Patrick McNulty's feature story on Marge Calhoun was published in papers across America in March and April 1959, usually under the headline "Champion Woman Surfboard Rider Says it's a Great Weight Reducer." * * * Marge Calhoun is a honey blonde with four loves: her husband, two daughters and a 10-foot surfboard. Here is Marge's usual day after daddy's off to work and the kids to school: Marge l...
John Grissim's profile on Australian national champion Kim McKenzie ran in the November 1974 issue of Tracks. This version has been slightly edited. * * * We were sitting at the table inside Kim McKenzie's snug little caravan when a thunderstorm broke the warm night stillness. The sound of the nearby surf gave way to pelting raindrops. Kim adjusted the flame on her propane lantern, then stared i...
John Hughes, Executive Director of the Florida Surf Museum, which is housed in the Cocoa Beach Ron Jon Surf Shop, replied by email to the Ron DiMenna-themed Sunday Joint dated February 20, 2022. The text below has been slightly edited. * * * Ron Dimenna is definitely one of surfing's more interesting characters. I have met him several times (which is not easy to do)—he is a personable but quirky...
Doug Maudlin's feature on the California Coast Girls Surf Club ran in the May 19, 1963, issue of the Los Angeles Times. * * * Although most boys are reluctant to admit it, some girls are good surfers. Proving this isn't the main goal of the California Coast Girls Surf Club, but the girls are proving it just the same, says Pat McVey, club president. The club was formed nearly two years ago and c...
Kay Gilman's profile of Kim McKenzie ran in the November 18, 1975, edition of the New York Daily News. This version has been slightly edited. * * * Kim McKenzie is the Australian women’s surfing champion. That’s what she does for fun. How she makes a living is something else. During working hours, the husky 5-foot-9 blonde is the official shark catcher for the State of Queensland, hauling in an ...
This profile on Johnny Fain, by New Yorker staff writer and novelist William Murray, ran in the 1966 Feb-March issue of Venture, a short-lived high-end travel magazine. This version has been slightly edited. Fain is described as being 21, but was either 22 or 23 when the article was published. * * * John Burford Fain IV wakes up in the morning to the sound of surf breaking under his windows. He ...
Drew Kampion's profile on Dick Brewer ran in the Spring 1999 issue of Surfer's Journal. This version has been shortened and slightly edited. * * * Richard Brewer lives near Hanalei, about a mile up-country from the highway on a flat, relatively barren, five-acre prairie darkly backed by the twin towers of Kaua'i’s highest mountains, Kawaikini and Waialeale. The wettest area on earth is up there ...
Phil Jarratt's profile on Gary Elkerton ran in the December 1987 issue of SURFER. This version has been slightly edited. * * * Gary Elkerton is no wimp, that’s for sure. He’s number four in the world, among the best on the biggest days at Sunset and Waimea, and perhaps the most explosive surfer in the world today. But how tough is he, this great hulk from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast? Well, cons...
Nick Carroll's profile on Gary Elkerton ran in the June 1983 issue of Surfing magazine. This version has been slightly edited. * * * Gary "Kong" Elkerton is sitting on the newly erected, council-inspired sand dune that separates Narrabeen lagoon from the shimmering heat of North Narrabeen Beach itself. Today it is very hot indeed, mid-summer, mid-morning Sydney and the trek from the dune to the ...
This profile ran in the December 1985 issue of Tracks. This version has been slightly edited. * * * Gary Elkerton has been a very visible figure in Australian surfing for a few years. When you think of the publicity he’s received over the last three years it’s surprising he’s only been a professional since August ’84. Kong burst on the national and international scene when he won the ’82 Pro Jun...