By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
What surfing is today started with Hawaii. Our gift to
the world is surfing," says Fred Hemmings.
Soul surfer’s tribute
'The soul of surfing is Hawaiian'
By Tim Ryan
Star-BulletinTime seems to have a way of lessening the impact of accomplishments, especially of those who swim against the tide. Like Fred Hemmings. Here's a guy who won four surfing titles at Makaha some 30 years ago -- two as a junior competitor -- then capped a remarkable professional surfing career by snatching the world championship from the favored and preferred media darlings in Puerto Rico in 1968.
Now look at the picture of the smirking Hemmings at the awards' banquet where, oh, so smugly, he accepts the trophy while "dressed like an IBM salesman" in a suit and tie and short hair.
"I was never part of surfing's pop culture," he writes. "I was the sport's ultimate rebel. I never catered to the established market. I was not looked upon with favor by the major surf media."
And so Hemmings says in his surfing tome, "The Soul of Surfing is Hawaiian," 152-pages of "talk story" anecdotes illustrated with many never-before-published photos.
"I wanted to pay tribute to Hawaii as being the essence of what surfing was and what came to be in the world," says Hemmings. "What surfing is today started with Hawaii. Our gift to the world is surfing."
During the interview at Point Panic, Hemmings' eyes keep shifting to the unseasonal south swell rolling in perfect peaks.
"I used to surf here before leashes," he recalls. "That's why they named it Point Panic. You panicked if you lost your board."
Even at 51, the former Hawaii legislator and Republican gubernatorial candidate still hoots when he sees a body boarder getting tubed in the four-foot waves, and just as quickly cajoles those out of position.
"Go for it!," he says. "Ah, crying out loud, how did he miss that?"
It's the same attitude that this self-described "hard-headed Portagee" used to win surfing championships, make his unpopular opinions known, and go against the mainstream.
His book is divided into chapters with highlighted sub-sections. "Soul" dives head first into subjects that was rarely mentioned in mainstream surfing publications.
Some excerpts:
The Bad Boy Sell: "....a few surfers and commercial interests have used anti-establishment-in-your-face marketing to sell their products. (It) highlights punk thuggery...."
The Black Shorts: "California transplant Eddie Rothman seemed to be one of the leaders of the group....The demand (to use them as lifeguards or security for surf contests) was that I pay $7,000 a day. The magazine people (who also had been intimidated) would then feature the terrorist individuals they complained about. Talk about hypocrisy."
But "Soul's" overriding theme is Hawaii's influence on the sport of kings, especially Duke Kahanamokus's contribution.
Last Wave: "Why so many years after his death is (Duke) held in such high esteem? Duke Kahanamoku was a man of virtue. He was humble:.Though he had many occasions to speak of himself and his achievements, he did not. Duke was dignified. He always dressed and carried himself with dignity....Most of all Duke was content. He had a sense of confidence that contributed to his dignified ways.
Moemoe (To sleep in Hawaiian): "At fancy meals and meetings while all the business types were talking, Duke would put on his (wraparound) sunglasses and go to sleep. I remembered thinking, here's a man who has his priorities right."
Hemmings also explains his efforts to clean up the sport.:
"I called on the Association of Professional Surfing to institute a drug testing program...A prominent surfer...took out a newspaper advertisement denouncing my initiative and ridiculing me....There are a few surfing punks who have made big bucks from selling drugs."
On alcoholism in the sport and his friendship with Butch Van Artsdalen: "...one of the most handsome and athletically gifted surfers in the sport...the first Mr. Pipeline...he also drank too much. After bouts of drinking, Butch...would sleep in precarious places..like under a car. Once in San Francisco, we rose in the morning after being out on the town to find Butch sleeping in a planter box one story up, outside a bay window. Butch drank himself to death at 38 years old. We should have tried to stop him from drinking."
The facts
What: "The Soul of Surfing is Hawaiian" by Fred Hemmings on sale starting Monday
