|
|
|
Jeff Hakman (November 18, 1948- ) |
 The Largest Surfing EncyclopediaA-Z: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Advertisement
|
|
|
The dark side doesn't sportfish. It plays for keeps rather than releasing its catch back into the wild. Far too many top surfers have taken the evil bait and ended up mounted on a wall, but not Jeff Hakman. The teenaged North Shore sensation turned world's best big-wave surfer turned surf business pioneer lost everything to the all-mighty high. But before he lost himself, he found help. Thanks to family, friends and surfing, he lived to tell the tale.
Harry and Doris Hakman were adventurers, and the birth of their first child, Jeffrey Earl Hakman, didn't slow them down. Harry was an avid waterman, diving and fishing off Palos Verdes, while Doris was the typical California beach girl. Jeff inherited their need for a rush, and he found it through surfing. After an early trip over the falls on a good-size wave cooled his interest for nearly a year, he returned to the lineup at age nine on a board crafted by Harry, who by then had become a respected shaper around the South Bay. One good wave at PV Cove, and Jeff was hooked. In 1959, he joined a friend on a family trip to Hawaii and immediately took to convincing Harry it was the place to be. It worked, and the Hakmans -- by then including two daughters -- moved to Makaha. When the West Side remoteness became too much to bear, they settled in Honolulu. Jeff was admitted to the private Punahou Academy, where the faculty boasted North Shore legends Peter Cole and Fred Van Dyke while the student body included Gerry Lopez, James Jones and Fred Hemmings. After quickly mastering Ala Moana and the rest of the local breaks, Jeff and Harry began trekking to the North Shore. Barely a teenager, Jeff's fearless commitment earned him sponsorship from Dick Brewer and membership in the big-wave club that held court at Sunset and Waimea. He was Hawaii's best young surfer and soon to be introduced to the world. The inaugural Duke Kahanamoku Classic gathered 24 of the world's best to compete at Sunset Beach before a CBS film crew. From the star-studded lineup, 17-year-old Hakman emerged a clear winner, propelling him to international fame. He was immediately signed to Duke's surf team, joining the Hawaiian ambassador and crew on promotional tours and in magazine ads. International Surfing declared Hakman, still in high school, the world's top big-wave rider in 1966. While he would have rather capitalized on his newfound fame and continued on the road, the conflict in Vietnam dictated that he stay in school to avoid being drafted. Upon graduation, he enrolled at Maunaolo Junior College on Maui along with good friend Jock Sutherland, returning to Oahu each summer to teach surf lessons for the Punahou School, a ritual he would adhere to for ten years. (He later transferred to Santa Barbara, dropped out in order to surf, and had to feign homosexuality in order to be deemed unfit for military service.) Having competed -- unsuccessfully -- in the 1966 World Contest in San Diego, Jeff had witnessed the new level of commitment surfing as epitomized by Nat Young, but it was on Maui in 1968 that the performance standards of the shortboard revolution reached their zenith. With the Hawaiians and Aussies dueling on the freshest designs by Brewer and Bob McTavish at Honolua, Hakman was the standout surfer. In waves of consequence, his low, driving approach was unparalleled. As professional surfing established its roots in the early '70s, no one had more success than Jeff. He won two more Duke trophies, three Hang Ten Internationals, the inaugural Pipe Masters, the Gunston Pro, and two Peruvian Invitationals. In the biggest surf ever contested, he narrowly lost to Reno Abellira in the 1974 Smirnoff at Waimea. In and out of competition, he was considered the best in the world. As the fledgling IPS tour came together in 1976, 28-year-old Hakman delivered his swansong with a win at Bells Beach. But before he left Australia, the next phase of his life was already in motion. Jeff had borrowed a pair of Quiksilver trunks the previous year and loved their feel. He convinced Quiksilver boss Alan Green to award him the U.S. license, and along with partner Bob McKnight, Hakman launched the line in the states. It started small, with the two making things up as they went along, but in no time the company was an industry giant. Unfortunately, Hakman wouldn't be around to enjoy it. He had dabbled in drugs since his teenage years, first pot, then LSD, even engaging in a few unsuccessful smuggling attempts. However, none had the power to rule him like heroin. As Hakman's business venture was booming, his habit got the better of him, leading him to sell off his interest in the company for drug money. Eventually, he was ousted from Quiksilver completely, at which time he moved to Australia's Gold Coast to lead a struggling but happy existence with girlfriend Cherie Radcliffe. Through the mid-80s, he surfed in local legends events, worked for good friend Paul Neilson behind the counter at one of his shops, and labored to support his young son Ryan, born in 1982. A respite came in 1984, when Hakman joined Harry Hodge and others in launching Quiksilver Europe. The enterprise was a smashing success, but Jeff's heroin binges came close to ruining his stake. Fortunately, his friends stepped in and got him into rehab in '88, at which time he finally gained control of his situation. He and Cherie married the same year and had a daughter, Lea, in '93. The Hakmans left Europe and ended up settling on Kauai, just above Hanalei Bay. Financially independent since Quiksilver USA purchased the European license from his associates in 1986, Jeff maintains a marketing role with the company. Free of the destructive forces that nearly killed him, his priorities of family, friends and surfing -- the same factors that shaped his life -- are back in order. -- Jason Borte, April 2001 [The book Mr. Sunset, by Phil Jarratt, was used in writing this piece.]
|
|
