Dr. Martin W. Oliver Jr. ThD, PhD, BCPC, beginning the 53 yr. as a Board Certified Chaplain, Vietnam War Veteran USAF 1966-1970, photo 2022
CLICK ON PHOTO HYPERLINK TO LISTEN TO CLIPS OF 14 NEW INSPIRATIONAL SONGS. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR IT IS AVAILABLE AT A SMALL FEE ON THAT WEBSITE. ALL MUSIC AND LYRICS BY MARTIN "DOC" OLIVER
Austin Oliver, WindanSea Beach, La Jolla, California
Member from June 2000- to Present
VOLUNTEER MEMBER POST 53 HEMET, CA 9 MONTHS
Doc Oliver July 11, 2021
CLICK ON SPACE PICTURE BELOW AND FASTEN YOUR SEAT-BELT. BEST SURFING, BEST MESSAGE & MUSIC!!!
Doc Oliver: surfing since 1958 with a few breaks due to location ...like living in the desert for 8+ years. Ha, ha, ha :-(
Martin W. Oliver Jr., with his iron horse -Black Beauty, Meridian Mississippi, 2011
Martin "Doc" Oliver with his 8'6" Hobie Secret Weapon
SURFING LIQUID BLUE TOPAZ
"While sitting on my surfboard in the ocean off La Jolla Shores one Saturday, I began to meditate on the appearance of the sea and surf that sunny afternoon and how to describe that image in words. The phrase "SALT-WATER WALLS AND SALT-WATER MOUNTAIN PEAKS OF SPARKLING LIQUID BLUE TOPAZ, WITH FOAMY WHITE CRESTS CASCADING DOWNWARD" came to me. "That is what I was in search of", I thought, as I briskly paddled on the skin of the deep, strenuously maneuvering my surfboard into position for the next exploration within the tubular blue curl. My goal: to become ONE with the propelling swell of aqueous molecules, and to capture secret moments while on a voyage.
I was seated in the midst of a treasure, I reflected. The only paradox about this unusual wealth was the apparent humor of ownership: for when a mortal attempts to capture and remove it from its native environment, a form of death occurs. The sparkle caused by the glittering reflection of the sun's rays and the rich topaz-blue moving waters mirroring the vaporous clouds, and the stratosphere above, immediately vanishes. The shape of the wave and the thrill of the surfer's ride, of course also disappears and cannot be taken beyond the sandy wet beach at the water line; except that is, by the use of a vivid imagination or the photographic machines of man. If one manages to capture the water, and put it into a priceless urn, within days the fragrance of the sea will leave. The owner will be left with a commodity that will soon begin to stink, stagnate, and eventually evaporate. The majesty of the moment and the ecstasy of the phenomenon cannot go beyond that shore and that moment in time.
Then I contemplated another transformation occurring at that seemingly unchangeable and picturesque shoreline. Within hours of the exquisite, the serene, and the near perfect surfing conditions comes a windy, storm-tossed assault. Suddenly, all the magnificence and thrill that the surfer seeks disappears. For the painter of wind tossed tempests, it is a time of high praise and exaltation as they immediately seize their brush, paints and canvas. But it is for the surfer, a time of departure and frustration. The surfer must wait for another day, another dawn, another search for the fragile, changeable treasures, which they seek with such fervor and diligence.
I asked myself how can such a proud masterpiece, as the waves pounding endlessly on the shores, offer at one moment great strength, power and seemingly invincibility, but the next moment be whipped into submission by that apparent superior force of the wind? Then the wind, when challenged, must submit to the storm, and the storm must submit to the spin of the Earth on its axis, and the Earth submits to the Sun, and the Sun to the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Galaxy to the Universe, and the Universe to God. " Martin "Doc" Oliver 2013 From: "SURFING LIQUID BLUE TOPAZ: Regaining Lost Skills,Moving to Peak Performances, My Life"
"While sitting on my surfboard in the ocean off La Jolla Shores one Saturday, I began to meditate on the appearance of the sea and surf that sunny afternoon and how to describe that image in words. The phrase "SALT-WATER WALLS AND SALT-WATER MOUNTAIN PEAKS OF SPARKLING LIQUID BLUE TOPAZ, WITH FOAMY WHITE CRESTS CASCADING DOWNWARD" came to me. "That is what I was in search of", I thought, as I briskly paddled on the skin of the deep, strenuously maneuvering my surfboard into position for the next exploration within the tubular blue curl. My goal: to become ONE with the propelling swell of aqueous molecules, and to capture secret moments while on a voyage.
I was seated in the midst of a treasure, I reflected. The only paradox about this unusual wealth was the apparent humor of ownership: for when a mortal attempts to capture and remove it from its native environment, a form of death occurs. The sparkle caused by the glittering reflection of the sun's rays and the rich topaz-blue moving waters mirroring the vaporous clouds, and the stratosphere above, immediately vanishes. The shape of the wave and the thrill of the surfer's ride, of course also disappears and cannot be taken beyond the sandy wet beach at the water line; except that is, by the use of a vivid imagination or the photographic machines of man. If one manages to capture the water, and put it into a priceless urn, within days the fragrance of the sea will leave. The owner will be left with a commodity that will soon begin to stink, stagnate, and eventually evaporate. The majesty of the moment and the ecstasy of the phenomenon cannot go beyond that shore and that moment in time.
Then I contemplated another transformation occurring at that seemingly unchangeable and picturesque shoreline. Within hours of the exquisite, the serene, and the near perfect surfing conditions comes a windy, storm-tossed assault. Suddenly, all the magnificence and thrill that the surfer seeks disappears. For the painter of wind tossed tempests, it is a time of high praise and exaltation as they immediately seize their brush, paints and canvas. But it is for the surfer, a time of departure and frustration. The surfer must wait for another day, another dawn, another search for the fragile, changeable treasures, which they seek with such fervor and diligence.
I asked myself how can such a proud masterpiece, as the waves pounding endlessly on the shores, offer at one moment great strength, power and seemingly invincibility, but the next moment be whipped into submission by that apparent superior force of the wind? Then the wind, when challenged, must submit to the storm, and the storm must submit to the spin of the Earth on its axis, and the Earth submits to the Sun, and the Sun to the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Galaxy to the Universe, and the Universe to God. " Martin "Doc" Oliver 2013 From: "SURFING LIQUID BLUE TOPAZ: Regaining Lost Skills,Moving to Peak Performances, My Life"
Ready or not, here comes Martin "Doc" Oliver's Surf Bio: (Surfing Since 1958).
But first may I share a few classic black & White photos of my Dad's career: (Chief Petty Officer and Motor Machinist Mate Martin W. "Ollie" Oliver), WWII, US Navy 20 year Submariner in the South Pacific (1930-1950)?
I hope you will enjoy the photos as much as I do. (For explanations, please see captions under each photo.) Dad served honorably on the USS Permit, the USS Macabi, the USS Holland under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and the USS Sperry.
USS Permit SS-178 received ten battle stars for her World War II service
USS Permit was commissioned into service in 1937. She was transferred from the east coast to the west coast of the United States later that year, arriving in San Diego, California, United States to join Submarine Squadron 6 of the US Navy. In Oct 1939, she joined the US Asiatic Fleet in the Philippine Islands, where she would be located when the US entered the war, now under the command of Lieutenant Commander Adrian Hurst. Her first four war patrols took place in the Philippine Islands, during which he brought in supplies for the ground troops and evacuated Admiral Thomas Hart's staff in late Dec 1941 and 36 US Navy cryptanalysts in Mar 1942. In mid-1943, she made a very successful patrol penetrating into the Sea of Japan; the sinkings were not significant in terms of tonnage, but it was helpful in terms of lifting morale, especially after her lack of sinkings until this time. She would go on to conduct a total of 14 war patrols during the Pacific War.
USS Permit SS-178 received ten battle stars for her World War II service
USS Permit SS-178 received ten battle stars for her World War II service
Martin W. Oliver Sr., US Navy Submarine, WW II
Martin W. Oliver Sr., racing for Harley Davidson. 1939
Martin W. Oliver Sr. (left) taking the lead, motorcycle track racing, circa 1939
Martin W. Oliver Sr's Harley Davidson Motorcycle Sales and Service 1948, on South Hill Street (which became Pacific Coast Highway) Oceanside, California.
Martin W. Oliver Sr., US Navy Boxer, "Go Ahead and Make My Day!"
Martin W. Oliver Sr., US Navy Submariner, receiving Navy Citation for valor.
United States Navy Chief Petty Officer, Motor Machinist Mate, (Chief of the Boat USS Macabi): Martin W. “Ollie” Oliver’s decorations, metals, commendations, citations and campaign service awards:
United States Navy Good Conduct Medal
United States Navy Submarine Combat Pin
United States Navy Bronze Star Medal
United States Navy Silver Star Medal in lieu of 2nd Bronze Star Medal
United States Navy Unit Citation Medal
United States Navy Philippine Campaign Medal
United States Navy World War II Victory Medal
United States Navy American Defense Medal
United States Navy Service Medal
United States Navy American Area Campaign Medal
United States Navy Asiatic-Pacific Medal
United States Navy Overseas Service Medal
United States Navy Commemorative Medal
United States Navy Sea Service Medal
United States Navy Honorable Discharge for 20 Years’ Service Medal
Armed Forces of the United States Honorable Service Commemorative Medal
Eleven Successful War Patrol’s and service aboard the following submarines or Sub-Tender:
USS Permit (SS178)
USS Macabi (SS 375)
USS Sperry (AS 12) (a Fulton-class submarine tender in the United States Navy.)
USS Holland (AS-3) (a Fulton-class submarine tender in the United States Navy.)
USS Permit SS-178 received ten battle stars for her World War II service
USS Permit SS-178 received ten battle stars for her World War II service
Launching of USS Macabi, Manitowoc, Wisconsin commissioned 29 March 1945, Martin W. Oliver Sr., Chief of the Boat
Launching of USS Macabi, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, commissioned 29 March 1945, Martin W. Oliver Sr., Chief of the Boat
USS Sperry (AS 12) (a Fulton-class submarine tender in the United States Navy.)
USS Sperry (AS 12) (a Fulton-class submarine tender in the United States Navy.)
USS Sperry (AS 12) (a Fulton-class submarine tender in the United States Navy.)
On 5 November 1930, Holland became flagship of Captain Chester W. Nimitz, Commander Submarine Divisions, Battle Fleet with additional duty as Commander of Submarine Division 20. On 24 September, she was permanently assigned to base at San Diego, California, tending submarine divisions there with periodic tours to Panama to service submarines based at the Canal Zone.
Eleanor & Martin Oliver 1941
Eleanor, Michael, Martin Jr., Martin Sr. Oliver, circa 1947, San Diego, California
Martin W. Oliver Sr., with his airplane: Cessna 172, one month before his death on March 22, 1958. Gillespie Field, El Cajon, California
Martin W. Oliver Sr., 20 year US Navy Submariner after retirement in 1950 at his Mobile Gas Fletcher Hills Gas Station, Fletcher Hills California
After building the Mobile Gas Station on Fletcher Parkway in Fletcher Hill, a newly built housing development by Colonel Ed Fletcher, specializing on returning vets, Martin W. Oliver Sr. built this Fletcher Hills Garage next door and sold the gas station. His specialty had always been engines and that was what he wanted to focus on. He could repair anything from a model "T" to a Jaguar sports car, in addition to all refrigerators, electrical motors and diesels. He was a Mechanical Genius, which reflects the business new name 57 years later (original building still stands, built circa 1954). He always had business waiting for 3 weeks in advance. He was very honest and trustworthy and the whole neighborhood knew it.
Martin W. Oliver Sr., 20 year US Navy Submariner after retirement in 1950 at his Mobile Gas Fletcher Hills Gas Station, Fletcher Hills California
Martin Woodrow Oliver Jr.: Surf Bio:
Born May 8th, 1945, Victory in Europe Day, at Holy Family Hospital right around the corner from a United States Navy Submarine Building Base in Manitowoc, Wisconsin where Martin's Dad was part of the submarine USS Macabi SS 375 building and sailing crew, Martin's family moved to San Diego in 1946, when he was just one year old. His Dad, Martin W. Oliver Sr (shown above in black & white photos) had been stationed as a United States Navy Submariner, off and on in San Diego since the 1930's. Oliver Sr. was a 20 year Chief Petty Officer Engine Man, eventually the Chief of The Boat, a winner of 1 bronze star and 1 gold star for combat heroics in South Pacific Submarine Service during World War II. Oliver Sr. was also a deep sea diver, team rider for Harley Davidson Motorcycles and the owner of the first Harley Davidson Motorcycle Sales and Service Shop in Oceanside 1948, a Navy Boxer and finally a private pilot. Martin's Mother Eleanor, was a school teacher with a degree in English and Home Economics. Martin's parents were from Martin, Tennessee. Martin has a younger brother Michael and a younger sister Melinda. As a child Martin had some sinus problems and the doctor at the Navy hospital in San Diego recommended to his parents that they move away from the ocean and inland to a dryer climate. This hot inland valley weather change was great for sinus conditions but a total heat pain and surf-postponer to Martin for the next 12 years.
