Gerry Lopez

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Gerry Lopez
Personal information
Born (1948-11-07) November 7, 1948 (age 75)
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
ResidenceBend, Oregon
Surfing career
Years active1970–present
Surfing specifications
StanceGoofy
QuiverLong boards, guns
Favorite wavesPipeline
Favorite maneuversBarrels

Gerry Lopez (born November 7, 1948),

surfer, shaper, journalist and film actor.[2][3]

Early life

Lopez was born in

Ala Moana Bowls
frequently. It is here that Lopez began honing his casual style and masterful tube riding skills.

Career

Lopez and friends began to migrate out to Oahu's North Shore, where they watched surfers like Butch Van Artsdalen and Jock Sutherland ride the hollow waves of the Banzai Pipeline.[7] As surfboard designs began to integrate "downrailer" edges, curve, foil, and rocker, the vertical drops and thick tubes of Pipeline became survivable. Not long after, performance levels at big Pipeline exploded, led by Lopez.

He was widely recognized as the best tuberider in the world,

Pipeline Masters competition in 1972 and 1973, which was pseudo-named the Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters until the death of Andy Irons in 2010. In 1999, Lopez was selected as "Waterman of the Year" by the Surf Industries Manufacturing Association (SIMA).[9]

Lopez played an important role in the industry of commercial surfboard manufacturing. While in Hawaii, and together with other

shapers
, Lopez started the Lightning Bolt Surfboards brand of high performance shortboards. Lopez created the simple but eye catching Lightning Bolt jag, which became extremely popular in the 1970s. This brand was the first one to sponsor team riders with free boards, partially because many of the riders didn't have the money to buy them.

Lopez has also worked as an actor, appearing mostly in films by fellow ex-surfer

Patagonia clothing company and has written at least one essay for their catalogs. Lopez also appears frequently in ads and catalogs for Rainbow Sandals
, and is a friend of the founder of the company and fellow surfer, Jay Longley.

In 2008, Lopez authored a book called Surf Is Where You Find It.[10] He and good friend Jock Sutherland also appear on YouTube in the Patagonia sponsored "Talkin' Pipe" series, where they describe their harrowing and sometimes humorous early experiences at the Pipeline.

Personal life

Since about the early 1990s,

snowboards. His surfboards also remain in high demand.[citation needed
]

References

  1. ^ "Gerry Lopez, The Seemingly Ageless One Turns 70". SURFER Magazine. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  2. ^ a b "Gerry Lopez Biography and Photos | SURFLINE.COM". www.surfline.com. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  3. ^ "Legendary surfer Gerry Lopez talks Oregon, river surfing and Duke". Adventure Sports Network. 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  4. ^ Bannerman, Mark (2012-02-06). "'Mr Pipeline' Gerry Lopez is no one-trick pony". ABC News. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  5. ^ Fried, Dani (2016-04-20). "Surfing legend Gerry Lopez hits the Bend waves". KTVZ. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  6. ^ Doherty, Sean (2017-12-01). "The Amazing Stories Of Hawaiian Icon Reno Abellira". Surfing World. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  7. ^ Sponsored (2016-02-26). "Which Ski Resort is the Surfiest? | "Mr. Pipeline", Gerry Lopez, Votes for Mt. Bachelor, OR". SnowBrains. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  8. ^ "Gerry Lopez Interview In LA Times Today". Retrieved 2010-07-13. In the 70's, Gerry was widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, tuberider in the world by winning the Pipeline Masters two years in a row.
  9. ^ "Gerry Lopez - Biography - IMDb". IMDb.
  10. ^ a b Baker, Jeff (June 28, 2015). "A life of sand and snow: Surfing legend Gerry Lopez is from the beach, but whether he's on surfboard or snowboard (in Bend), he's living the good life". The Sunday Oregonian. A&E section, p. 4. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  11. ^ Crowe, Jerry (December 22, 2008). "Surfing still shapes life of landlocked Gerry Lopez". Los Angeles Times.

External links

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