Mike Hynson is best remembered for his starring turn in Endless Summer, as the regularfooter with the self-satisfied grin, the glossy slicked-back blond hair, and the casual but flawless surf-forward wardrobe. The level of style that Hynson brought to Endless Summer was not a one-off. He would never again reach the kind of popularity he had during the mid-1960s, but that finely-tuned instinct for ...
Warren Bolster's profile on Alec Cooke, better known as Ace Cool, ran in the Winter 1992 issue of Surfer's Journal. This version has been slightly edited. * * * It was sometime in early 1983 when I first met Alec Cooke. I’d been living above Cafe Haleiwa, and Alec owned the surf shop next door. He was part of radio personality “Surfer Joe” Teipel’s surf report team that included, among others...
Matt Warshaw's profile on Christian Fletcher ran in the April 1990 issue of SURFER. This version has been slightly edited. * * * What’s important to you? Having fun. Having fun every day. Those guys on the World Tour don’t have fun. I know that for a fact. I did it in ’87—it was hell. You spend 60 hours traveling from one place to another, live out of a duffel bag and never get to eat home-c...
This letter ran in the April 1990 issue SURFER. It was written by world tour pro Jeff Booth, and cosigned by over two-dozen other CT pros. The "guy who spent his summer at Trestles," as mentioned by Booth, below, is Christian Fletcher. * * * As editors of one of the most prestigious surfing magazines in the world, we ask for your help and support. Today it seems your magazine is running on a ...
This unattributed article ran in the January 8, 1974, edition of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, just one month after big-wave surfer Jim Neece told the Star-Bulletin that his plan to ride a monster wave at Kaena Point, for a $12,500 payday, was a virtual certainty. * * * Jim “Wildman” Neece, the North Shore surfer who announced he was planning to ride a 40-foot Kaena Point wave, left for Los ...
Ken Kobayashi's article ran in the December 9, 1973, edition of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. This version has been slightly edited. * * * A 21-year-old surfer plans to become the first person to ride the monster winter waves at Kaena Point next month, and get paid for it. Jim Neece, also known as “Wildman” in surfing circles, has signed a contract with a California film company to ride a wave ...
Malcolm Gault-Williams' feature on Gene "Tarzan" Smith ran in the Spring 2004 issue of the Surfer's Journal. This version has been slightly edited. * * * He was one of the great ocean paddlers of all time—some say the greatest. An early California surfer, he was also a lifeguard, Waikiki haole beachboy, fighter, and—later—a Honolulu cop. He’s credited with helping rediscover the North Shore o...
This article ran on the front page of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on October 17, 1940. * * * Gene Smith, husky Oahu surfboard champion, arrived at Nawiliwili bay at 9:55 last night after making the first Oahu-Kauai surfboard trip in history. His time in the water was 30 hours, during which he covered nearly 100 miles. He struck a west wind in the channel midway between Oahu and Kauai and was f...
"Tarzan at Waikiki," by Dorian Paskowitz, ran in the Summer 1993 issue of Surfer's Journal. This version has been slightly edited. * * * Since 1935, San Onofre surfing beach has been the meeting place for surfers up and down the California coast—from Tijuana Sloughs to Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz. Friday and Saturday nights were always gay ’ole times, with Hawaiian guitar, Tahitian dances and...
This unattributed article ran in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on June 8, 1944. The version below has been slightly edited. * * * On October 14, 1940, at 3:45 PM, Gene (Tarzan) Smith left the beach at Kaena Point, Oahu, territory of Hawaii, paddled thru the rough surf and pointed the nose of his surfboard toward the island of Kauai, his destination, 90 miles away. The channel is considered one...