In March of 1958, when Martin was only 12 years old, his Dad and his Fletcher Hills Automobile Repair Garage partner Gordon Begg (also a US Navy WW II Vet) were killed in Martin Sr's Cessna 172 plane crash during a time of excessive high winds over the mountains of Ramona while on their way to Borrego Hot Springs to buy some land. Bill Murray, a commercial pilot and trainer for Japanese Air Lines (JAL) was a neighbor and friend of Martin Sr. One day Bill had borrowed Martin Sr's airplane to go and visit a rich San Diego developer. Unfortunately Bill cracked up the airplane. Murray was also rich and when he replaced Martin Sr's airplane he went cheap and replaced it with a Cessna 172 that had been used in aerobatics. Bill never told Martin Sr., but hid the fact that the structure had been weakened during aerobatics, assuring Martin that the plane was totally safe. A couple of Martin Sr's friends had warned him about the plane but Martin ignored the warning trusting Bill Murray because he was a commercial pilot, neighbor and personal friend. After the crash there was an investigation and a lawsuit by Begg's family and Martin's family lost everything including the business, their home and his Dad's 20 year Navy pension. Bill Murray testified against Martin Sr saying that he was not an experienced pilot and had caused the crash - which was not true. Murray hid what he did to keep from being held guilty by the FAA and to keep his reputation from being ruined and lose his job with JAL. The dark secret was buried for many, many years but eventually was revealed to Martin Jr. during prayer and also confirmed during a conversation by one of his Dad's friends who had warned Martin Sr. The friend was a respected Mt Helix California physician. Bill Murray died years later thinking that he had taken the secret with him to the grave.
Devastated by the loss of his beloved Father, Martin turned to surfing, drinking whiskey, smoking cigars and chasing girls as a means of killing the pain ...the girl chasing, whiskey and cigars Oliver does not recommend because it didn't work and only made things worse the next morning. But the surfing was clean, refreshing and helped change Martin's dismal perspective ...being salt-water baptized and immersed each day of surfing with the benefits of The Water Planet! While in the surf Martin actually began to think more about God and eternity and His beautiful and majestic creation which Martin was fortunate to be surfing in. In 1958 Martin was introduced to the world of surfing by John Campbell of Chelsea Street, Bird Rock, La Jolla, California a close family friend who formally lived next door to Martin's family in Fletcher Hills, California in the early 1950's. John was the first all-around waterman that Martin had ever known ...surfing, free-diving, and swimming. Intrigued by the art of riding a wave, the style, the utterly cool demeanor and bravado of surfers Martin feel in love with surfing, the sport of Hawaiian Kings. Campbell was photographed and featured surfing North Bird Rock by Bud Brown sometime in the late 1950's or early 1960's. John eventually moved to Oahu, Hawaii in the mid 1960's, then years later moved back to San Diego. Campbell currently sells boats in San Diego.
Being raised in inland San Diego County in Fletcher Hills and El Cajon, California, Martin hated the hot dry summers and daily longed for a trip to the beach and diving into the clear blue-green waters of the San Diego coast. In 1958 Martin began to body surf at La Jolla Shores California and soon advanced to riding a hard canvas tube air mattress which he borrowed from John Campbell every time he came to John's house. These early fin-less surf mattress could be pumped up at a gas station so hard that you could kneel on them without bending them. To Oliver it was a total blast and he caught on fast, but he wanted to get on a surfboard where he could really ride some waves with style. During the summer of 1958 Oliver would ride a surfboard for the first time on Coronado California’s North Beach compliments of Walter McCreary a childhood friend and surfer. Walt went to grammar school with Martin starting from kindergarten in Fletcher Hills, then together they later attended La Mesa Junior High, after which Walt's parents moved to Coronado, just across the street from the beach. Immediately Oliver was hooked on surfing and in 1959 Martin scrounged up every penny he could find from his 125 customer paperboy bicycle route earnings and purchased an old homemade no-name balsa wood surfboard for $50.
To give you an idea of how much $50 was worth, the cost of gasoline in those days was 28 cents per gallon. Gordon and Smith Surfboards were selling new custom foam boards from their corner shop in Pacific Beach/La Jolla for $100. The minimum wage in 1959 was $1.00 per hour so a guy would need to work 100 hours (before taxes and social security) to purchase a new G&S form board.
Later McCreary gave Oliver a freshly minted copy ($5.00 cost) of John Severson's first magazine, The Surfer, a 36 page black and white magazine full of the greatest surfing photos Martin had ever seen. Oliver personally read it (it would seem) over 2000 times before trading it circa 1999 to the owner of the Long Board Grotto in Encinitas for a used $300 long board ...hey Oliver was finished reading it! Any time Martin could, he sought out the underground mysterioso surf movies only watched by real surfers and usually shown in obscure beach town high schools with movie titles like: Surfing Hollow Days, Barefoot Adventure, Surf Crazy, Cat on a Hot Foam Board, Slippery When Wet. Then Oliver viewed the first Hollywood surf movie "Gidget", which hit the silver screen and millions discovered surfing. Martin fell in love, not with the Gidget, but with surfing, the sport of Kings! Watch out surfing can be addictive and by this time Oliver was a full-blown surf-addict, looking for his next surf-fix! "WILL WORK FOR SURF!"
In 1959 Martin entered as a freshman into Grossmont (the Great Mountain- Mount Helix) Union High School located on the boarder cities of La Mesa (The Table) and El Cajon (The Box), established 1922 ...so how would you like to go to school on a table or in a box? Oliver would often sit in class and dream and pretend he lived in La Jolla, ahhhhh The Jewel City, ocean view, ocean breeze, plenty of waves, (Low home costs ...errrr Not) I can see it all now !!! Martin's Mother had looked at a 3 bedroom 1 bath single story house built in the 1940's with an ocean view on Chelsea Street in Bird Rock La Jolla down the street from John Campbell's parents, but the home was an outrageous $28,000. Today that same 1940's house sells for multiple millions of dollars and looks about the same physically as it did in 1961 ...but what a view!
Grossmont High, was the home of a rare and infamous breed of humans known as: Inlanders, Ho-Daddy's and Ho-Mamma's, Greasers and Greasettes, Jocks and Jockettes, Cowboys and Cowgirls, Braineeacks and Lesseracks, Rich Snobs and Snobettes, Future Rocket Scientificisios, Beauty Queens and Sea Hags, even some wise-eyed Future Entrepreneurs who knew this place would someday be worth something and finally a few misplaced Hard-Core Ocean Freaks and Freakettes, dying for a shot at some fast moving liquid blue topaz salt water mountains to ride ...which way to the Ocean Mamma Mia? ...an hour and a half, do-West, Mamma, You Must Be Kidding!!! But this gnarly groups of humans, loved by some, rejected by others, were all Martin's friends, having grown up with them, and he loved them all ...and surprisingly, some even liked him ...Wow, Talk About Your Real Miracle!
However in 1959, Oliver began to wonder if he was the only newly minted surfer on campus. It sure seemed like it for a while. Soon he met Jim "The JIWE" Westling a fellow surfer and new student and transfer from Altadena, California. Martin and Jim became best of friends and spent all their time either talking about surfing or actually surfing ...study, who cares about study???
While at Grossmont Oliver played 1st string defensive end on the Freshman and Junior Varsity football teams, lettering in both teams. Football vs Surfing: showdown time came in Martin's Junior year when he was selected to play first string defensive end on the varsity team. There was only one small stipulation. Oliver needed to give up his beloved summer surfing during the entire month of August ...one of the best months for surfing in San Diego ...and one of the hottest times of temperature! Oliver's coach Sam Muscalino a former US Marine hated surfing and although Martin tried to convince Sam that surfing would keep him in perfect shape, Sam wasn't buying it. It was either all or nothing to make the football team and play. Oliver declined the football and spent almost the entire month of August during 1962 doing what he loved most "SUFRINGGGGGGGGGGG rather than football". Muscalino held a mean grudge and when Oliver's senior year came, Sam approached Martin about playing football and said: "No problem Oliver, go surfing and I will still let you on the team...Oliver was suspicious. Once school began and Martin was involved in football practice, he performed his job as defensive end with precision but only during the relentless grueling practices. Sam's way of getting back was to make Oliver sit the bench every game.
Finally, one Friday night when Grossmont was playing El Cajon High School, Sam ran out of defensive ends. Everyone got hurt and Oliver was the only defensive end left on the bench, so out of pure necessity and great reluctance Sam put Oliver in the game. On the first play Martin sacked the quarterback. On the next 3 plays he did the same thing over and over. Grossmont won the game and while Oliver was walking across the field the school Principal Mr. Burnett came up and congratulated Oliver, asking Martin why he had not been playing the entire game or any of the other games in the past? When Oliver told Mr. Burnett the story about Sam Muscalino and what he had done, Mr. Burnett said: "No problem, I will talk to Sam and take care of this problem!" When Monday morning came around Martin saw a humbled Sam Muscalino walking towards him with an apology and word that Martin could play first string the rest of the year. Yeaaaaaaaah Surfing!!! Thank You Jesus for settling my score, without me ever lifting a hand against my old enemy Sam. OH YAA!
Jim Westling's parents had a small trailer at El Morro Beach Trailer Park in North Laguna Beach. Every Easter the boys would head North with Jim's Mother and older brother John Westling - a surfer from San Diego State College, an engineering major, gymnast and flamenco guitar lover, and occasionally with Ken Stubbs a hot classic well known surfer - to El Morro Beach, which gave them immediate access to the best Dana Point surfing and bean plate lunches for $1.00 at La Paz Restaurant in Laguna near Brooks Street. Together the group had some all-time classic days, many times almost entirely by themselves.
Meanwhile, back on campus at Grossmont, other people appeared, to join the surf fellowship and the sport of Kings: Steve Shaw, WindanSea Surf Club member, now of Hawaii, David Shaw, Steve's brother, Tom Morris, Tom "The Ham-Bone" Hamblin , Sammy Miles, Johnny Schrader, Dave Burton, Mike Oliver – Martin’s brother, Jerry Moore, John Sipp, the Dyson Brothers, Bob Strong, Irving Little, Harry Farris, also Mary Jo Watts and Karen Coulter (KC) two of the first girl surfers at Grossmont High School. During these early 1960's days everyone going on a Saturday or Sunday surf trip was required to kick in a whopping 50 cents per person for gas to and from the beach ...talk about your high cost of living!!! Taking a cue from famous surfer/hipster and cool dresser Mike Hynson of La Jolla California, Martin Oliver was the first student on campus to ever wear ocean-blue, sailing deck tennies to school. Students just stared at his feet, having never seen such strange footwear.
Around 1961 this rag-tag group of water-men and women formed the first Grossmont High School Surfing Club which numbered 24 members: 8 women and 16 men. Martin Oliver was elected President. Their Teacher/Sponsor was Lee Tompkins from Mission Beach. Although Lee – their algebra and geometry teacher – was crippled in one foot and walked with crutches he introduced this rowdy rebel-rouser group to classic surfing spots like Sunset Cliff California …a place that Lee rode very big waves with grace atop his Bob Simmon’s balsawood twin-fin, scup-nose model longboard.
Year round, from 1959-1966 Oliver spent nearly every Saturday and Sunday when he could ditch church or was on vacation from school, surfing: La Jolla Shores, WindanSea Beach, Big Rock (one time only on a super low tide, medium to big day - late afternoon, with a few awesome unforgettable rides) North Bird Rock (on some huge South Swell Summer Days with massive elevator drops), Archer Street in Pacific Beach, Law Street, PB Pier, Ocean Beach, Sunset Cliff’s Break below Nazarene College, Coronado's North Beach, Cardiff, Swamis, Pipes, Tamarack, Del Mar, Brooks and Thalia Street Laguna Beach, Salt Creek, Doheny Beach, K-39 Mexico and Dana Point before the breakwater was built and surfing stopped and destroyed.
Oliver grew up and developed his surfing skills watching and being influenced stylistically by San Diego surfing legends like Butch Van Artsdalen, Mike Hynson, Skip Frye, Big Pink-Bill Andrews, Little Pink-Bobby Andrews, Dickie Moon, Del Cannon, Billy Caster, Rusty Miller, Mike Doyle, Phil "Mr. Drop-Knee-Turns" Edwards, LJ Richards, Dewey Weber and Donald Takayama. Martin also carefully studied the surfing photos and movies of Big Wave Riders that surfed WindanSea Beach in La Jolla, like Peter Cole, Fred Van Dyke, Ricky Gregg, Pat Curren, Al Nelson, Mike Diffenderfer, Micky Munoz, Lance Carson, Micky "Da Cat" Dora, Greg Noll, Buzzy Trent, Kemp Aaberg, Reynolds Yater, Dale Velzy, Paul Strauch & Fred Hemmings (both from Hawaii), Joey Cabell, David Nuuhiwa, and of course the Great Grandfather of surfing: Duke Kahanamoku of Hawaii.
After graduation from Grossmont High School, Martin was unsure of what he really wanted to do with his life. It was the time of Cold War with Russia, the Vietnam War was escalating and life seemed very uncertain. The final departing/graduating words written by Martin Oliver on his High School Annual capturing his viewpoint were: "One More Wave Before The Bomb!" For Oliver that sort of summed up what looked like a dismal future. The James Bond 007 thriller movie came out at that time and as Martin read the entire Ian Flemming 007 series, he wondered whether leading the life of a 007 character, moving to South America, getting a harem of women and a hacienda wasn't the best idea? Of course he was broke and so it only amounted to a pipe dream. Oliver's Mother pushed him into attending Grossmont College which he did for a year 1963-1964, but his heart was not in it and he was pretty much sick of school without a clear purpose and direction.
