SURFERS’ HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES AN EXTRAORDINARY CLASS OF INDUCTEES AS
SHANE DORIAN, SKIP FRYE & ROCKIN’ FIG JOIN THE ELITE GROUP ON FRIDAY, JULY 26
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – The Surfers’ Hall of Fame is pleased to announce one of its most extraordinary classes to date when it inducts three generations of surfing royalty including a legendary surfer/shaper who made an indelible mark in the 60s, an iconic local personality and member of the first NSSA National Team in 1978, and a “new school” world tour veteran acknowledged as one of the best big wave riders in the world. Skip Frye, Rick “Rockin Fig” Fignetti and Shane Dorian will have their hand and footprints immortalized in cement for the ages on Friday, July 26 at 10 a.m. in front of Huntington Surf & Sport.
The Surfers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony pays tribute to those individuals who have made an indelible mark on the sport, industry and culture of surfing. Annually, tens of thousands of visitors travel to Huntington Beach’s downtown area and literally walk in the footsteps of surfing superstars and legends from several eras including Laird Hamilton, Andy Irons, Jack O’Neill, Robert August, Bob Hurley, Sean Collins, Kelly Slater, Lisa Andersen, Pat O’Connell, Al Merrick, Shaun Tomson, Rob Machado and Rabbit Kekai, who are already immortalized in cement.
“We are extremely honored and looking forward to Skip Frye, Rick Fignetti and Shane Dorian being inducted into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame this July,” said Surfers’ Hall of Fame founder Aaron Pai. Brief inductee bios include:
Skip Frye: Skip Frye was born in 1941 and began surfing at age 16 after moving with his family to the north San Diego suburb of Pacific Beach. By the mid-60s the shy but focused Frye had become one of California’s best competitors. Known for his gliding, fluid style which allowed him to capture several local and national titles, Skip went on to represent the U.S. internationally in 1966. Frye began shaping surfboards in 1963 and within two years was working for San Diego’s Gordon & Smith’s Surfboards (in 1966 G&S introduced the Skip Frye signature model). Frye was riding a 9’6” board in late 1967 when he traveled to Australia with the legendary Windansea Surf Club for an American versus Australia team contest (the U.S. team got waxed by Aussies riding lighter boards). After that trip, Skip became more interested in shorter more maneuverable boards and began experimenting with designs such as the V-bottom and Baby Gun. He kept refining the designs and ultimately led Skip to design a board he called the Egg, one of his best-known shapes. Frye has shaped boards for Rob Machado and Brad Gerlach among other elite surfers.
“Skip Frye is one of the all-time great surfers and one of the all-time great surfboard shapers! Skip is true surfing royalty,” said Pai.
Rick “Rockin Fig” Fignetti: For more than 20 years, the name Rockin Fig has been synonymous with surfing and Huntington Beach. From his lengthy stint on KROQ FM as the resident “surfologist” to announcing major competitions like the U.S. Open of Surfing, Bud Surf Tour and NSSA Nationals, his unique and quirky voice is instantly recognizable to competitors and fans alike. Fig competed in the first NSSA National Championships in 1978, making it to the finals and was on the Orange Coast College team that won a title in 1979 and 1980. Although a 10-time
West Coast Surfing Champion, an individual NSSA title remained elusive for 35 years until he won his first (and second) titles as a 55 year-old last year. Considered an institution locally, Fig is the proprietor at Rockin Fig Surf Headquarters on Main Street; an old-school shop with tons of surfboards that he is happy to discuss with an encyclopedic knowledge. Rick is also a journalist of some note, penning a column in the Huntington Beach Independent and Los Angeles Times for many years. Hardcore surfers can find him most every day on the north side of the pier riding waves and loving life.
Pai added, “Rick ‘Rockin Fig’ Fignetti is a home grown Huntington Beach surfing legend; one of Huntington’s finest!”
Shane Dorian: A fearless surfer from Hawaii’s Big Island, Shane’s lengthy resume of accomplishments includes costarring in the 1998 big-wave melodrama In God’s Hands, winning the 1999 Rip Curl Bells and 2000 Billabong Pro Mundaka World Tour events, and a top 5 ASP ranking in 2000. The wiry (5’8”, 150 pounds) Dorian was a leading “New School” aerialist in the early ‘90s, is a tube rider of phenomenal agility and precision, and since the middle ‘90s has been one of the world’s best big-wave riders (his North Shore sessions with Brock Little and the late Todd Chesser are the stuff of legends) taking top prize in the 2008 XXL Global Big Wave awards. Shane began surfing at age five in 1977 and by the mid-late 80’s was a veteran of both the U.S. Championships and World Amateur Surfing Championships. Dorian joined the ASP World Tour in 1993 where he hovered outside of the top 10 for a number of years before cracking the barrier with a fourth-place finish in 2000. Popular among surfers and fans, Shane finished runner-up to Kelly Slater in the 2000 Surfer Magazine Readers Poll Awards and finished 2nd in the prestigious 2001 Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave contest. Shane received the coveted “Waterman of the Year” award from SIMA in 2012, one of the sport’s highest honors.
