One of my least favorite things to write about is when a surf legend passes away; just makes me sad. It happens too often these days, and for the most part, I leave it to others to talk about.
For that same reason, I avoid funerals at all costs and am fully planning on not making it to my own.
But, in this case, I am gonna make an exception. We just lost John Peck.
The average person, and probably a large portion of the general surfing public, will not know much, if anything, about this great surfer. Unless they were around in the 1960s. John was a major name in surfing during that decade. His story is worth telling.
Peck first made a name for himself surfing backside at the “Pipeline.” He was the first guy to really surf it well, back to the wave, and developed the classic right-hand, rail-grab barrel ride that is still the standard for left foot forward surfers today at that spot.
His surfing on New Year’s Day, 1963, became lore. He was all over the magazines and movies.
I first met John that summer of 1963 when I spent a couple of months in Hawaii. He was the son of a Navy pilot, and his family moved around from base to base when he was a kid.
He started surfing in Coronado. He was a few years older than me, but we hit it off and became pals. Not long after that, the Pecks moved to a nice area right across Pacific Coast Highway from Fashion Island in Newport Beach. We hung out and surfed together quite a bit; this was the mid-1960s.
I learned a lot from watching him surf. If I had to describe his style, I would have to say it was all about precision.
He was not flashy, but everything he did was done pretty much perfectly. He was successful in the contests, a Top 10 competitor that probably could have been a Top 3 if he would have had just a tad more flair.
But that would not have been John. And if there is one thing that stands out about John Peck, it is that cat played to his very own beat and did not compromise a bit. He was his own unique person and surfer.
The Morey/Pope surfboard brand released the “John Peck Penetrator” model surfboard in 1965. It was very unique in the fact that it had totally turned down rails in the nose, almost looking like it was upside down. How could this work? But man, it did work.
The first time John let me try his board, I was amazed at how you could ride the nose on it. It was fast and efficient. Just like John’s surfing. Today, these boards are collectors’ items, although there are some who would rather ride them instead of hanging them on the wall.
Somewhere along the line, John wandered into drugs and got “cosmic.” As time went on, he eliminated drugs from his life and went deep into yoga. If you saw him, you would have figured he was one of those mystic gurus from the Himalayas or something. He had the big beard, knowing smile, the whole nine yards.
And he got back into surfing. Some called him “the surfing Dalai Lama.”
During a large chunk of his later life, John lived on Maple Street in Costa Mesa. We have mutual friends whom I always see at Dick Church’s restaurant across from the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Always got the latest on him and passed on mutual hellos.
John Peck was 81 and still surfing with that precision and efficient style that he always did. He was a fantastic surfer and a super good person. Unique would be an understatement. He leaves a mark in a very positive way.