Fearing that Martin would eat his Mother out of house and home, and considering that all he wanted to do was to go surfing, she recruited a neighbor who worked for Scripps Institute of Oceanography's Navel Electronics Laboratory and hit him up for a job for her surf bum son.
The great Oceanographer Jacque Cousteau was an idol of Martin's and the thought of becoming an oceanographer, saving the oceans, farming the sea, riding out storms on the bow of a ship and having a permanent work place at the ocean was right down Oliver's alley, Martin got hired and from 1965-1966 he became a Lab Assistant, Boatswain’s Mate, Assistant to the Navigator aboard the F.L.I.P. (Floating Instrument Platform) Research Ship, built and owned by Scripps Institute of Oceanography. (Scripps Institute is now owned by the University of California San Diego).
Oliver sensed that the US Army was hot on his trail and that it was just a matter of time before they caught up with him because he had no student deferment. The end result could be to send Martin into a very unpopular, questionable, unsupported and deadly war. As a diversionary tactic in 1966 Martin Oliver and Jim Westling joined the Air Force together to keep from going on a one-way body bag trip to Vietnam. When Westling's parents found out about the game plan they over-rode Jim's plan, and put him on a 6 month deferment in order to keep the boys separated ...after seeing all the surfing shenanigans the boys had pulled throughout high school the last thing they wanted was to see them together again. The morning Martin left on the US Air Force bus for basic training in Amarillo, Texas, his US Army draft notice appeared in his home mail box at noon that same day. Talk about your close call! After finishing basic training, Oliver went on to attend the United States Air Force Security Service's Morse Code Intercept Operators School at Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi Mississippi. Then he served 9 months at Scott AFB, a Military Air Lift Command Base in Bellville Illinois. Now Martin was really land-locked and was 2000 miles from the nearest Ocean. It might as well have been a million miles. Oliver kept looking over one mountain after another hoping to find the Ocean, but it was no where to be found.
When Martin had arrived at Scott he talked to a guy from Air force Base Personnel and asked if there were ever assignments to Hawaii? The Airman said, yes occasionally. Martin looked him straight in the eyes and said: "If you ever get a Hawaii assignment would you please not forget me!" The odds of Oliver getting a Hawaii assignment were one in 10,000 or maybe one in 15,000 ...long odds indeed! Nine long cold months passed, Martin did his job everyday to the best of his ability trying to stay in shape by purposely walking through the snow in order to get to the chow hall. One day he received a call from Base Personnel and the voice on the other end said: How soon could you be ready to go to Hawaii?" Martin fired back: 1 second!! Then the Airman told him the scary facts on this potential dream assignment: "They need someone at an Air Nautical and Information Squadron at Hickam AFB Pearl Harbor with a security clearance which you have, but I warn you, if you say even one word about this assignment to anyone and I mean anyone, someone who outranks you will steal this assignment out from underneath you so fast it will make your head swim." Oliver swore to secrecy ...loose lips sink ships and kill Hawaiian surf trips.
For the next 30 days Airman 2nd Class Martin W. Oliver was like a mute as he tried to disguise his welling up joy and just look normal. Even his Mother was never told until he had the transfer orders in hand and was safely on the airplane leaving landlocked Scott AFB, Bellville Illinois. During his waiting period he did his work with precision and quality and laid low, out of sight and away from others lest he would spill his verbal guts at some moment of weakness. Within Oliver there were Hawaiian surfing dreams live and in vivid Hollywood color. He could see himself surfing. He could feel the warm Hawaiian waters, see the swaying palm trees and smell the fragrance of pineapples, mango's and papayas. Growing up two of his favorite TV programs had been: "Adventures in Paradise" and "Hawaiian Eye". Finally and miraculously in May of 1967 Oliver received his dream military assignment and was officially being transferred to Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base Oahu, Hawaii. There Martin was part of the 7651st Aeronautical Chart and Information Squadron which made and shipped bombing maps for United States Military Pilots flying in Vietnam as well as general Aeronautical Flying Charts related to the Vietnam War effort and getting supplies to the troops.
Every weekday afternoon at 4 pm, when Oliver got off work, he would rip off his Air Force fatigues, throw on a pair of board shorts and tee shirt, slip on his beach thongs, grab his surfboard and catch the next bus heading straight for Waikiki Beach and his favorite surf spot "Kaisers" at Ala Moana Harbor. Oliver was so gung-ho to spend as much time as possible in the warm Hawaiian waters and not go back to the Base until the very last moment, that he would stay out all-night and not sneak back to the Hickham AFB until midnight or 2 am. Then up again at 6 am to go to work ...hey a working man's got to get a little sleep! On Thursdays Martin would hit his sleeping bunk at 4:30pm after getting off from work and sleep straight through until 6 am to catch up on all the sleep he had missed and repair his hurting body. Then he would start the surf cycle again the next day.
In late 1967 Martin met Lauren Barbieri, a beautiful 22 year old, long auburn hair, Super-Hip, Menlo Park, California Rock-an-Rollster Gal who had her roots in the San Francisco counterculture-era and psychedelic rock scene. Martin and Lauren fell in love one night at a Waikiki party and marriage was later proposed one evening at Sunset Beach on the North Shore of Hawaii. After a Waikiki wedding conducted by the Barbieri family's Menlo Park Catholic Monsignor in April of 1968, the couple moved into a small apartment in Waikiki on Kuhio Ave, near the Ala Wai Canal at the hub of night-life action. It was so hot during the summers that all the windows had to be left open all night because there was no air-conditioning at the inexpensive little apartment. The only problem was that it was the second most high traffic area in Waikiki and you could hear the cars roaring by until 4 am. "There was a short two hour quite rest period until the noise started again at 6 am with people going to work" said Martin. However difficult the situation was, now Oliver was only 5 short blocks from his beloved Kaisers' Reef Break and he was a happy camper. Martin was firmly planted in surfer's heaven, which now included surf or snorkel the South Shore after work every day during the week and surf Makaha or the North Shore waves of Sunset Beach on the weekends.
(Going forward in time) In November of 1970 a beloved, beautiful and healthy son Joshua Martin Oliver was born to the Oliver's at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, Monterey,California. No one but Martin knew that before engagement and marriage God had warned Oliver to: "Stay away from Lauren", a warning which he totally ignored, because Martin thought he knew better ...better than the Creator of the Universe? ...Ya Right!!! This was not the first time that Oliver tested his own stupidity, rebellion and dumb luck to the limits.
Unfortunately and sadly it was an unheeded prophetic utterance which came true. Martin & Lauren's marriage and worldview was a total spiritual mismatch and there were irreconcilable differences and the couple was divorced in 1972 after leaving Hawaii and moving to Monterey. As a result of Martin's disobedience it took 35 years to completely reconcile with his beloved son Joshua ...proving again that whatever a man sows, the same shall he reap ...OUCH, OUCH, and OUCH!!!
(Going back in time) Before flying to Hawaii in 1967, Martin had stopped at La Jolla Shores for a quick surf session before departure. While standing at the Shores Wall, checking out the surf, Martin saw his old surfing friend John Hughes (now deceased as a result of a Hawaii hang-gliding accident and setting a world record of 13 hours in the air) and John introduced Martin to the guy standing next to him, Jimmy Blears (1948-2011) legendary Hawaii surfer and son of famous Hawaii surfer, wrestler and promoter Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears (photos of both shown below).
Per Jim Blears surf biography, written after his death in 2011: "Jimmy’s surfing style was powerful and deliberate with a wide goofy-foot stance (see photos below) that held fast in the strong Hawaiian surf, and he quickly distinguished himself as a dominant force on the Hawaiian amateur scene, earning a coveted spot on the famous Dewey Weber Surf Team. In addition to local competition, Blears excelled in big waves as a standout at North Shore power zones like The Pipeline and Sunset. According to Noll himself, in his story: "The Biggest Wave Ever Ridden: Greg Noll at Makaha, 1969" by Dr Abalone (Brian Tissot) November 23, 2016, Blears was in the water on the outside at massive Makaha, with Fred Hemmings, Bobby Cloutier, Wally Froiseth, on the day of Greg Noll’s famous last wave, a day when the swell was pumping at a reported 40 feet. Legend has it that Jimmy caught and rode a massive set wave from the outside point all the way to the inside bowl, not a common feat. His big wave chops put him on the shortlist of invitees to the Duke Kahanamoku contest 4 times, and he made a 3rd place showing at the Smirnoff in 1970. The following year, he again competed in the Smirnoff and made it into the semi-finals. Blears has shared the lineup with legends like Eddie and Clyde Aikau, Joey Cabell, Buzzy Trent, Buffalo Keaulana, and Barry Kanai’uapuni."
Jim had invited Martin to look him up when he got to Hawaii and once they met up, Jimmy introduced Oliver to surfing the beautiful summer crystal clear waves of Waikiki's "Kaisers" on the South Shore, Public's, number 3's, Diamond Head and the winter big storm waves of Sunset Beach and Kammieland on the North Shore from June of 1967 through September of 1969. "Jimmy Blears was one of the greatest surfers I had ever ridden waves with. He had this fearless, race-car-driver stance and he powered waves with poise, power, beauty and grace, regardless of the size of the waves," said Martin. In September of 1969 Oliver was transferred from Hickham AFB back to Castle Strategic Air Force Command Base in Merced, California just before the giant 100 year Hawaiian storm of December 1969 hit. Jimmy Blears went on to become the 1972 World Surfing Champion. Martin's all-time favorite surfing was done in Hawaii, particularly at Kaiser on the South Shore where he got 30 days of perfect crystal clear warm water surfing in a row ...the surf was never below 4 foot.
Unfortunately Oliver also almost died in Hawaii after an over the falls, upside down and backwards, bone crushing, washing machine, disorienting, hit the bottom, totally black-light, run out of air, your life is over so just give up, wipe-out in a heavy Sunset Beach surf session late one afternoon with only Blears and Oliver out in the water together and Lord James "Talley Ho" Blears watching from the beach. Oliver still remembers that underwater near death experience to this day: "I was 24 and in the best shape of my life. I had prepared for Hawaii waves for many years by surfing California spots and mainly La Jolla. Jimmy and I had ridden a good sized wave together and both pulled out. The sky was darkening and a storm approached. Then we looked outside and there were set waves, big set waves as far as we could see on the horizon. We were caught in a very wide middle close-out spot that we couldn't paddle around. We were also too far out to turn around and go in and yet within a few seconds we were about to get clobbered by some really big mean Sunset Beach waves."
"Jimmy made it over the first wave and I was about 30 feet behind him. I knew that I could not paddle over the wave which was about to hit me directly (these were the days of no surfboard leashes). As the wave approached me I tried to push my board through and then dove as deeply as I could into the trough, heading for the bottom. The wave sucked me upside down and backwards over the falls. It literally would not let go of me. I used every procedure I knew to survive the wave and get loose but I could not break free. Then I finally ran of of air. It was totally black, and didn't have any bearings and I thought, this is it, I don't have any more strength or air to fight this. It would be easier to die.
Just before I was about to black out, I heard a voice, which I now know was the voice of God saying: ""Don't Quit, Keep Fighting!!!"" Suddenly, I supernaturally had air in my lungs and strength in my body and I could feel the rocks under my foot. With everything I had, I pushed upward and clawed my way to the surface. Finally I could see light and when I miraculously made it to the surface there was a thick layer of foam, which as I gasped for air, I sucked the foam into my mouth. If that was not bad enough, another massive wave came down upon me just as I was sucking in air and cracked me dead-center on top of the head ...talk about your bad days!" Martin narrowly averted death that day, for the 5th time (3 auto accidents, 2 other surfing accidents). God delivered Martin over and over, saving him from certain death, so that he could fulfill his life's mission and purpose. Of course, Oliver got right back into the water and the surf the following day ...with only minor and temporary brain damage!
In December of 1969, after being warned by God that: "If you don't leave Hawaii" -- which is where Martin planned on staying for life (surf in the morning, snorkel and catch fish in the afternoons and watch the sun go down at night) -- "you are never going to amount to anything in terms of what I have called you to do in life." Oliver finished his Air Force career and moved to the cold-chilly shark infested waters of the Monterey Peninsula where he worked and attended Monterey Peninsula College (1970-1972) to study oceanography and chemistry for the purpose of saving the oceans from pollution and destruction. His ultimate plan was to go back to San Diego, work for Scripps Institute of Oceanography and surf La Jolla Shores every lunch hour and weekend! From 1967-1971 Martin had also studied all world religions, yoga, the metaphysical, astrology, clairvoyance, Rosicrucianism, ESP, angels & demons, white-gray-black magic. Oliver examined and interviewed many people, both civilian and military, regarding their causes of pain and the negative long-term social and health repercussions of their use of alcohol, marijuana, hashish, LSD, and methamphetamine's as a pain killer.
During this study, Dr. Oliver examined drug's negative effect on: short and long-term memory, perception, the drug's ability to open the door to the world of fallen angels, and kill motivation, work ethic and alter worldviews. After close examination and comparative research Martin saw strong and overwhelming evidence of the existence of an Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent Transcendent Creator-God, and that Jesus Christ is not only alive and risen from the dead, but that He is in a class unparalleled and is in fact the predicted and prophesied Messiah and Savior for all mankind. This fueled Martin's interest, conclusions and receptivity towards entering Bible University and Bible Theological Seminary Graduate School. Looking back to high school, this educational choice would have been unthinkable and unbelievable to Martin. But with time and revelation it became acceptable, good and perfect. God opened the eyes of his understanding and flooded his heart with light. Oliver saw vital truths and concepts that he had never seen before ...Wow, I Never Knew That!!!
