Joe Surf: Trio enters Surfers’ Hall of Fame

Huntington Surf & Sport announced this year’s inductees into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame a couple of weeks ago, with three deserving surf legends now scheduled to set their hands and feet in cement near the statue of Duke Kahanamoku on the corner of Main Street and PCH.

The induction ceremony is scheduled July 29 beginning at 9:30 a.m. in from of HSS, and will include Ryan Turner, Shawn Stussy and Blaine “Sumo” Sato.

For Turner, the recognition will blow his cover. After all, he is known for being unknown.

“The best unknown surfer in the world,” Huntington Beach High surf Coach Andy Verdone called Turner. “It’s kind of an oxymoron, but it’s kind of true. Real hardcore surfers know him, he’s one of the best barrel riders in the world, but as far as historians, he’s skipped over.

“He’s an extremely talented wave-rider in all areas, big waves, small waves, from a young grom to an adult — he’s still doing it.”

The timing for Turner’s induction is appropriate considering he was the captain of the HBHS surf team that won a national title in 1998, then didn’t win another until this year.

And though Verdone says Turner isn’t widely recognized, he and his family are well-known in Huntington. His family runs the popular Sugar Shack Cafe on Main Street. and his younger brother Timmy is a standout surfer and surf documentary filmmaker.

HSS’s website announcing Turner as an inductee said this about him:

“It is this reputation for tube riding which leads to yearly invitations to the Padang Padang Cup in Bali, among the most coveted barrel riding events in the world. He proved in 2009 that he ranked among the world’s best tube riders, losing only in the semifinal to Jamie O’Brien, a future Pipeline Masters Champion, by less than two points.

“Ryan is one of the top 10 backside barrel riders in the world and has proven this point again and again with his many Indonesia surfing trips. In Mainland Mexico, Ryan also finished third at Puerto during another barrel riding event scoring a perfect 10 along the way.”

SHAWN STUSSY

If the name Stussy rings a bell, it should.

Shawn Stussy made a name for himself in the mainstream world for his clothing line, but the clothing line started out simply as a way to promote the surfboards he was shaping.

Stussy started surfing the HB Pier in 1968 and was only 13 when he started shaping boards in his garage. Legendary shaper Chuck Dent hired him, and that led to a job shaping for Russell Surfboards on 17th Street in Newport.

He went out on his own in 1980, shaping boards in his Laguna Beach studio. When he finished a board, he’d sign it in big letters, “Stussy,” which later became his trademark and logo.

“I had the logo screen-printed on T-shirts and sweatshirts, but it had nothing to do with producing clothes. I was trying to promote the boards,” Stussy said in HSS’s Hall of Fame announcement.

He and a business partner established Stussy Inc., which became one of the most popular streetwear labels in the 1980s and ‘90s. Stussy, who sold his interest in the business in 1986, is now living in Santa Barbara with his family. He still shaped and has a new shaping and design project called S/Double.

BLAINE “SUMO” SATO

Chances are, if you happen to see dozens of people out on their boards forming a large circle during a memorial paddle-out ceremony, Blaine “Sumo” Sato is the man in the middle.

Sato grew up surfing in Hawaii, living on both the Big Island and Oahu, before moving to California in 1990 to pursue a master of Divinity degree. He eventually helped form the H20 Community Church, which helps serve the homeless, surfers in recovery, and residents in crisis, whether it’s spiritual or otherwise.

He also has officiated those memorial paddle-out ceremonies, like those remembering Andy Irons, Sean Collins and Chris Love, among others. He even was the pastor when Bethany Hamilton got married, and is Huntington Beach’s Marine Safety Division chaplain.

Now, Sato is fighting a battle of his own. He was diagnosed in February with Stage 4 colon cancer and had surgery to remove two malignant tumors.

HSS said this about Sato in its Hall of Fame announcement:

“Pastor Sumo has a long road to recovery, but with his loving wife, Diane, and his family’s unwavering support, he is optimistic and his faith in God even stronger.

“Sato is a waterman, family man and he’s had success as a professional chef. While often found charging waves on the north side of the Huntington Beach Pier on a colossal 12-foot longboard stout enough to carry his burly Hawaiian frame, Sumo’s real passion is serving the Lord.”

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JOE HAAKENSON is a Huntington Beach-based sports writer and editor. He may be reached at joe@juvecreative.com.