Shaping Surf History: Tom Curren and Al Merrick, California 1980-1983

Metyko's photography captures a period of innovation, individualism, and imagery in California's surf history, documenting the rise of Tom Curren and Al Merrick, as well as the record-breaking El Nino event of 1982-1983.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 05 September 2023
Publisher: Rizzoli International Publications

During a four-year period beginning in the 1980s, Santa Barbara, California, experienced an extraordinary mix of innovation, individuals, and imagery, combined with a relatively rare meteorological phenomenon, that led to one of the most influential periods in modern surf history. The rise of young legend-to-be and future three-time world champion Tom Curren, whose preternatural wave-riding abilities would help establish California at the forefront of contemporary surfing; the emergence of then-unknown board builder Al Merrick of Channel Island Surfboards, who would go on to standardize modern board design, by doing so becoming the sport's premier board-builder; the monster El Nino event of 1982-83, a once-in-a-generation series of North Pacific storm systems which provided a record-breaking run of exceptional surf conditions - photographer Jimmy Metyko was there to capture it all. With a compelling blend of dramatic action, intimate moments, and epic waves, Metyko's imagery and personal perspectives articulate a remarkable waypoint on the sport's cultural timeline, as well as a better understanding and appreciation of where surfing is today.

Weight: 1906g
Dimension: 236 x 288 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780847873562