As a result of this massive spiritual rebirth and re-dedication, Martin left Monterey Peninsula College in 1972 and began to attend Bible University and worked and simultaneously studied industrial organizational and clinical psychology, business marketing and Theology/World Religion from 1972-1990. Oliver met Diane Behrman at Bible University in 1973, fell deeply in love and they were married in 1975.
Martin occasionally surfed Monterey breaks like Asilomar State Beach and Lover's of Jesus Point, or Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz when it was too good to pass up. Because of the thick wet-suits required and the miserable icy-water conditions, compared to what he was use to, it was just not much fun to him. "When I arrived in Monterey, after surfing Hawaii for over two years and growing up surfing in San Diego's warm water, it was a sunny day, the Monterey Bay was beautiful, with "inviting" blue waters. So I wanted to go for a quick swim just to check it out. When I dove into the Bay it was like diving into a glass of ice water" said Oliver. If I could have walked on water to get out of there, I would have!"
At the beginning of a long economic recession starting in 1992, Martin, Diane and their son Austin James Oliver relocated back to San Diego County and his warm homeland waters. Since then, Martin has surfed San Diego as often as possible with the exception of a five-year period of teaching chemistry, brain science, biology, PE and Theology while also studying and writing about child behavior at a private school in Meridian, Mississippi. Meridian was the city where Martin's Dad has joined the US Navy in 1930, having lived close by in Enterprise, Mississippi. Martin was interested in tracing his Father's roots and checking out the Southern Hospitality scene. Doc Oliver is now the author of 27 books available on Amazon.
Because of a recent work-assignment change Martin Oliver now lives with Diane in land-locked desert-valley community of Hemet, California an hour and a half from the water ...is this an El Cajon heat-wave revisited again??? They are now actively making plans to move back to somewhere along the San Diego Beach zone ...thank God!!!
Dr Martin Woodrow Oliver PhD, BCPC, has been married to his artist wife (art shown below and on this website) the former Diane L. Behrman BA, MTh, of Monterey since 1975. He has a total of three sons: Joshua Martin Oliver-Barbieri, Austin James Oliver and Martin Woodrow Oliver 3rd who died in miscarriage and now awaits his family in Heaven. Both Joshua and Austin are avid and experienced surfers and skateboarders, having surfed California, Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Thailand and New York City. Both are featured below this surf bio page in multiple photos. Most of the surf photos you will see are of his boys, just a few of Doc Oliver. When Doc learned to surf, cameras had not yet been invented ...ha,ha,ha ...what a funny guy!
From June 2000 until this present day, goofy-foot Martin "Doc" Oliver was a member of the world famous WindanSea Surf Club of La Jolla California, founded by Premier Surfer, Club Organizer & Surf-Scout: Chuck "The Coach" Hasley. Doc Oliver was sponsored by WindanSea Long-Time Club Member Big-Pink: Bill Andrews and his application was signed by Skip Frye, Kit Kantner and Phil Swink. Ever since 1962 when the Club was formed, Martin considered that WindanSea Surf Club Membership was comprised of the best surfing athletes in the world, the coolest bunch of Hombres and the heaviest surf crew ever. Surfing at WindanSea Beach whose surf was and is the training and proving grounds for Hawaii, is the launching point for a Who's Who in the Surfing World. "There is no Surf Club on the Planet that compares with the WindanSea Surf Club" said Doc "They are literally the Best Surfers! If you don't believe the winning contest stats, just get out in the water with them, particularly at WindanSea Beach ...but you better not be a KOOK or you will get run over!"
From his earliest days of surfing, it was Doc Oliver's dream to someday become part of the WindanSea Surf Club. Oliver loves the big way-outside WindanSea summer swells that sparkle in the sun, peak up, and then pop up when the wave hits the reef and you can, sometimes all by yourself, roller-coaster down the face in an elevator drop experience and crank out a big bottom turn on a mountain of deep-blue turquoise water. It is a ride that is second to none! "Now that is surfing" says Oliver who turned 75 years old in May, 2020.
Happy Surfing Dudes and Dudettes says Martin "Doc" Oliver, hope to see you in the water !!! I will be the guy with the BIG smile. Martin has been riding a 9' 6" Rusty, "Desert Island" since 1996 and a 8'5" Red Hobie, "Secret Weapon" tri-fin since 2006. However Oliver recently received his latest board, a 10' 2" Navy Blue, single fin, Hank Warner Nose Rider, Pure-Pleasure Board, especially built by WindanSea long-time Member and Premier Shaper of over 25,000+ surfboards, Hank Warner. "My new Hank Warner could be the best surfboard I have ever owned in 60 years of surfing. What craftsmanship, precision shaping and Diamond Glassing, what attention to detail and my exact request. The price was perfect, no one could touch it ...I Am Really Stoked!!!! Thanks Hank. To see Martin's business bio go to: http://www.docoliver.biz Now for the real fun ...SURF PHOTOS!
Born May 8th, 1945, Victory in Europe Day, at Holy Family Hospital right around the corner from a United States Navy Submarine Building Base in Manitowoc, Wisconsin where Martin's Dad was part of the submarine USS Macabi SS 375 building and sailing crew, Martin's family moved to San Diego in 1946, when he was just one year old. His Dad, Martin W. Oliver Sr (shown above in black & white photos) had been stationed as a United States Navy Submariner, off and on in San Diego since the 1930's. Oliver Sr. was a 20 year Chief Petty Officer Engine Man, eventually the Chief of The Boat, a winner of 1 bronze star and 1 gold star for combat heroics in South Pacific Submarine Service during World War II. Oliver Sr. was also a deep sea diver, team rider for Harley Davidson Motorcycles and the owner of the first Harley Davidson Motorcycle Sales and Service Shop in Oceanside 1948, a Navy Boxer and finally a private pilot. Martin's Mother Eleanor, was a school teacher with a degree in English and Home Economics. Martin's parents were from Martin, Tennessee. Martin has a younger brother Michael and a younger sister Melinda. As a child Martin had some sinus problems and the doctor at the Navy hospital in San Diego recommended to his parents that they move away from the ocean and inland to a dryer climate. This hot inland valley weather change was great for sinus conditions but a total heat pain and surf-postponer to Martin for the next 12 years.
In March of 1958, when Martin was only 12 years old, his Dad and his Fletcher Hills Automobile Repair Garage partner Gordon Begg (also a US Navy WW II Vet) were killed in Martin Sr's Cessna 172 plane crash during a time of excessive high winds over the mountains of Ramona while on their way to Borrego Hot Springs to buy some land. Bill Murray, a commercial pilot and trainer for Japanese Air Lines (JAL) was a neighbor and friend of Martin Sr. One day Bill had borrowed Martin Sr's airplane to go and visit a rich San Diego developer. Unfortunately Bill cracked up the airplane. Murray was also rich and when he replaced Martin Sr's airplane he went cheap and replaced it with a Cessna 172 that had been used in aerobatics. Bill never told Martin Sr., but hid the fact that the structure had been weakened during aerobatics, assuring Martin that the plane was totally safe. A couple of Martin Sr's friends had warned him about the plane but Martin ignored the warning trusting Bill Murray because he was a commercial pilot, neighbor and personal friend. After the crash there was an investigation and a lawsuit by Begg's family and Martin's family lost everything including the business, their home and his Dad's 20 year Navy pension. Bill Murray testified against Martin Sr saying that he was not an experienced pilot and had caused the crash - which was not true. Murray hid what he did to keep from being held guilty by the FAA and to keep his reputation from being ruined and lose his job with JAL. The dark secret was buried for many, many years but eventually was revealed to Martin Jr. during prayer and also confirmed during a conversation by one of his Dad's friends who had warned Martin Sr. The friend was a respected Mt Helix California physician. Bill Murray died years later thinking that he had taken the secret with him to the grave.
Devastated by the loss of his beloved Father, Martin turned to surfing, drinking whiskey, smoking cigars and chasing girls as a means of killing the pain ...the girl chasing, whiskey and cigars Oliver does not recommend because it didn't work and only made things worse the next morning. But the surfing was clean, refreshing and helped change Martin's dismal perspective ...being salt-water baptized and immersed each day of surfing with the benefits of The Water Planet! While in the surf Martin actually began to think more about God and eternity and His beautiful and majestic creation which Martin was fortunate to be surfing in. In 1958 Martin was introduced to the world of surfing by John Campbell of Chelsea Street, Bird Rock, La Jolla, California a close family friend who formally lived next door to Martin's family in Fletcher Hills, California in the early 1950's. John was the first all-around waterman that Martin had ever known ...surfing, free-diving, and swimming. Intrigued by the art of riding a wave, the style, the utterly cool demeanor and bravado of surfers Martin feel in love with surfing, the sport of Hawaiian Kings. Campbell was photographed and featured surfing North Bird Rock by Bud Brown sometime in the late 1950's or early 1960's. John eventually moved to Oahu, Hawaii in the mid 1960's, then years later moved back to San Diego. Campbell currently sells boats in San Diego.
Being raised in inland San Diego County in Fletcher Hills and El Cajon, California, Martin hated the hot dry summers and daily longed for a trip to the beach and diving into the clear blue-green waters of the San Diego coast. In 1958 Martin began to body surf at La Jolla Shores California and soon advanced to riding a hard canvas tube air mattress which he borrowed from John Campbell every time he came to John's house. These early fin-less surf mattress could be pumped up at a gas station so hard that you could kneel on them without bending them. To Oliver it was a total blast and he caught on fast, but he wanted to get on a surfboard where he could really ride some waves with style. During the summer of 1958 Oliver would ride a surfboard for the first time on Coronado California’s North Beach compliments of Walter McCreary a childhood friend and surfer. Walt went to grammar school with Martin starting from kindergarten in Fletcher Hills, then together they later attended La Mesa Junior High, after which Walt's parents moved to Coronado, just across the street from the beach. Immediately Oliver was hooked on surfing and in 1959 Martin scrounged up every penny he could find from his 125 customer paperboy bicycle route earnings and purchased an old homemade no-name balsa wood surfboard for $50.
To give you an idea of how much $50 was worth, the cost of gasoline in those days was 28 cents per gallon. Gordon and Smith Surfboards were selling new custom foam boards from their corner shop in Pacific Beach/La Jolla for $100. The minimum wage in 1959 was $1.00 per hour so a guy would need to work 100 hours (before taxes and social security) to purchase a new G&S form board.
Later McCreary gave Oliver a freshly minted copy ($5.00 cost) of John Severson's first magazine, The Surfer, a 36 page black and white magazine full of the greatest surfing photos Martin had ever seen. Oliver personally read it (it would seem) over 2000 times before trading it circa 1999 to the owner of the Long Board Grotto in Encinitas for a used $300 long board ...hey Oliver was finished reading it! Any time Martin could, he sought out the underground mysterioso surf movies only watched by real surfers and usually shown in obscure beach town high schools with movie titles like: Surfing Hollow Days, Barefoot Adventure, Surf Crazy, Cat on a Hot Foam Board, Slippery When Wet. Then Oliver viewed the first Hollywood surf movie "Gidget", which hit the silver screen and millions discovered surfing. Martin fell in love, not with the Gidget, but with surfing, the sport of Kings! Watch out surfing can be addictive and by this time Oliver was a full-blown surf-addict, looking for his next surf-fix! "WILL WORK FOR SURF!"
In 1959 Martin entered as a freshman into Grossmont (the Great Mountain- Mount Helix) Union High School located on the boarder cities of La Mesa (The Table) and El Cajon (The Box), established 1922 ...so how would you like to go to school on a table or in a box? Oliver would often sit in class and dream and pretend he lived in La Jolla, ahhhhh The Jewel City, ocean view, ocean breeze, plenty of waves, (Low home costs ...errrr Not) I can see it all now !!! Martin's Mother had looked at a 3 bedroom 1 bath single story house built in the 1940's with an ocean view on Chelsea Street in Bird Rock La Jolla down the street from John Campbell's parents, but the home was an outrageous $28,000. Today that same 1940's house sells for multiple millions of dollars and looks about the same physically as it did in 1961 ...but what a view!
Grossmont High, was the home of a rare and infamous breed of humans known as: Inlanders, Ho-Daddy's and Ho-Mamma's, Greasers and Greasettes, Jocks and Jockettes, Cowboys and Cowgirls, Braineeacks and Lesseracks, Rich Snobs and Snobettes, Future Rocket Scientificisios, Beauty Queens and Sea Hags, even some wise-eyed Future Entrepreneurs who knew this place would someday be worth something and finally a few misplaced Hard-Core Ocean Freaks and Freakettes, dying for a shot at some fast moving liquid blue topaz salt water mountains to ride ...which way to the Ocean Mamma Mia? ...an hour and a half, do-West, Mamma, You Must Be Kidding!!! But this gnarly groups of humans, loved by some, rejected by others, were all Martin's friends, having grown up with them, and he loved them all ...and surprisingly, some even liked him ...Wow, Talk About Your Real Miracle!
