Jeff Hakman, Joey Buran, Bruce Brown & Pat O’Connell get some cement on their hands and feet and in the process leave their mark in Surf City, USA

WHAT: The nation’s first imprint collection of legendary surfers celebrates its 12th
Anniversary in July with a ceremony honoring iconic surfers Jeff “Mr. Sunset” Hakman, Bruce Brown, Joey Buran and Pat O’Connell. The Surfers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony is free-of-charge and open to the public. Further information regarding details of the ceremony, including directions, is available at http://hsssurf.com/hall.

WHEN: Friday, July 24th at 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: The Surfers’ Hall of Fame ceremony will be held at 300 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach, California, directly in front of Huntington Surf and Sport. Look for the bronze Duke statue on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street, you can’t miss it.

HOW: Following the tradition of years past, the class of 2009 inductees will each have a chance to become immortalized by placing their hands, feet and signature in wet cement at the Surfers’ Hall of Fame ceremony. Each inductee in this year’s class is selected by a committee of business owners, surfers and surf industry professionals based on contribution, dedication, integrity and revolution to the sport of surfing.

WHO: 2009 Sufers’ Hall of Fame Inductees: Jeff Hakman, Bruce Brown, Joey Buran, and Pat O’Connell.

Jeff “Mr. Sunset” Hakman-
Born to adventurous parents, Jeffery Earl Hakman inherited the need for a rush, a need that was fulfilled early through surfing. While he was born in the South Bay and started surfing at age 9 at spots such as PV Cove, Jeff would grow up in the sport and come into his own shortly after moving to Hawaii with his family in 1959. After mastering local breaks such as Ala Moana, Jeff began making treks to the North Shore where his fearless approach to such breaks as Sunset Beach and Waimea earned him a sponsorship with Dick Brewer and a membership into the highly touted big-wave club that called Sunset and Waimea home. It was also at this time that he earned his nick name “Mr. Sunset.” At the early age of 17, Jeff would win the inaugural Duke Kahanamoku Classic. From the age 21 to 27 Jeff won the most major surfing titles in the world including the first ever Pipe Masters, the 1976 Bells Beach Invitational and was touted as the unofficial World Champion in 1974 and 1975. In 1975 after borrowing a pair of Quiksilver trunks and falling in love with the feel, Hakman convinced the owner of the Australian based Quiksilver to grant him the US license. With the help of now CEO Bob McKnight, Hakman would go on to successfully launch Quiksilver USA and later Quiksilver Europe in 1986. Today Jeff still plays an active role in the industry as acting Marketing Director for Quiksilver Europe.

Bruce Brown-
Known by those in, out and around the sport as a the early pioneer of the surf film, Bruce Brown early in as well as throughout his career helped to dispel the widely held belief that surfers were rebellious thugs and a bunch of idiots. Brown, who grew up in Long Beach, CA, started surfing at age 11 and was known as a regular in the Huntington Pier-Seal Beach area. Returning to California from Hawaii after his 1957 discharge from the Navy and while working as a lifeguard in San Clemente, Brown was approached by Dale Velzy with $5000 for a surf film that would promote the Velzy Surf Team. The resulting film would be Slippery When Wet, a surf filmed actually narrated live by Brown along with Bud Shank during its showings in local gymnasiums and small halls. After Slippery When Wet, Brown would go on to put together such surf film classics as Surf Crazy, Barefoot Adventure, Surfing Hollow Days and Waterlogged; however, Brown’s 1964 The Endless Summer would be his most successful surf film. Taking a step away from surf films in 1970, Brown would film another one of his passions, dirt bikes. The resulting documentary, On Any Sunday, would go on to earn an Academy Award nomination. Taking a break after On Any Sundays’ success Brown would come out of his retirement to make The Endless Summer II in 1992. Bruce Brown’s contribution to the sport is undeniable and there is a seemingly endless list of surf film titles that readily back up such a claim.

Pat O’Connell-
Generally considered the happiest surfer alive by those close to him and even those who have met him for the first time, it is hard to believe that Pat O’ Connell spent the first 12 years of his life land locked and no where near an ocean. Born in Chicago, O’Connell was a pure soccer freak that had never seen the ocean. O’Connell’s first interest in the ocean would come after seeing a television show that featured then-world surfing champ Margo Oberg. With Pat in tow the O’Connell’s would move to Newport Beach in the early 80’s. Scared at first of the ocean it didn’t take Pat long to toss aside the fears and dive straight in. After attending Dana Hills High, where he was a member of the surf team, and working his way up through the ranks of the NSSA O’Connell represented the United States in the World Amateur Championships in Japan in 1990, a showing that resulted in an overall ninth place finish in the Open Division. Turning pro in the same year Pat would go on to accomplish such accolades as winning two PSAA events as well as earning a spot on the cover of Surfing Magazine. In 1992 Pat would team up with Bruce Brown as the star of Brown’s remake of his 1966 Endless Summer. While he does not compete on the WCT where he peaked in 1998 at 11th and 10th in the Surfer Poll, Pat O’Connell is still known by those around him as the happiest surfer alive.

History: The Surfers’ Hall of Fame celebrated its first induction in 1997 inside the specialty retailer Huntington Surf & Sport where several of the first inductee slabs can still be found throughout the boardroom. After the blessing of the City Council in 2001 and with the prominent bronze statue of the sport’s father and spiritual leader in the background the Surfers’ Hall of Fame ceremony moved outside to the corner of PCH and Main. Today the Surfers’ Hall of Fame ring is home to some of the sport’s most famous, influential, and revolutionary surfers’ foot and hand prints and signatures.