Greg Noll

Greg Noll ( Lawhead; February 11, 1937 – June 28, 2021) was an American pioneer of big wave surfing and a prominent longboard shaper. Nicknamed "Da Bull" by Phil Edwards in reference to his physique and way of charging down the face of a wave, he was on the U.S. lifeguard team that introduced Malibu boards to Australia around the time of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He produced a "legendary" series of five Search for Surf films. Early life Noll was born Greg Lawhead in San Diego, California, on February 11, 1937. He subsequently adopted the surname of his stepfather, Ash. At the age of three, Noll moved with his family to Manhattan Beach, California. He began surfing at the age of 11 in the South Bay. He was a member of Manhattan Beach Surf Club where he learned board shaping from Dale Velzy. Noll was a member of the Los Angeles County Lifeguards and competed in paddleboarding. Noll developed his big wave surfing off Palos Verdes at breaks such as Lunada Bay. He moved to Hawaii in 1954, where he finished high school, and lived and surfed at Makaha. Big waves Noll became known for his exploits in large Hawaiian surf on the North Shore of Oahu. In November 1957, he surfed Waimea Bay in 25–30 ft surf; at the time, this was thought to be impossible, even by the local Hawaiians. He was the first surfer to ride a wave breaking on the outside reef at Banzai Pipeline in November 1964. Noll was readily identified in film footage while surfing by his now iconic black and white horizontally striped "jailhouse" boardshorts. It was later at Makaha, in December 1969, that he rode what many at the time believed to be the largest wave ever surfed. After that wave and the ensuing wipeout during the course of that spectacular ride down the face of a massive dark wall of water, his surfing tapered off and he closed his Hermosa Beach shop in the early 1970s. He later moved to Northern California and first worked as a commercial fisherman, before becoming a sport fishing guide.