However in 1959, Oliver began to wonder if he was the only newly minted surfer on campus. It sure seemed like it for a while. Soon he met Jim "The JIWE" Westling a fellow surfer and new student and transfer from Altadena, California. Martin and Jim became best of friends and spent all their time either talking about surfing or actually surfing ...study, who cares about study???
While at Grossmont Oliver played 1st string defensive end on the Freshman and Junior Varsity football teams, lettering in both teams. Football vs Surfing: showdown time came in Martin's Junior year when he was selected to play first string defensive end on the varsity team. There was only one small stipulation. Oliver needed to give up his beloved summer surfing during the entire month of August ...one of the best months for surfing in San Diego ...and one of the hottest times of temperature! Oliver's coach Sam Muscalino a former US Marine hated surfing and although Martin tried to convince Sam that surfing would keep him in perfect shape, Sam wasn't buying it. It was either all or nothing to make the football team and play. Oliver declined the football and spent almost the entire month of August during 1962 doing what he loved most "SUFRINGGGGGGGGGGG rather than football". Muscalino held a mean grudge and when Oliver's senior year came, Sam approached Martin about playing football and said: "No problem Oliver, go surfing and I will still let you on the team...Oliver was suspicious. Once school began and Martin was involved in football practice, he performed his job as defensive end with precision but only during the relentless grueling practices. Sam's way of getting back was to make Oliver sit the bench every game.
Finally, one Friday night when Grossmont was playing El Cajon High School, Sam ran out of defensive ends. Everyone got hurt and Oliver was the only defensive end left on the bench, so out of pure necessity and great reluctance Sam put Oliver in the game. On the first play Martin sacked the quarterback. On the next 3 plays he did the same thing over and over. Grossmont won the game and while Oliver was walking across the field the school Principal Mr. Burnett came up and congratulated Oliver, asking Martin why he had not been playing the entire game or any of the other games in the past? When Oliver told Mr. Burnett the story about Sam Muscalino and what he had done, Mr. Burnett said: "No problem, I will talk to Sam and take care of this problem!" When Monday morning came around Martin saw a humbled Sam Muscalino walking towards him with an apology and word that Martin could play first string the rest of the year. Yeaaaaaaaah Surfing!!! Thank You Jesus for settling my score, without me ever lifting a hand against my old enemy Sam. OH YAA!
Jim Westling's parents had a small trailer at El Morro Beach Trailer Park in North Laguna Beach. Every Easter the boys would head North with Jim's Mother and older brother John Westling - a surfer from San Diego State College, an engineering major, gymnast and flamenco guitar lover, and occasionally with Ken Stubbs a hot classic well known surfer - to El Morro Beach, which gave them immediate access to the best Dana Point surfing and bean plate lunches for $1.00 at La Paz Restaurant in Laguna near Brooks Street. Together the group had some all-time classic days, many times almost entirely by themselves.
Meanwhile, back on campus at Grossmont, other people appeared, to join the surf fellowship and the sport of Kings: Steve Shaw, WindanSea Surf Club member, now of Hawaii, David Shaw, Steve's brother, Tom Morris, Tom "The Ham-Bone" Hamblin , Sammy Miles, Johnny Schrader, Dave Burton, Mike Oliver – Martin’s brother, Jerry Moore, John Sipp, the Dyson Brothers, Bob Strong, Irving Little, Harry Farris, also Mary Jo Watts and Karen Coulter (KC) two of the first girl surfers at Grossmont High School. During these early 1960's days everyone going on a Saturday or Sunday surf trip was required to kick in a whopping 50 cents per person for gas to and from the beach ...talk about your high cost of living!!! Taking a cue from famous surfer/hipster and cool dresser Mike Hynson of La Jolla California, Martin Oliver was the first student on campus to ever wear ocean-blue, sailing deck tennies to school. Students just stared at his feet, having never seen such strange footwear.
Around 1961 this rag-tag group of water-men and women formed the first Grossmont High School Surfing Club which numbered 24 members: 8 women and 16 men. Martin Oliver was elected President. Their Teacher/Sponsor was Lee Tompkins from Mission Beach. Although Lee – their algebra and geometry teacher – was crippled in one foot and walked with crutches he introduced this rowdy rebel-rouser group to classic surfing spots like Sunset Cliff California …a place that Lee rode very big waves with grace atop his Bob Simmon’s balsawood twin-fin, scup-nose model longboard.
Year round, from 1959-1966 Oliver spent nearly every Saturday and Sunday when he could ditch church or was on vacation from school, surfing: La Jolla Shores, WindanSea Beach, Big Rock (one time only on a super low tide, medium to big day - late afternoon, with a few awesome unforgettable rides) North Bird Rock (on some huge South Swell Summer Days with massive elevator drops), Archer Street in Pacific Beach, Law Street, PB Pier, Ocean Beach, Sunset Cliff’s Break below Nazarene College, Coronado's North Beach, Cardiff, Swamis, Pipes, Tamarack, Del Mar, Brooks and Thalia Street Laguna Beach, Salt Creek, Doheny Beach, K-39 Mexico and Dana Point before the breakwater was built and surfing stopped and destroyed.
Oliver grew up and developed his surfing skills watching and being influenced stylistically by San Diego surfing legends like Butch Van Artsdalen, Mike Hynson, Skip Frye, Big Pink-Bill Andrews, Little Pink-Bobby Andrews, Dickie Moon, Del Cannon, Billy Caster, Rusty Miller, Mike Doyle, Phil "Mr. Drop-Knee-Turns" Edwards, LJ Richards, Dewey Weber and Donald Takayama. Martin also carefully studied the surfing photos and movies of Big Wave Riders that surfed WindanSea Beach in La Jolla, like Peter Cole, Fred Van Dyke, Ricky Gregg, Pat Curren, Al Nelson, Mike Diffenderfer, Micky Munoz, Lance Carson, Micky "Da Cat" Dora, Greg Noll, Buzzy Trent, Kemp Aaberg, Reynolds Yater, Dale Velzy, Paul Strauch & Fred Hemmings (both from Hawaii), Joey Cabell, David Nuuhiwa, and of course the Great Grandfather of surfing: Duke Kahanamoku of Hawaii.
After graduation from Grossmont High School, Martin was unsure of what he really wanted to do with his life. It was the time of Cold War with Russia, the Vietnam War was escalating and life seemed very uncertain. The final departing/graduating words written by Martin Oliver on his High School Annual capturing his viewpoint were: "One More Wave Before The Bomb!" For Oliver that sort of summed up what looked like a dismal future. The James Bond 007 thriller movie came out at that time and as Martin read the entire Ian Flemming 007 series, he wondered whether leading the life of a 007 character, moving to South America, getting a harem of women and a hacienda wasn't the best idea? Of course he was broke and so it only amounted to a pipe dream. Oliver's Mother pushed him into attending Grossmont College which he did for a year 1963-1964, but his heart was not in it and he was pretty much sick of school without a clear purpose and direction.
Fearing that Martin would eat his Mother out of house and home, and considering that all he wanted to do was to go surfing, she recruited a neighbor who worked for Scripps Institute of Oceanography's Navel Electronics Laboratory and hit him up for a job for her surf bum son.
The great Oceanographer Jacque Cousteau was an idol of Martin's and the thought of becoming an oceanographer, saving the oceans, farming the sea, riding out storms on the bow of a ship and having a permanent work place at the ocean was right down Oliver's alley, Martin got hired and from 1965-1966 he became a Lab Assistant, Boatswain’s Mate, Assistant to the Navigator aboard the F.L.I.P. (Floating Instrument Platform) Research Ship, built and owned by Scripps Institute of Oceanography. (Scripps Institute is now owned by the University of California San Diego).
Oliver sensed that the US Army was hot on his trail and that it was just a matter of time before they caught up with him because he had no student deferment. The end result could be to send Martin into a very unpopular, questionable, unsupported and deadly war. As a diversionary tactic in 1966 Martin Oliver and Jim Westling joined the Air Force together to keep from going on a one-way body bag trip to Vietnam. When Westling's parents found out about the game plan they over-rode Jim's plan, and put him on a 6 month deferment in order to keep the boys separated ...after seeing all the surfing shenanigans the boys had pulled throughout high school the last thing they wanted was to see them together again. The morning Martin left on the US Air Force bus for basic training in Amarillo, Texas, his US Army draft notice appeared in his home mail box at noon that same day. Talk about your close call! After finishing basic training, Oliver went on to attend the United States Air Force Security Service's Morse Code Intercept Operators School at Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi Mississippi. Then he served 9 months at Scott AFB, a Military Air Lift Command Base in Bellville Illinois. Now Martin was really land-locked and was 2000 miles from the nearest Ocean. It might as well have been a million miles. Oliver kept looking over one mountain after another hoping to find the Ocean, but it was no where to be found.
When Martin had arrived at Scott he talked to a guy from Air force Base Personnel and asked if there were ever assignments to Hawaii? The Airman said, yes occasionally. Martin looked him straight in the eyes and said: "If you ever get a Hawaii assignment would you please not forget me!" The odds of Oliver getting a Hawaii assignment were one in 10,000 or maybe one in 15,000 ...long odds indeed! Nine long cold months passed, Martin did his job everyday to the best of his ability trying to stay in shape by purposely walking through the snow in order to get to the chow hall. One day he received a call from Base Personnel and the voice on the other end said: How soon could you be ready to go to Hawaii?" Martin fired back: 1 second!! Then the Airman told him the scary facts on this potential dream assignment: "They need someone at an Air Nautical and Information Squadron at Hickam AFB Pearl Harbor with a security clearance which you have, but I warn you, if you say even one word about this assignment to anyone and I mean anyone, someone who outranks you will steal this assignment out from underneath you so fast it will make your head swim." Oliver swore to secrecy ...loose lips sink ships and kill Hawaiian surf trips.
For the next 30 days Airman 2nd Class Martin W. Oliver was like a mute as he tried to disguise his welling up joy and just look normal. Even his Mother was never told until he had the transfer orders in hand and was safely on the airplane leaving landlocked Scott AFB, Bellville Illinois. During his waiting period he did his work with precision and quality and laid low, out of sight and away from others lest he would spill his verbal guts at some moment of weakness. Within Oliver there were Hawaiian surfing dreams live and in vivid Hollywood color. He could see himself surfing. He could feel the warm Hawaiian waters, see the swaying palm trees and smell the fragrance of pineapples, mango's and papayas. Growing up two of his favorite TV programs had been: "Adventures in Paradise" and "Hawaiian Eye". Finally and miraculously in May of 1967 Oliver received his dream military assignment and was officially being transferred to Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base Oahu, Hawaii. There Martin was part of the 7651st Aeronautical Chart and Information Squadron which made and shipped bombing maps for United States Military Pilots flying in Vietnam as well as general Aeronautical Flying Charts related to the Vietnam War effort and getting supplies to the troops.
Every weekday afternoon at 4 pm, when Oliver got off work, he would rip off his Air Force fatigues, throw on a pair of board shorts and tee shirt, slip on his beach thongs, grab his surfboard and catch the next bus heading straight for Waikiki Beach and his favorite surf spot "Kaisers" at Ala Moana Harbor. Oliver was so gung-ho to spend as much time as possible in the warm Hawaiian waters and not go back to the Base until the very last moment, that he would stay out all-night and not sneak back to the Hickham AFB until midnight or 2 am. Then up again at 6 am to go to work ...hey a working man's got to get a little sleep! On Thursdays Martin would hit his sleeping bunk at 4:30pm after getting off from work and sleep straight through until 6 am to catch up on all the sleep he had missed and repair his hurting body. Then he would start the surf cycle again the next day.
In late 1967 Martin met Lauren Barbieri, a beautiful 22 year old, long auburn hair, Super-Hip, Menlo Park, California Rock-an-Rollster Gal who had her roots in the San Francisco counterculture-era and psychedelic rock scene. Martin and Lauren fell in love one night at a Waikiki party and marriage was later proposed one evening at Sunset Beach on the North Shore of Hawaii. After a Waikiki wedding conducted by the Barbieri family's Menlo Park Catholic Monsignor in April of 1968, the couple moved into a small apartment in Waikiki on Kuhio Ave, near the Ala Wai Canal at the hub of night-life action. It was so hot during the summers that all the windows had to be left open all night because there was no air-conditioning at the inexpensive little apartment. The only problem was that it was the second most high traffic area in Waikiki and you could hear the cars roaring by until 4 am. "There was a short two hour quite rest period until the noise started again at 6 am with people going to work" said Martin. However difficult the situation was, now Oliver was only 5 short blocks from his beloved Kaisers' Reef Break and he was a happy camper. Martin was firmly planted in surfer's heaven, which now included surf or snorkel the South Shore after work every day during the week and surf Makaha or the North Shore waves of Sunset Beach on the weekends.
(Going forward in time) In November of 1970 a beloved, beautiful and healthy son Joshua Martin Oliver was born to the Oliver's at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, Monterey,California. No one but Martin knew that before engagement and marriage God had warned Oliver to: "Stay away from Lauren", a warning which he totally ignored, because Martin thought he knew better ...better than the Creator of the Universe? ...Ya Right!!! This was not the first time that Oliver tested his own stupidity, rebellion and dumb luck to the limits.
