced in 1966, went on to become the world's best-selling signature model, with virtually all sales made between Florida and Maine. It was estimated that of the 6,000 surfboards Hobie made in 1967, nearly half were Propper models. He later claimed that his 1967 board royalties, added to the money he earned as a salesman for Katin surf trunks and O'Neill wetsuits, amounted to almost $100,000 for the year. "I put down 'Professional Surfer-Athlete' on my '64 tax returns," Propper said in 1996. "It was the coolest." He rarely appeared in '60s-era surf movies, Propper added, because he demanded appearance fees from filmmakers, most of whom refused.

Propper also earned a reputation as one of the sport's most volatile figures. "You never knew what he was going to do next, in or out of the water," longtime Florida surfboard builder Dick Catri later recalled. "I saw him throw a trophy into the bushes because it was only for 2nd place. Another time, again when he got second, he just turned around right there at the presentation ceremony and give it to some girl he'd never met."

Propper became an entertainment promoter in the early '70s, mentored by legendary San Francisco rock impresario Bill Graham, and was soon booking little-known bands like Devo, Blondie, and The Police into Florida clubs and halls. Later, as a manager, he represented comedians Gallagher and Carrot Top. Propper made a small fortune in the early '90s after securing the film rights to the 

Propper was the top East Coast vote-getter in 

 magazine's 1967 Hall of Fame Awards, and was inducted into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame in 1996.

Propper died in his sleep in 2019, at age 72.

Propper, Gary

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