Regarding Shane Dorian, Pai stated, “Shane Dorian is one of the most gifted new school big wave surfers on the planet and a truly amazing WATERMAN in our sport today!”
The nation’s first imprint collection of legendary surfers, the Surfers’ Hall of Fame celebrated its first induction in 1997 inside of specialty retailer Huntington Surf & Sport where several slabs remain. Four years later with the blessing of the City Council and a stunning bronze statue of sport’s spiritual leader Duke Kahanamoku serving as a backdrop, the ceremony moved outside to the corner of PCH and Main; less than 100 feet from the famed Huntington Beach Pier, site of the U.S. Open of Surfing.
The Surfers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony is open to the public, free-of-charge.
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Press Contacts:
Mike Kingsbury, Jennifer Hernandez, MKM
Mike@teammkm.com; Jennifer@teammkm.com
(714) 375-2188
“When considering Andy Verdone for induction we had many of our grassroots community come out and support him because of his 25 years of coaching and supporting surfing, plus the impact that he has had on so many of the kids who live in this town,” said Surfers’ Hall of Fame founder Aaron Pai. “He has been a major “positive force” in taking our sport of surfing to the next level while telling the kids to stay in school, get good grades, stay away from drugs, go to college… he truly has been a great example to us all!”
“Dane Reynolds is the most exciting Freesurfer in the world today and many of our young surfers wanted him in the Surfers’ Hall of Fame this year,” said Aaron Pai. “We are honored and very excited to induct him into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame!”
“One of the great icons in our sport of Surfing, Rabbit Kekai is a true inspiration…especially to young surfers,” said Surfers’ Hall of Fame founder Aaron Pai. “He has preserved his surfing culture in a very positive way, and that is by simply living it. We are honored and excited to induct Rabbit into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame!”
SURFERS’ HALL OF FAME CELEBRATES ITS 15TH ANNIVERSARY BY INDUCTING RABBIT KEKAI, DANE REYNOLDS AND ANDY VERDONE ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2012
California native Taylor Knox has often been spoken of as a world title contender since he joined the ASP World Tour as a rookie in 1993. Part of 1990’s “New School” crew that replaced the 80’s power surfers, Knox was known for his rail-to-rail style of surfing. Although unable to garner consistent wins on the pro circuit, Taylor won the 1995 U.S. Championship and then led the 1996 American team to victory at the ISA World Surfing Games with his first place finish in the talent-rich men’s division. In February 1998, Knox catapulted into the international spotlight by winning the inaugural K2 Big-Wave Challenge, an event that offered $50,000 to the surfer who caught the biggest wave of the winter and had photographic evidence. Knox unknowingly dropped into a 52-foot behemoth at Todos Santos that made him a mainstream media darling.
A longtime Huntington Beach surfer, Chuck rode his first wave in 1954, was a men’s finalist at the 1958 Oceanside Invitational and competed in his first U.S. Championships in 1959, held in his hometown. Linnen was among the first wave of California surfers to travel to the North Shore in the early 1960s and was a finalist at the 1961 world contest held at Makaha. He also competed at the 1964 world contest in Peru and was runner-up at the Malibu Masters event in 1973. Linnen helped shape the culture and character of Huntington Beach as a mentor and role model to local surfers—teaching future legends like Corky Carroll how to “shoot the pier.” The “surf king” as many called him was a member of the Huntington Beach Surfing Association and ‘The Boys of 55’ surf club. A retired Irvine high school teacher, Linnen most recently held the NSSA Senior Champ and WSA Grand Master titles.
2013 Surfers’ Hall of Fame Inductee – Shane Dorian
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – Shane Patrick Dorian has accomplished much as a waterman in his 40 years; from winning a Hawaiian state title and pushing the paddle-in limits on the North Shore’s outer reefs to contending for world titles, capturing prestigious big wave awards and staring in major motion pictures. For his myriad achievements, Dorian joins fellow surfers Skip Frye and Rick “Rockin Fig” Fignetti as an inductee into the 2013 class of the Surfers’ Hall of Fame on Friday, July 26 at 10 a.m. in front of Huntington Surf & Sport.
The nation’s first imprint collection of legendary surfers, the Surfers’ Hall of Fame, celebrated its first induction in 1997 inside of specialty retailer Huntington Surf & Sport where several slabs remain. Four years later with the blessing of the City Council and a stunning bronze statue of sport’s spiritual leader Duke Kahanamoku serving as a backdrop, the ceremony moved outside to the corner of PCH and Main; less than 100 feet from the famed Huntington Beach Pier, site of the U.S. Open of Surfing. Visit http://hsssurf.com/shof for more information.