Unfortunately and sadly it was an unheeded prophetic utterance which came true. Martin & Lauren's marriage and worldview was a total spiritual mismatch and there were irreconcilable differences and the couple was divorced in 1972 after leaving Hawaii and moving to Monterey. As a result of Martin's disobedience it took 35 years to completely reconcile with his beloved son Joshua ...proving again that whatever a man sows, the same shall he reap ...OUCH, OUCH, and OUCH!!!
(Going back in time) Before flying to Hawaii in 1967, Martin had stopped at La Jolla Shores for a quick surf session before departure. While standing at the Shores Wall, checking out the surf, Martin saw his old surfing friend John Hughes (now deceased as a result of a Hawaii hang-gliding accident and setting a world record of 13 hours in the air) and John introduced Martin to the guy standing next to him, Jimmy Blears (1948-2011) legendary Hawaii surfer and son of famous Hawaii surfer, wrestler and promoter Lord James "Tally Ho" Blears (photos of both shown below).
Per Jim Blears surf biography, written after his death in 2011: "Jimmy’s surfing style was powerful and deliberate with a wide goofy-foot stance (see photos below) that held fast in the strong Hawaiian surf, and he quickly distinguished himself as a dominant force on the Hawaiian amateur scene, earning a coveted spot on the famous Dewey Weber Surf Team. In addition to local competition, Blears excelled in big waves as a standout at North Shore power zones like The Pipeline and Sunset. According to Noll himself, in his story: "The Biggest Wave Ever Ridden: Greg Noll at Makaha, 1969" by Dr Abalone (Brian Tissot) November 23, 2016, Blears was in the water on the outside at massive Makaha, with Fred Hemmings, Bobby Cloutier, Wally Froiseth, on the day of Greg Noll’s famous last wave, a day when the swell was pumping at a reported 40 feet. Legend has it that Jimmy caught and rode a massive set wave from the outside point all the way to the inside bowl, not a common feat. His big wave chops put him on the shortlist of invitees to the Duke Kahanamoku contest 4 times, and he made a 3rd place showing at the Smirnoff in 1970. The following year, he again competed in the Smirnoff and made it into the semi-finals. Blears has shared the lineup with legends like Eddie and Clyde Aikau, Joey Cabell, Buzzy Trent, Buffalo Keaulana, and Barry Kanai’uapuni."
Jim had invited Martin to look him up when he got to Hawaii and once they met up, Jimmy introduced Oliver to surfing the beautiful summer crystal clear waves of Waikiki's "Kaisers" on the South Shore, Public's, number 3's, Diamond Head and the winter big storm waves of Sunset Beach and Kammieland on the North Shore from June of 1967 through September of 1969. "Jimmy Blears was one of the greatest surfers I had ever ridden waves with. He had this fearless, race-car-driver stance and he powered waves with poise, power, beauty and grace, regardless of the size of the waves," said Martin. In September of 1969 Oliver was transferred from Hickham AFB back to Castle Strategic Air Force Command Base in Merced, California just before the giant 100 year Hawaiian storm of December 1969 hit. Jimmy Blears went on to become the 1972 World Surfing Champion. Martin's all-time favorite surfing was done in Hawaii, particularly at Kaiser on the South Shore where he got 30 days of perfect crystal clear warm water surfing in a row ...the surf was never below 4 foot.
Unfortunately Oliver also almost died in Hawaii after an over the falls, upside down and backwards, bone crushing, washing machine, disorienting, hit the bottom, totally black-light, run out of air, your life is over so just give up, wipe-out in a heavy Sunset Beach surf session late one afternoon with only Blears and Oliver out in the water together and Lord James "Talley Ho" Blears watching from the beach. Oliver still remembers that underwater near death experience to this day: "I was 24 and in the best shape of my life. I had prepared for Hawaii waves for many years by surfing California spots and mainly La Jolla. Jimmy and I had ridden a good sized wave together and both pulled out. The sky was darkening and a storm approached. Then we looked outside and there were set waves, big set waves as far as we could see on the horizon. We were caught in a very wide middle close-out spot that we couldn't paddle around. We were also too far out to turn around and go in and yet within a few seconds we were about to get clobbered by some really big mean Sunset Beach waves."
"Jimmy made it over the first wave and I was about 30 feet behind him. I knew that I could not paddle over the wave which was about to hit me directly (these were the days of no surfboard leashes). As the wave approached me I tried to push my board through and then dove as deeply as I could into the trough, heading for the bottom. The wave sucked me upside down and backwards over the falls. It literally would not let go of me. I used every procedure I knew to survive the wave and get loose but I could not break free. Then I finally ran of of air. It was totally black, and didn't have any bearings and I thought, this is it, I don't have any more strength or air to fight this. It would be easier to die.
Just before I was about to black out, I heard a voice, which I now know was the voice of God saying: ""Don't Quit, Keep Fighting!!!"" Suddenly, I supernaturally had air in my lungs and strength in my body and I could feel the rocks under my foot. With everything I had, I pushed upward and clawed my way to the surface. Finally I could see light and when I miraculously made it to the surface there was a thick layer of foam, which as I gasped for air, I sucked the foam into my mouth. If that was not bad enough, another massive wave came down upon me just as I was sucking in air and cracked me dead-center on top of the head ...talk about your bad days!" Martin narrowly averted death that day, for the 5th time (3 auto accidents, 2 other surfing accidents). God delivered Martin over and over, saving him from certain death, so that he could fulfill his life's mission and purpose. Of course, Oliver got right back into the water and the surf the following day ...with only minor and temporary brain damage!
In December of 1969, after being warned by God that: "If you don't leave Hawaii" -- which is where Martin planned on staying for life (surf in the morning, snorkel and catch fish in the afternoons and watch the sun go down at night) -- "you are never going to amount to anything in terms of what I have called you to do in life." Oliver finished his Air Force career and moved to the cold-chilly shark infested waters of the Monterey Peninsula where he worked and attended Monterey Peninsula College (1970-1972) to study oceanography and chemistry for the purpose of saving the oceans from pollution and destruction. His ultimate plan was to go back to San Diego, work for Scripps Institute of Oceanography and surf La Jolla Shores every lunch hour and weekend! From 1967-1971 Martin had also studied all world religions, yoga, the metaphysical, astrology, clairvoyance, Rosicrucianism, ESP, angels & demons, white-gray-black magic. Oliver examined and interviewed many people, both civilian and military, regarding their causes of pain and the negative long-term social and health repercussions of their use of alcohol, marijuana, hashish, LSD, and methamphetamine's as a pain killer.
During this study, Dr. Oliver examined drug's negative effect on: short and long-term memory, perception, the drug's ability to open the door to the world of fallen angels, and kill motivation, work ethic and alter worldviews. After close examination and comparative research Martin saw strong and overwhelming evidence of the existence of an Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent Transcendent Creator-God, and that Jesus Christ is not only alive and risen from the dead, but that He is in a class unparalleled and is in fact the predicted and prophesied Messiah and Savior for all mankind. This fueled Martin's interest, conclusions and receptivity towards entering Bible University and Bible Theological Seminary Graduate School. Looking back to high school, this educational choice would have been unthinkable and unbelievable to Martin. But with time and revelation it became acceptable, good and perfect. God opened the eyes of his understanding and flooded his heart with light. Oliver saw vital truths and concepts that he had never seen before ...Wow, I Never Knew That!!!
As a result of this massive spiritual rebirth and re-dedication, Martin left Monterey Peninsula College in 1972 and began to attend Bible University and worked and simultaneously studied industrial organizational and clinical psychology, business marketing and Theology/World Religion from 1972-1990. Oliver met Diane Behrman at Bible University in 1973, fell deeply in love and they were married in 1975.
Martin occasionally surfed Monterey breaks like Asilomar State Beach and Lover's of Jesus Point, or Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz when it was too good to pass up. Because of the thick wet-suits required and the miserable icy-water conditions, compared to what he was use to, it was just not much fun to him. "When I arrived in Monterey, after surfing Hawaii for over two years and growing up surfing in San Diego's warm water, it was a sunny day, the Monterey Bay was beautiful, with "inviting" blue waters. So I wanted to go for a quick swim just to check it out. When I dove into the Bay it was like diving into a glass of ice water" said Oliver. If I could have walked on water to get out of there, I would have!"
At the beginning of a long economic recession starting in 1992, Martin, Diane and their son Austin James Oliver relocated back to San Diego County and his warm homeland waters. Since then, Martin has surfed San Diego as often as possible with the exception of a five-year period of teaching chemistry, brain science, biology, PE and Theology while also studying and writing about child behavior at a private school in Meridian, Mississippi. Meridian was the city where Martin's Dad has joined the US Navy in 1930, having lived close by in Enterprise, Mississippi. Martin was interested in tracing his Father's roots and checking out the Southern Hospitality scene. Doc Oliver is now the author of 27 books available on Amazon.
Because of a recent work-assignment change Martin Oliver now lives with Diane in land-locked desert-valley community of Hemet, California an hour and a half from the water ...is this an El Cajon heat-wave revisited again??? They are now actively making plans to move back to somewhere along the San Diego Beach zone ...thank God!!!
Dr Martin Woodrow Oliver PhD, BCPC, has been married to his artist wife (art shown below and on this website) the former Diane L. Behrman BA, MTh, of Monterey since 1975. He has a total of three sons: Joshua Martin Oliver-Barbieri, Austin James Oliver and Martin Woodrow Oliver 3rd who died in miscarriage and now awaits his family in Heaven. Both Joshua and Austin are avid and experienced surfers and skateboarders, having surfed California, Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Thailand and New York City. Both are featured below this surf bio page in multiple photos. Most of the surf photos you will see are of his boys, just a few of Doc Oliver. When Doc learned to surf, cameras had not yet been invented ...ha,ha,ha ...what a funny guy!
From June 2000 until this present day, goofy-foot Martin "Doc" Oliver was a member of the world famous WindanSea Surf Club of La Jolla California, founded by Premier Surfer, Club Organizer & Surf-Scout: Chuck "The Coach" Hasley. Doc Oliver was sponsored by WindanSea Long-Time Club Member Big-Pink: Bill Andrews and his application was signed by Skip Frye, Kit Kantner and Phil Swink. Ever since 1962 when the Club was formed, Martin considered that WindanSea Surf Club Membership was comprised of the best surfing athletes in the world, the coolest bunch of Hombres and the heaviest surf crew ever. Surfing at WindanSea Beach whose surf was and is the training and proving grounds for Hawaii, is the launching point for a Who's Who in the Surfing World. "There is no Surf Club on the Planet that compares with the WindanSea Surf Club" said Doc "They are literally the Best Surfers! If you don't believe the winning contest stats, just get out in the water with them, particularly at WindanSea Beach ...but you better not be a KOOK or you will get run over!"
From his earliest days of surfing, it was Doc Oliver's dream to someday become part of the WindanSea Surf Club. Oliver loves the big way-outside WindanSea summer swells that sparkle in the sun, peak up, and then pop up when the wave hits the reef and you can, sometimes all by yourself, roller-coaster down the face in an elevator drop experience and crank out a big bottom turn on a mountain of deep-blue turquoise water. It is a ride that is second to none! "Now that is surfing" says Oliver who turned 75 years old in May, 2020.
Happy Surfing Dudes and Dudettes says Martin "Doc" Oliver, hope to see you in the water !!! I will be the guy with the BIG smile. Martin has been riding a 9' 6" Rusty, "Desert Island" since 1996 and a 8'5" Red Hobie, "Secret Weapon" tri-fin since 2006. However Oliver recently received his latest board, a 10' 2" Navy Blue, single fin, Hank Warner Nose Rider, Pure-Pleasure Board, especially built by WindanSea long-time Member and Premier Shaper of over 25,000+ surfboards, Hank Warner. "My new Hank Warner could be the best surfboard I have ever owned in 60 years of surfing. What craftsmanship, precision shaping and Diamond Glassing, what attention to detail and my exact request. The price was perfect, no one could touch it ...I Am Really Stoked!!!! Thanks Hank. To see Martin's business bio go to: http://www.docoliver.biz Now for the real fun ...SURF PHOTOS!
A young Doc Oliver as he looked at age 15 in the year 1960. Showing how he would have appeared in his early surfing days at La Jolla Shores, and any other place he could find some waves.
Yep, Flat-Top with Finders and plenty of Butch Wax ...Hey are you a Greaser Dude? No Dude! Don't you know that a Flat-Top with Finders was the cool way to look in the late 1950"s and early 60's?? And if you were really cool and could sneak it past your parents, you had a duck-tail in the back and a water fall or a jelly-roll in the front. Of course none of these were anywhere near as cool as Mike Hynson's swept back WindanSea blond hair surfer look. Now that Guy had the real classic HAIR STUFF!!!
Hey Mom, can I let my hair grow long like Mike Hynson?? ...Aw Maaaa, #@!%%&$ I just wanna be cooooool like Mike!
"I WILL TELL YOU ONE THING MARTIN WOODROW OLIVER JR., IT WILL BE AN ENDLESS SUMMER BEFORE I EVER LET YOU LOOK LIKE THAT BEACH BUM. NOW STRAIGHTEN UP, FLY RIGHT, GO DOWN TO THE BARBER SHOP AND GET YOURSELF A SHORT AND I MEAN SHORT HAIRCUT!!!! AND WHILE YOU ARE AT IT, GET A JOB AND STOP ALL THIS SURF BUM TALK!!!!! IN 6 MONTHS YOU WILL TOTALLY FORGET ABOUT THIS WHOLE SURFING CRAZE. MIKE HYNSON, WHO EVER HEARD OF MIKE HYNSON ANYWAY?"
