Pioneer made surf open to wide range of audiences

They say that John Severson died as he had lived, immersed in thoughts and images of the surf.

Looking out on the ocean toward Molokai from his Honokeana Cove home on Maui, the surf culture media pioneer died Friday at age 83 of leukemia, family members said.

“A friend, Steve Pezman, said he was ‘as (tranquil) as if he was riding a wave,’ ” said Severson’s wife, Louise.

Severson’s Surfing Hall of Fame career left a wide mark on the sport through trailblazing efforts across the spectrum — literature, painting, printing, photography and cinema, as well as conservation advocacy — revolutionizing surfing’s appeal and image.

“His contributions were immense,” said former world champion and state senator Fred Hemmings.

“I’d like to feel that I’ve done something worthwhile for surfing,” Severson told Surfline in 2014 when his book, “John Severson’s Surf,” was published. “If you’re working in the surf industry, you might consider that I helped make that possible. If you’re an artist or photographer, perhaps I made a difference. If you’re out on a crowded day, and can’t get a wave, you might blame me, but then again, maybe you’d be somewhere else. Maybe I influenced you in a career that gave you time to surf, or influenced you to get involved in environmental pursuits. But if I never said a word — or shot or painted a picture — I wonder …”

Severson grew up in Southern California and took to surfing and abstract surf painting when his family moved to San Clemente at age 12, eventually parlaying it into an art degree. His passion and outlets expanded when the Army fortuitously assigned him to Schofield Barracks in 1956.

He surfed the North Shore, sold paintings along the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and began shooting 16 mm footage for what would become his first movie, “Surf.” That led to six more surf films and spawned a lucrative sideline in movie posters and his first book, establishing him as a force in surf media.

A showing of his movie, “Surf Safari,” which was attended by the Beach Boys, is credited with having inspired their hit “Surfin’ Safari.”

Opening surf to all

His earnest portrayals of surfing and its lifestyle contrasted sharply with the early “Beach Blanket Bingo” Hollywood film genre. His ability to take the sport beyond the pop media stereotypes gave it balance and opened it up to a wider audience.

“Surfing is what I would call a Janus sport in that it has two (public) faces,” Hemmings said. “One is surf pop culture and the other is surfing sport. There developed a division in the sport between the two and John managed to walk the tight rope between them with ‘Surf’ magazine.”

His groundbreaking effort, which debuted in 1960, became the sport’s first successful publishing venture. Though much imitated it endured, becoming known as the “Bible of the sport.”

It allowed him to buy a place in an exclusive area of San Clemente where, eventually, President Richard Nixon became a neighbor, setting up the Western White House. It also meant confrontations with Nixon’s staff and Secret Service over access to a favored surfing spot.

A move to Maui

As Severson would tell Surfer magazine decades later, “I was evolving into a desk-ridden businessman and wanted to get back to the creative parts of life. I remember, stalled on the freeway, letting out a primal howl. It was time to get back to surfing, art and the land. I moved the family to Maui — gone surfing …”

Severson sold the magazine, dedicating himself to surfing, painting and design. He opened the John Severson Design Company in Lahaina, and his motifs proved so popular that the Kahala brand hired him to provide designs for their aloha shirts. He also designed the logo for the Save Honolua Bay Coalition and encouraged reef conservation.

He remained active as a painter of surf scenes “right up until about a month before he died,” Louise said.

In addition to his wife, survivors include daughters Jenna and Anna.

Services are pending, the family said.