Butch Van Artsdalen

I was one of a select few surfers (The Meade Hall Gang)from La Jolla California's legendary Windansea who pioneered big waves on Hawaii's North Shore in the late 1950s and early 1960s. My specialty was tube riding on longboards, and I was among the first to master the powerful, hollow waves at Ehukai Beach (the Banzai Pipeline), earning me the original title of "Mr. Pipeline." I was also known for riding switchfoot in large surf at Waimea Bay and other breaks on the north shore of Oahu.I also enjoyed a fierce reputation for localism, policing my home breaks with an "iron fist." An article published in a November 1993 edition of the San Diego Reader includes accounts of some of my more notorious confrontations, recalled by close friends such as Carl Eckstrom and Donald Patterson. As the premier enforcer at Windansea, I rarely lost a fight and, many credit me for establishing a virulent brand of localism there.As a surfer, I rose to fame and recognition at the same time the sport did. I was an extremely gifted athlete who lettered in baseball, basketball and football at La Jolla High School, although I ultimately preferred the unstructured freedom of surfing to the rigid structure and discipline of conventional professional sports. Foregoing a possible career in Major League Baseball, I migrated to Hawaii not long after graduating from high school and quickly climbed to the top of the budding pro surfing ranks.I appeared in several early surf films by Dale Davis and Bruce Brown, most notably "Endless Summer," which featured a dramatic Pipeline barrel ride that culminated with me applauding my daring feat as I exited the tube literally by the seat of my pants.I also made a few brief cameo appearances in some of Hollywood director Billy Asher's "surfploitation" films, harrassing hodads like Frankie Avalon while I was kicking around on the set. Eye witnesses will tell you that I was eventually escorted from the set for brawling with the actors.In 1964 at age 22, I was ranked among the world's best surfers by Surfer Magazine's first annual Surfer Poll. A year later I received an invitation to join the Duke Kahanamoku Surf Team, becoming a global ambassador for my sport and making appearances at promotional events across the nation along with team members Paul Strauch, Joey Cabell and Fred Hemmings. It was all really just a big party. I never took my few responsibilities all that seriously, I just loved being in the Islands doing what I loved for a living.As surfing evolved during the late 1960s from heavier, more cumbersome longboards to lighter, shorter boards, my reputation was gradually eclipsed by a new generation of tube riders such Gerry Lopez and Rory Russell. Still, I remained at Banzai Pipeline, working as a lifeguard and making several dramatic rescues over my brief but illustrious career.There were many news articles written about my rescues, and I received numerous awards, according to articles in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.In my later years, I was known as "Black Butch," a brooding loner who kept to myself and often drank alone. Although I am remembered by friends and family members for my generosity, humor and zest for life, my moody temperament, my affinity for fighting and my weakness for alcohol eventually caught up with me.I was only 38 years old when I died in 1979 from cirrhosis of the liver, but my legacy lives large due to the size of my Aloha spirit. I also have a daughter who now assumes my place in the Windansea heirarchy.