Ahhhh Maaaa, do I have to??????
Yep, Flat-Top with Finders and plenty of Butch Wax ...Hey are you a Greaser Dude? No Dude! Don't you know that a Flat-Top with Finders was the cool way to look in the late 1950"s and early 60's?? And if you were really cool and could sneak it past your parents, you had a duck-tail in the back and a water fall or a jelly-roll in the front. Of course none of these were anywhere near as cool as Mike Hynson's swept back WindanSea blond hair surfer look. Now that Guy had the real classic HAIR STUFF!!!
Hey Mom, can I let my hair grow long like Mike Hynson?? ...Aw Maaaa, #@!%%&$ I just wanna be cooooool like Mike!
"I WILL TELL YOU ONE THING MARTIN WOODROW OLIVER JR., IT WILL BE AN ENDLESS SUMMER BEFORE I EVER LET YOU LOOK LIKE THAT BEACH BUM. NOW STRAIGHTEN UP, FLY RIGHT, GO DOWN TO THE BARBER SHOP AND GET YOURSELF A SHORT AND I MEAN SHORT HAIRCUT!!!! AND WHILE YOU ARE AT IT, GET A JOB AND STOP ALL THIS SURF BUM TALK!!!!! IN 6 MONTHS YOU WILL TOTALLY FORGET ABOUT THIS WHOLE SURFING CRAZE. MIKE HYNSON, WHO EVER HEARD OF MIKE HYNSON ANYWAY?"
Ahhhh Maaaa, do I have to??????
Excuse me Mrs. Oliver, I am Mike Hynson. Would you mind if Robert August and I took Martin on a really cool Endless Summer surf trip around the world? He could surf all the best classic locations.
MIKE HYNSON, MIKE HYNSON, MIKE HYNSON???? WHERE HAVE I HEARD THAT NAME BEFORE?????
The Young, The Restless, and The Fearless Mighty Wave Hunters.
From left to right: Martin "Marvin Gardens The Kid" Oliver, Tom "The Ham-Bone" Hamblin, Jim "The JIWE" Westling, (Unknown...sorry Bro) and Walter "Mr. MAD Magazine" McCreary. Photo taken at Walt's House North Beach next to the US Navel Air Station and training grounds for US Navy Seals, Coronado Island, San Diego, California. Circa 1961
From left to right: Martin "Marvin Gardens The Kid" Oliver, Tom "The Ham-Bone" Hamblin, Jim "The JIWE" Westling, (Unknown...sorry Bro) and Walter "Mr. MAD Magazine" McCreary. Photo taken at Walt's House North Beach next to the US Navel Air Station and training grounds for US Navy Seals, Coronado Island, San Diego, California. Circa 1961
Martin Oliver, center, middle row, 4th from left
1961, first Grossmont High School Surfing Club, El Cajon California. 24 members: 8 women, 16 men. No dues, no meetings, just surfing! Oliver seated, middle row, 4th from left.
A Duded-Up Martin Oliver soon after graduation 1963, Grossmont High School.
Doc Oliver's first car: An off-white, cream-colored, 1950 Ford Woody. Oliver's middle name is Woodrow and at times was referred to as "Woody" which would make his car choice logical. Purchase price: $300, circa 1961. It had a beautiful body but smoked and burned oil like a tanker. "I could lose the cops in my 007 James Bond Smoke Screen" said Oliver. Even with a new set of rings, this Flathead monster was a total dog. I sold it for $300 and jumped up and down that I was able to unload it. Now this same Woody sells for $60,000 plus. What if I had kept it and just replaced the engine and wiring? OY VEY, VAT VAS I TINKING?
It could have looked like this ...no really, with the right pair of sun glasses. Can you see it? Is that me or what???
Doc Oliver's old Surfing Pal from Grossmont High School: Jim "The JIWE" Westling of Balboa Coves
Newport Beach, California, showing how it is done in Salani, Samoa (see more photos below). The "JIWE" turned 71 in May and still rips regularly, anywhere he can find good waves.
Jim (now retired) is the Founder and President of WESTLING & ASSOCIATES, Newport Beach, California, a firm specializing in development services and construction management of commercial, industrial, retail and office building projects. Jim's surfer son Joshua Westling now runs the family business.
Newport Beach, California, showing how it is done in Salani, Samoa (see more photos below). The "JIWE" turned 71 in May and still rips regularly, anywhere he can find good waves.
Jim (now retired) is the Founder and President of WESTLING & ASSOCIATES, Newport Beach, California, a firm specializing in development services and construction management of commercial, industrial, retail and office building projects. Jim's surfer son Joshua Westling now runs the family business.
Can any good surfer come out of Grossmont High School, a bunch of Inlander's? Well yes, I guess so!!!
Jim "The JIWE" Westling at an important Board Meeting.
Westling's idea of work, with his VP Son Joshua.
The JIWE", with his red-tipped classic Dale Velzy longboard, circa 1961, Coronado, California
Austin James Oliver, owner of Unparalleled Sound, Corpus Christi,Texas showing how it's done in Mexico
Dr. Martin Oliver with a little nose-riding of his own, circa 1962, Scripps Beach La Jolla California. Sam Miles watching. (Martin's artist wife Diane added the island - top right - to make the photo more interesting???) Photo by Surfer Jerry Moore, Fletcher Hills California
Joshua Martin Oliver-Barbieri, owner of Joshua Barbieri Hair, NY City ...ripping it up Aloha Style in Mexico. Check out his website and cool New York hairstyles. Click here
Martin "Doc" Oliver (below), Coronado Beach, San Diego. "Toes on Nose"
Martin "Doc" Oliver (below), Coronado Beach, San Diego. "Toes on Nose"
Joshua, powering though a Mexican Curl... pass me the hot sauce!
Doc Oliver 2016 with his new Hark Warner Surfboard ....looking towards surfing heaven! Reservations Secured.
Martin "Doc" Oliver, waxing up his Rusty, Model: Desert Island 9'6" Board, La Jolla Shores California Circa 2001
Doc Oliver's favorite surfing memories from one of his favorite surf spots Kaiser's Waikiki, Hawaii. Unfortunately, none of the surfers riding Kaisers or Sunset Beach are Doc Oliver or his family ...wish they were!!! Coming Down! Is this fun or what???
(below) Typical great left at Kaisers, water 75 degrees, air 80. Perfect for a Goody-Foot!
My Friend Nutritionist/Author Dr. Paul Bragg and his primier student Jack LaLanne. Hawaiian shirt Paul Bragg below as he looked in 1968 at age 90 when I met him in Waikiki on the beach just before I paddled out at Kaiser's Surf Break. Paul was returning home after a Waikiki swim. At age 90 his daily regemend was swim, lift weights, ride a bicycle and write books. I had read some of his books and we became friends, met on the beach several times after and Paul invited us to his home and gave us a special strain of his secret yogurt. Great man and a great kind friend ...at age 90, full head of hair, all teeth in tact.
The Day I almost died at Sunset Beach, Hawaii, winter 1968.
More of Sunset Beach Hawaii
Lunch is served ...Sunset Beach!
Sunset shore break.
Doc and Diane Oliver, San Diego circa 1994
Austin James Oliver, (below) Winter 2011, Cardiff California Dealing With The Essentials Before Hitting The Water.
Austin James Oliver and his new Bride Brandy J Oliver, Corpus Christi, Texas
Austin James Oliver, Corpus Christi, Texas
Austin James Oliver, Corpus Christi, Texas
Austin James Oliver, Corpus Christi, Texas
In 1993 Austin James Oliver age 10, launched his surfing career at La Jolla Shores California, and did this while living at St. Vincent de Paul Homeless Shelter in San Diego with his parents for a 2 year period of severe unemployment for Martin. It could have been a very sour lemon time in the Oliver's life, however God showed them how to add water and sugar and make lemonade. Martin did a 2 year post-doctoral research project on the root causes of homelessness and wrote his first 2 books: one on potential and the other on self-image. Diane was not asleep at the wheel and also received 2 years of free fine art instruction from San Diego City College. Austin was given many gifts while at St. Vincent's including starting his trumpet career; one was an almost new "Nectar" tri-fin short board shown below (his first surfboard) by one of the staff members who liked him. Then the WindanSea Surfing Club provided a "Day At The Beach" outreach for all the homeless kids (photo below is from the actual event). Scot Cherry of WindanSea directed the project, drove the huge bus and made sure that each child had a wondrous and memorable day in the water with their own private surfing teacher ...and loads of food and multiple gifts. It was a day that Austin never forgot and it was repeated by Scot the following year ...and for the next 30 years and still running!
As a child, Austin not only loved the oceans, the waves, surfing, and admired:Scot Cherry and the WindanSea Surf Club Team, but he never forgot what it was like to face the pain and rejection that any homeless child goes through, as they wonder whether they can ever break free of poverty, lack, depression and discouragement? The WindanSea Surfing Club and Scot Cherry took the time out of their busy schedules to show a few children that they were very important and not forgotten. As the years progressed -- as your can see by the many surfing photos of Austin -- he developed into an outstanding surfer, attended 4 years at San Francisco Conservatory of Music on scholarship (2001-2005) as a trumpet major, won 3rd place in Julliard's 2001 Trumpet Scholarship Worldwide Competition and developed into a very kind and loving person. However in the midst of his success, he never forgot his roots and the tough situations that by God's power and grace, and with the help of the WindanSea Surf Club and their membership, he overcame.
As a child, Austin not only loved the oceans, the waves, surfing, and admired:Scot Cherry and the WindanSea Surf Club Team, but he never forgot what it was like to face the pain and rejection that any homeless child goes through, as they wonder whether they can ever break free of poverty, lack, depression and discouragement? The WindanSea Surfing Club and Scot Cherry took the time out of their busy schedules to show a few children that they were very important and not forgotten. As the years progressed -- as your can see by the many surfing photos of Austin -- he developed into an outstanding surfer, attended 4 years at San Francisco Conservatory of Music on scholarship (2001-2005) as a trumpet major, won 3rd place in Julliard's 2001 Trumpet Scholarship Worldwide Competition and developed into a very kind and loving person. However in the midst of his success, he never forgot his roots and the tough situations that by God's power and grace, and with the help of the WindanSea Surf Club and their membership, he overcame.
Happy after a good day of surf at La Jolla Shores. Austin hanging out at Seaport Village, San Diego Harbor while living just around the corner at St. Vincent de Paul Homeless Shelter 1993.
Go Ahead, Make My Day!
Austin Oliver with a trumpet dream "In the Clef of The Rock" at age 11. Still living at San Vincent de Paul Homeless Shelter, just having completed 2 years of trumpet training with a free instrument upon completion, offered to poor inner-city kids by the San Diego Symphony. Within days of this photo Austin was accepted into the San Diego Youth Symphony and went on to play 5 seasons, eventually as First Chair ...not bad for a reject homeless San Diego kid! Photo by his Artist Mother Diane Oliver. Location Point Loma, California
Yea, What Do You Want?
Austin James Oliver, Sunset Cliffs, Point Loma, California
" Ocean Meditations" Austin Oliver at WindanSea Beach, La Jolla, California. Photo by Diane Oliver
Bearded Martin "Doc" Oliver, (below) WindanSea Beach, Reef Break, La Jolla, California. Doc's ready to get in some carving and cutback practice on his Rusty 9'6" Desert Island Model.
(Below) Austin James Oliver, Cabo Mexico, During A Trip With His Brother Joshua Circa ???? Nice Cutback Son!
(Below) Joshua Martin Oliver-Barbieri. Owner of Joshua Barbieri Hair, New York City.
(Below) Austin Oliver at Lunch across from the Beach, Los Olas Restaurant, Cardiff, California. Circa 2011
Are there actually waves in the Gulf of Mexico? Austin Oliver (below), showing it is true and they are surfable, at his new home in Corpus Christi, Texas, Photos 2015/2016.
Austin James Oliver receives his second and third belts, a gold and orange belt award in Muey Tai Kickboxing.
Corpus Christi Texas,
Fall 2016
Corpus Christi Texas,
Fall 2016
Austin James Oliver 4/8/2017, Corpus Christi, Texas
Austin James Oliver 4/8/2017, Corpus Christi, Texas, weight and endurance training
Austin James Oliver, Corpus Christi, TX,
10-23-2018. Bulking Up!!!
The Beauty of Photoshop..Thanks Arnold!!!
Is it Possible to do Whitewater Rooster Tail Sprays in Corpus Christi, Texas? Enter The Roster Tail Spray Man!
It is not unusal for the air and water temperature to be warm in Corpus Christi. At times the water temperature can reach 80 degrees. Following are 3 photos taking during the Christmas season 2016 at Bob Hall Pier in which it looks cold, very cold, but with surfable waves. In these photos Austin is wearing a full wet suit, a hood and booties. Following is how Austin described the situation: "Air was 40 and water like 60. I was out for 3 hrs. Perfectly warm with my gear. But it only gets this cold a couple times a year. It lasts like 3 days and then back too warm."
Austin's Motorcycle
Austin Oliver and friends at Bob Hall Pier, Corpus Christi 2015/2016, next 19+ photos
Not bad for a place without surf: Corpus Christi, Texas ...anyone for a Tanker Wave Ride? And yes, you can find some clear water also.
A secret spot ...where is the crowd???