A fearless surfer from Hawaii’s Big Island, Shane’s lengthy resume of accomplishments includes costarring in the 1998 big-wave melodrama In God’s Hands, winning the 1999 Rip Curl Bells and 2000 Billabong Pro Mundaka World Tour events, and a top 5 ASP ranking in 2000. The wiry (5’8”, 150 pounds) Dorian was a leading “New School” aerialist in the early ‘90s, since the middle ‘90s has been one of the world’s best big-wave riders taking top prize in the 2008 and 2013 XXL Global Big Wave awards, and is a tube rider of phenomenal agility and precision.
Shane Dorian was born on July 19, 1972 in Kailua Kona, Hawaii to his father Patrick, a former Hollywood actor and stunt double for Elvis Presley, and his mother Susan, an independent, strong-willed woman who went on to compete in female bodybuilding events. When Shane was three, his parents opened a restaurant called Dorian’s right on the beach. Since Dorian was too young to wait tables, the long hours hanging around the restaurant soon forced him to turn to the ocean for amusement. Along with best friend Mike Stewart, he virtually lived at the once-empty grommet breeding pool known as Banyans…on bodyboards.
Shane began surfing at age five in 1977; it took him six years to win his first contest, then another three to win the Hawaiian State titles. Surfing education became a top priority as Dorian’s mother worked out a system where Shane would spend the second and third school quarters on the North Shore of Oahu (the peak winter season) and the first and fourth quarters back home on the Big Island. ”The schools didn’t really understand it,” said Shane. ”But I don’t blame ‘em. The concept of pro surfing was so foreign to them back then.”
Dorian’s official coming-out party was during the Gotcha Pro at Sandy Beach in 1987. He beat out big names, made it through four rounds and got some media exposure. More importantly, he became friends with a couple of the heaviest up-and-coming surfers on Oahu, Brock Little and Todd Chesser. With Little and Chesser leading the way and Dorian following, an informal North Shore boot camp was instated.
Shane proved in the following years he could not only keep up with the big boys but also surpass them. But in ‘92, with a few years of heavywater experience under his belt, he followed Chesser and Little out to an outer reef during an exceptionally giant day.
“It took us, like, 45 minutes to get out there. And then when we did, we were facing these 25-foot waves with crazy cleanup sets. I sat outside those guys for a while, but then I started getting pissed when they caught a bunch of waves,” Dorian recalls.
“About that time, the horizon went dark from this huge set and we started scratching. I was too deep, but I wanted a wave so bad that I just flipped around and went on the first one.” Shane launched over the falls, lost consciousness and then regained consciousness to find he could not feel his legs and was foaming at the mouth. “I barely made it through that one, but it was a major turning point for me. As Brock said, it was the first time I realized that I was mortal.”
When he wasn’t tempting fate, Dorian engaged in much safer activities like charging Backdoor. Surfing alongside a rapidly growing crew that included Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Chris Malloy, Taylor Knox, Benji Weatherley and Conan Hayes, Dorian helped launch a new breed of surfing that included a whole bag of anti-gravity tricks combined with traditional carving and heavy-wave charging. Dubbed the “New School” and well documented in Taylor Steele’s videos, the New School remained the established surfing order through the 90s.
Dorian joined the ASP World Tour in 1993 where he hovered outside of the top 10 for a number of years before cracking the barrier with a fourth-place finish in 2000. Popular among surfers and fans, Shane finished runner-up to Kelly Slater in the 2000 Surfer Magazine Readers Poll Awards and finished 2nd in the prestigious 2001 Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave contest. Shane received the coveted “Waterman of the Year” award from SIMA in 2012, one of the sport’s highest honors. Earlier this year, Shane Dorian went home with two awards for an unbelievable barrel ride at Jaws earlier this season, winning $55,000 for the Pacifico Tube and Billabong XXL Ride of The Year.
“Shane Dorian is one of the most famous and gifted Big Wave Surfers on the Planet and a true Surfing Legend,” said Surfers’ Hall of Fame founder Aaron Pai! “Shane continues to inspire generations of Surfers. We are stoked to be able to thank Shane Dorian for his achievements and contributions to our Surfing World and are happy and excited that he will be here for his induction into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame!”
The Surfers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony pays tribute to those individuals who have made an indelible mark on the sport, industry and culture of surfing. Annually, tens of thousands of visitors travel to Huntington Beach’s downtown area and literally walk in the footsteps of surfing superstars and legends from several eras including Laird Hamilton, Andy Irons, Jack O’Neill, Robert August, Bob Hurley, Sean Collins, Kelly Slater, Lisa Andersen, Pat O’Connell, Al Merrick, Shaun Tomson, Rob Machado and Rabbit Kekai, who are already immortalized in cement.
The Surfers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony is open to the public, free-of-charge. Further information is available at http://hsssurf.com/shof/.
Press Contacts:
Mike Kingsbury, Jennifer Hernandez, MKM
Mike@teammkm.com; Jennifer@teammkm.com
(714) 375-2188