“Seek And Find The Perfect Day, The Perfect Wave” – RIP John Severson 1933-2017

Jake S

“In this crowded world the surfer can still seek and find the perfect day, the perfect wave, and be alone with the surf and his thoughts” – John Severson

Surfing lost a culture shaping legend this week. John Severson was the original influencer, founding SURFER Magazine in the early 1960s as a follow-up to a photo based booklet he made for the promotion of his third movie entitled Surf Fever. His promo piece, independently titled The Surfer, took off upon publication, selling thousands of copies at double the cost of printing, ushering in the start of a surf magazine media tidal wave that would last decades.

He was a photographer, painter, musician, filmmaker, and esteemed surfer who continued to ride waves into his 80s. Along with the megalithic periodical, his films were among the most prominent of his work. Some of Severson’s major films included Surf, Surf Safari, Surf Fever, Big Wednesday, and Pacific Vibrations.

The final film on this list, Pacific Vibrations, culminated in controversy and a grandiose overview of the times it portrayed. The original concept for the soundtrack was nixed due to copyright entanglements, and yet the music utilized still seemed to do more than hold the movie together – it reinforced the expression of an attitude that ran parallel to the style of riding waves and life in the late 1960s. From shorepound innertube sessions, to police in riot gear up against demonstrators, to the infamous rants and raves by Miki Dora, to wide stanced hand jive longboard moves and heavier leashless sessions with Jock Sutherland in Hawaii, to moonlit treescapes and tabla drumming, there’s a bit of everything from the era thrown in there.

In honor of Severson a full-length version of Pacific Vibrations is posted below. Take some time to absorb it, and ponder the work by a man who had a hand in the genesis of the surf media outlet that we still know and love today.

 

sources and links:

Canalalmasurf. “Pacific Vibrations 1969 [FULL MOVIE].” YouTube. YouTube, 20 July 2016. Web. 30 May 2017.

Pukapukahawaii. Frame grab from: “John Severson’s SURF.” YouTube. YouTube, 21 Aug. 2014. Web. 30 May 2017.

Warshaw, Matt. “History Of Surfing: John Severson Is “The Surfer”.” SURFER Magazine. SURFER Magazine, 28 May 2017. Web. 30 May 2017.