Originally published as "Billy Hamilton at a Glance" in the August, 1968, issue of Petersen's Surfing. No author credit, but probably written either by editor Dick Graham or associate editor Duke Boyd. At the time of this interview, Hamilton, originally from Laguna Beach, was 20, newly married, and living on the North Shore of Oahu.

You used to surf like Phil Edwards, and didn’t try to hide the fact that Phil was your idol.

Yes, definitely he’s my idol. That hasn’t changed. He still has class, as far as I’m concerned. But I figure I’m on my own now. I don't have to copy anybody. I’m sort of figuring these things out on my own; I have my own thoughts. But yes, I owe my whole thing to Phil.

What do you think about the new style of surfing today?

It’s moving. It’s really moving. Changing every day. I don’t know what it’s going to come to; things just keep progressing. I like it, but I think the boards are getting too short, or a little too short for the Islands, anyway. For waves in Hawaii, they’re riding 8' 6". I think you need a little more length to support you through some of the waves here.

How do you see yourself fitting into this new style of surfing?

I’m just trying to flow right in with it. I’ve always liked surfing smoothly, and I’m trying to adapt my smooth style with surfing’s fast pace.

What are you trying to do with you surfing? Where are you trying to go?

I’m trying to get the most out of the wave. I’m trying to go as far inside as I can, trying to set up a timing for myself where I get in as tight as possible and do as much as possible and still make the wave.

There is a theory going around that the short boards, the V-bottom boards, are especially hard to ride for the smooth-style guys.

It takes a long time to get used to the V-bottom. You have to find out where the board is hanging you up, then try to iron out that out and go on with it. But the V-bottom is what's happening right now, it's the thing. I think it will continue for a while. You can do more with turning than ever before.


Most of the guys in surfing have some kind of a position; they are big-wave riders, small-wave riders, contest surfers, and so forth. Where would you classify yourself?

I like small waves. I consider myself a small-wave rider. I think I excel more on a six-foot wave than I do on a ten-foot wave, probably because I learned in California. That's where I feel most comfortable and more relaxed. It’s a completely different thing when you get on a big wave, where all of your thinking is spent in keeping that board under your feet, rather than in maneuvering. It takes a lot of conditioning of the mind, the body. But I like big waves too, the thrill of them.

Since I got married and moved to Hawaii, I’ve been a little out of touch. But Jeff Hakman and Jock Sutherland are the big-time boys in the Islands, for sure.

What are your feelings on surfing contests?

I've given up on contests. I competed for three or four years, and it was good fun for a while, but serious surfing is being in the water by yourself, or with your friends.

The [1968] World Contest is coming up. Any predictions?

From what I've seen, I think there may be another Australian winner.

Being a California surfer and moving to Hawaii, how have you adapted over there?

It takes time. I’m still adapting. I'd give myself another two years before I have the Islands wired. It's the hardest place in the world to surf. There is so much movement in the wave, so much water in the trough, the curl is moving, the lines of the wave are flowing around. You have to have quick reactions. The force is there, and you have to learn to work with it.

I’ve thought to myself a couple of times that someday there are going to be engines in the back of boards. If you need a little speed, you just spurt it out. I think it’s really going to get into a scientific thing, where every line and every inch of a board is going to be studied.

Bill Hamilton

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