We all have our heroes.
I have a lot of them, in many different forms and walks of life. Take Magic Johnson for instance. My favorite basketball player and Laker. I am a rabid Lakers fan. I worked with Jerry West doing Jantzen ads back in the 1960s and we became pals. He invited me to sit in his seats at Lakers games and I got hooked. During the “Showtime” era Magic Johnson became my favorite.
The way that dude would fly down the floor with a big ol’ Cheshire Cat smile on his face and just do something “magical” blew me away. I always wanted to meet him, but never did.
Having been in music, and now in art, I have many heroes there, too. I am a Jimmy Buffett fan, a total parrot head. I always said if I couldn’t be me, I would be happy being him. And I look up to a whole slew of surf artists who I get inspiration from, and even some occasional tips and advice.
In the last few years, painting has become my consuming passion. I ride waves via painting them.
But, of course, I am a lifelong surfer. From a small kid to now, that is what I am, head to toe and bottom of my soul. And I grew up with heroes galore.
And as I was finding my own place in the surfing world, I would meet them. I met Mike Doyle when he picked me up hitch-hiking home from Doheny one day. I never shut up and he later told me I was the last surfer he ever picked up.
Two of my favorite surfers of all time are Paul Strauch and George Downing. These guys are legendary and heroes to jillions. I met them in the water one afternoon in the summer of 1963.
It was my first trip to Hawaii. On my first day there, the surf in Ala Moana was really good and kinda big. At least it seemed big to me, coming from California and having not had the chance to ride anything actually “big.”
I had been out there for a couple of hours, mostly riding the smaller waves that everybody else let go. I was sitting outside of the pack, catching my breath and trying to remain inconspicuous, when a big outside set popped up. I was in the perfect position for the biggest wave in the set and went for it.
I don’t know how big it was, but at the time it felt huge. I turned at the bottom and pulled up onto the face and started going a zillion miles an hour. Then suddenly it pitched over my head and I was in the tube. I totally freaked out, let out a scream like a girl and jumped off. Ate it like a rat. When I came up, I was looking right into the eyes of Paul Strauch and George Downing, who were paddling out. They had seen the whole thing and were laughing their heads off.
I was so embarrassed, all I could do was put my head down and swim for my board.
When I got back to the lineup, I sat off to the side of the pack, not wanting to be seen. But both Paul and George saw me and were smiling. I wanted to sink.
Then they paddled over to me and offered some kind words and encouragement. A little later, Paul coaxed me into another set wave. I immediately loved those guys, and from that moment on considered them pals for life. Paul was probably the best surfer in the world right then, and the fact that he took the time to help out a skinny little haole gremmie showed what kind of person he was, and still is.
That showed me the spirit of Aloha for the first time. I never forgot it.