Surfer Magazine

The Largest Surfing Encyclopedia

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A-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

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Sometimes referred to as the "bible of the sport," Surfer magazine began life as a modest accompaniment to John Severson's third surf film, Surf Fever. Titled The Surfer, 10,000 copies of the 32-page First Annual Surf Photo Book were printed in 1960. The little magazine was packed with still photos and screen-grabs from Severson's 16mm footage, depicting surfers and waves of all stripes in a frenzy of stoke, crazy humor and death-defying bit-wave antics.

When the garage-born publication proved an immediate success, Severson -- a painter, art teacher and cinematographer -- was determined to try his hand at serious publishing. He launched The Surfer Quarterly (out of the same garage) in 1961, but with rapidly building demand in an expanding niche, he took the young magazine to six times a year in 1962 as Surfer Bi-Monthly. In 1976, Surfer magazine went monthly and has published 12 issues a year (plus calendars) ever since.

Surfer had competition over the years, but Severson won pole position. Although Surfer has been generally recognized as the authority in its field, Surfing magazine has an equivalent circulation, and The Surfer's Journal has acquired a unique historic authority in its decade of publishing.

But it was arguably Surfer's success that spawned the lifestyle and industry now known worldwide as surf culture. The magazine created a medium for advertising, which allowed surf-related businesses to talk to a specific audience. It also allowed editors to give shape to the amorphous and expanding network of surfers.

While polyurethane foam, fiberglass and other developments allowed the manufacturing of lightweight and inexpensive surfboards and Gidget fanned the fires of the sport's growing popularity, Surfer was a medium for commerce and information in the new subculture. Severson had opened a forum where money could be made and heroes created. The Surfer Poll -- a popularity contest to determine the best male and female surfers of the year -- began in 1964 and became the sport's most prestigious awards ceremony.

Severson's Surfer was also the platform that launched the environmental movement in surfing. Assorted articles dealing with harbors, pollution and access issues in the mid- and late-'60s led to a regular editorial section -- Our Mother Ocean -- in the '70s, which in turn stoked the fires of the founders of the Surfrider Foundation in the '80s.

John Severson sold Surfer to For Better Living, Inc. -- a leisure industries conglomerate -- in 1972, turning the reigns over to Steve Pezman, an especially articulate former surfboard shaper. As publisher and editor, Pezman nursed the magazine through the '70s doldrums and into the boom times of the '80s, when surf culture suddenly became hip across the country and around the world.

Over the years, the Surfer Publishing Group ventured into other magazine publishing endeavors, some more successful than others. These included Powder, Bike, Skateboarder, Snowboarder and Beach Culture magazines, as well as a number of books, including The Book of Waves (1989) and Surfriders: In Search of the Perfect Wave (1997). Surfer also has been involved with creating a number of surfing-related shows for television.

In the late '70s and '80s, Pezman gave over the editorial chores to a succession of talented editors, including Kurt Ledterman, Mike Perry, Jim Kempton, Paul Holmes, Matt Warshaw, Steve Hawk and Evan Slater. Under Pezman's publishing tenure, Surfer enjoyed several transformations, notably a controversial graphics reworking that came with a new art director, David Carson, in the October 1991 issue. In the following issue, Pezman announced his retirement from Surfer. He and his wife, Debbee, now publish The Surfer's Journal -- currently in its ninth year of publication.

Now in its 41st year, Surfer has undergone recent staff and ownership changes. Sold by FBLI to Petersen Publications, the magazine was recently acquired by Emap, a British company through its American division, Emap USA. -- Drew Kampion, October 2000