No Bull surfing on an Austin and Joshua Oliver Mexican Surfing trip near Cabo.
Joshua and his dog Burma Shave, out for a New York bike ride.
Santa Cruz Cool Meets Mexican Hot Sauce, Aloha Style ...Joshua Martin Oliver-Barbieri Trimming The Bangs!
Joshua Martin Oliver-Barbieri, takes a motorcycle break from his busy New York City Salon to ride Upstate New York.
On a recent surf trip to Cabo, Joshua spent some time at a Catholic orphanage cutting the hair of the kids and ended up making a long term commitment to one of the young girls who had real hair cutting talent but no money. Joshua will be sponsoring her monthly in a Stylist School in Mexico that she could never attend on her own.
Martin W. Oliver Jr., & Joshua Martin Oliver 1971, Monterey, California,
Martin & A Young Austin Oliver Age 5 or 6, Hitting The Dirt Bike Trails On Their KTM-600, Hollister Motorcycle Ranch, Hollister California, near Santa Cruz and Monterey.
Austin James Oliver, age 6, living with his parents at Coast Galleries, Big Sur California, circa 1990.
Joshua Martin Oliver-Barbieri. Santa Cruz High School graduation photo (below) ...a local surfer, ripping Steamer's Lane regularly, followed by his move to Mexico to study Spanish and ride every wave possible. While in Mexico Joshua became fluent in Spanish and got his calling to cut hair and become a stylist. Se Habla Espanol??? Next stop the Big Apple Cobbler, New York City.
When in New York City Joshua rides his Triumph Scrambler
Santa Cruz-New York Skateboarder Joshua and his Thai-Chef-Mentor-Friend Annie, at Thailand Ctr. Pt. Restaurant, NY
Skater Joshua Oliver-Barbieri, defying gravity, live and in-color!
Joshua grew up skating pools with all the Santa Cruz skate legends as well as Southern California's Christian Hosoi, Tony Hawk, Tony Alva, Jay Haizlip and the original Dogtown and Z-Boys.
Joshua grew up skating pools with all the Santa Cruz skate legends as well as Southern California's Christian Hosoi, Tony Hawk, Tony Alva, Jay Haizlip and the original Dogtown and Z-Boys.
Not your typical hairstylist? Josh the Man, showing how it is done in New York City.
Josh-B Cool, NYC.
Surfer, Skater, Motorcyclist, Artist-Photographer and Premier Hair Stylist.
To Watch Joshua in New York City action click here. There is music so have your speakers on!
Joshua's website: http://www.joshuabarbierihair.com/
Surfer, Skater, Motorcyclist, Artist-Photographer and Premier Hair Stylist.
To Watch Joshua in New York City action click here. There is music so have your speakers on!
Joshua's website: http://www.joshuabarbierihair.com/
Joshua's new "NYC" ride, surfboard carrier and beach sleeping compartment.
Martin "Doc" Oliver, circa????
Is there a doctor in the house? YAAA, I'M Dr. Van Doogles-Dorf DA Mustache Doctor
Doc Oliver's Teacher's photo, Meridian, Mississippi 2008-2011. You can take the boy of out the surf but you can't take the surf out of the boy! Hawaiian shirt, mustache, tan and showing surf movies in the science class demonstrating hydrodynamics and oceanography? I don't think this guy is from Mississippi??
Dr. Martin W. Oliver Jr., PhD is a Vietnam War Veteran USAF active service 1966-1970, Honorably Discharged E-4 SGT with a Secret Clearance. Oliver is qualified to wear the following:
United States Air Force Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Medal
United States Air Force American National Defense Service Medal
United States Air Force Good Conduct Medal
United States Air Force Outstanding Unit Medal
United States Air Force Honorable Discharge Medal
United States Air Force General Military Service Commemorative Medal (Struck to honor all those who served honorable in the US Air Force between 1947-present)
United States Air Force American Defense Medal (Struck to honor all those who served in the United States Military for at least 30 days during any period of time.)
United States Air Force Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemorative Medal
United States Air Force Off-Shore Support Vietnam Defense Medal, Struck to honor all those who served in South Vietnam or in direct support from Thailand, Guam, Okinawa, or the waters off shore between 1965-1975. (Qualified thru the USAF 7651 Aero Nautical Chart and information Squadron (Off-Shore) Pearl Harbor, maker of Bombing Maps for US and Vietnam Pilots.)
United States Air Force Service General Commemorative Medal (Struck to honor all those who served honorably for 120 consecutive days of United States Military service on active duty any period from 1966 - 2001 in the Vietnam War, Southwest Asia, Gulf War, or Iraq or Afghanistan action.)
United States Air Force Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Medal
United States Air Force American National Defense Service Medal
United States Air Force Good Conduct Medal
United States Air Force Outstanding Unit Medal
United States Air Force Honorable Discharge Medal
United States Air Force General Military Service Commemorative Medal (Struck to honor all those who served honorable in the US Air Force between 1947-present)
United States Air Force American Defense Medal (Struck to honor all those who served in the United States Military for at least 30 days during any period of time.)
United States Air Force Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemorative Medal
United States Air Force Off-Shore Support Vietnam Defense Medal, Struck to honor all those who served in South Vietnam or in direct support from Thailand, Guam, Okinawa, or the waters off shore between 1965-1975. (Qualified thru the USAF 7651 Aero Nautical Chart and information Squadron (Off-Shore) Pearl Harbor, maker of Bombing Maps for US and Vietnam Pilots.)
United States Air Force Service General Commemorative Medal (Struck to honor all those who served honorably for 120 consecutive days of United States Military service on active duty any period from 1966 - 2001 in the Vietnam War, Southwest Asia, Gulf War, or Iraq or Afghanistan action.)
Martin Woodrow Oliver Jr., & Joshua Martin Oliver, 1971, Monterey, California
After being honorably discharged from the United States Air Force in 1970, and being forced to shave every day and get his hair cut on a regular military basis, Martin decided to take a one-year shaving and haircut break. Here is Doc Oliver with his new born Son Joshua Martin Oliver, Monterey, California 666 David Ave., circa early 1971.
Is Doc Oliver a Surfing-Hippy or what???? Wow Man, Cool and Far-Out ...Wow, How Far Dude, How Far???
Is Doc Oliver a Surfing-Hippy or what???? Wow Man, Cool and Far-Out ...Wow, How Far Dude, How Far???
Martin Oliver with his new born son Joshua, Monterey, California 1971
Jimmy Blears and his friend Clyde Aikau.
Jimmy Blears, Jeff Hackman, Fred Hemmings, surfing contest awards Hawaii
Shown Below My Friend Lord James "Tally-Ho" Blears: Surfer and Father of Pro-Surfer Jimmy Blears was a Professional Wrestler, Promoter and Lover of Surfing! Long Time Hawaii Resident. "Tally-Ho" passed on in March of 2016.
Lord James “Talley Ho” Blears
Lord Blears (born) James Ranicar Blears, August 13, 1923 – March 3, 2016) was a British-American professional wrestler, ring announcer, promoter, actor, mariner, and surfing personality.
James Blears was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire, England in the United Kingdom on August 13, 1923 A successful swimmer in school, he was selected for the British swimming team for the 1940 Summer Olympics but was unable to compete due to World War II.
Amazing Merchant Navy Career
Lord Blears enlisted in the Merchant Navy in 1940 during World War II, with his knowledge of Morse code leading to him being made a radio officer. Whilst serving as second wireless operator on board the SS Tjisalak, a Dutch merchant ship, his ship was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-8 on March 26, 1944 during a voyage from Melbourne, Australia to Colombo, Ceylon. The survivors were taken prisoner by the Japanese and the majorities were summarily executed by beheading. Blears managed to escape by leaping into the water and found his way into a lifeboat, where he and four other survivors began attempting to sail to Ceylon until the United States Navy liberty ship SS James O. Wilder retrieved them three days later. Blears was given a can of peaches by his rescuers and celebrated every year thereafter on March 29 by eating a can of peaches.
Professional wrestling career
Blears learned to wrestle at the YMCA, debuting in 1940 at the age of 17. He wrestled sporadically around the world during his wartime service in the Merchant Navy.
In 1946, he relocated to New York City in the United States, where he shared an apartment on Amsterdam Avenue with fellow wrestlers Stu Hart and Sandor Kovacs. Early in his United States career, Blears wrestled as "Jan Blears".
In the early 1950s, Blears developed the villainous character of "Lord Blears", a snooty British aristocrat who wore a cape and monocle and carried a cane. He was managed by the tuxedo-wearing Captain Leslie Holmes, a friend of Blears' from his schooldays who had also traveled to the United States.
In the early 1950s, Blears relocated to California. In 1952, he formed a tag team with Lord Athol Layton. Managed by Holmes, in 1953, they won the NWA World Tag Team Championship (Chicago version) in the Chicago-based Fred Kohler Enterprises. Blears also wrestled for Worldwide Wrestling Associates, where he held the WWA International Television Tag Team Championship eight times between 1954 and 1957, and for NWA San Francisco, where he held the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) on two occasions in 1953 and 1954 with Layton and the NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) four times between 1955 and 1957.
In 1957, Blears wrestled in Australia, unsuccessfully challenging Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on several occasions. In the late 1950s, Blears relocated to Hawaii after developing a fondness for the state during a tour, where he built his career in the Honolulu-based promotion 50th State Big Time Wrestling. Blears had a single reign as NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Champion, defeating King Curtis Laukea on October 25, 1961. He lost the championship to the Masked Executioner on December 13, 1961. Blears also held the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship numerous times between 1955 and 1964.
At the invitation of Rikidōzan, Blears began wrestling in Japan in the 1950s. After the death of Rikidōzan in 1963, Giant Baba – the owner of All Japan Pro Wrestling – asked him to identify foreign wrestlers to perform for AJPW. Blears arranged for wrestlers such as Davey Boy Smith, Don Leo Jonathan and Dynamite Kid to tour Japan. From 1973 to 2001, Blears made appearances with AJPW as an on-screen authority figure under the title of chairman of the Pacific Wrestling Federation.
Blears stopped wrestling full-time in 1965, transitioning to a commentator for the Hawaiian Championship Wrestling broadcast and the booker for the promotion.
In the 1980s, Blears provided commentary for the American Wrestling Association's broadcasts on ESPN. At the AWA supercard" Super Sunday" on April 24, 1983, Blears served as guest referee for a high-profile title bout between Hulk Hogan and AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel that saw Bockwinkel retain via a Dusty finish.
Acting career
Blears made his first acting appearance in 1950, playing a dramatized version of himself in an episode of The Buster Keaton Show.
In 1966, Blears appeared in the surfing documentary The Endless Summer, playing himself. He played himself once more in the 1974 professional wrestling documentary The Wrestler. In 1987, he appeared in the surfing movie North Shore.
Blears appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-O in 1977 and in episodes of Magnum, P.I. filmed in Hawaii in 1982 and 1983.
Personal life
Blears was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire in the United Kingdom, but moved to the United States in the mid-1940s and ultimately successfully applied for United States citizenship.
While living in Chicago, Blears met Leonora "Lee" Adelaina (died 2007), who he would ultimately marry. The couple had four children: two sons, James Jr. ("Jimmy") (1948–2011) and Clinton, and two daughters, Laura (born 1951) and Carol. All four rose to prominence as professional surfers.
Blears legally changed his name to "Lord Blears". Blears was an avid fan of surfing. He served as commentator and master of ceremonies for many surfing events in Hawaii, earning him the title, "The voice of Hawaiian surfing".
Death
Blears' wife Lenora predeceased him in 2007. His eldest child, Jimmy, died in 2011. Blears spent the final years of his life in a nursing home in Honolulu. Blears died on March 3, 2016 in the Kuakini Medical Center in Honolulu at the age of 92.
Lord Blears (born) James Ranicar Blears, August 13, 1923 – March 3, 2016) was a British-American professional wrestler, ring announcer, promoter, actor, mariner, and surfing personality.
James Blears was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire, England in the United Kingdom on August 13, 1923 A successful swimmer in school, he was selected for the British swimming team for the 1940 Summer Olympics but was unable to compete due to World War II.
Amazing Merchant Navy Career
Lord Blears enlisted in the Merchant Navy in 1940 during World War II, with his knowledge of Morse code leading to him being made a radio officer. Whilst serving as second wireless operator on board the SS Tjisalak, a Dutch merchant ship, his ship was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-8 on March 26, 1944 during a voyage from Melbourne, Australia to Colombo, Ceylon. The survivors were taken prisoner by the Japanese and the majorities were summarily executed by beheading. Blears managed to escape by leaping into the water and found his way into a lifeboat, where he and four other survivors began attempting to sail to Ceylon until the United States Navy liberty ship SS James O. Wilder retrieved them three days later. Blears was given a can of peaches by his rescuers and celebrated every year thereafter on March 29 by eating a can of peaches.
Professional wrestling career
Blears learned to wrestle at the YMCA, debuting in 1940 at the age of 17. He wrestled sporadically around the world during his wartime service in the Merchant Navy.
In 1946, he relocated to New York City in the United States, where he shared an apartment on Amsterdam Avenue with fellow wrestlers Stu Hart and Sandor Kovacs. Early in his United States career, Blears wrestled as "Jan Blears".
In the early 1950s, Blears developed the villainous character of "Lord Blears", a snooty British aristocrat who wore a cape and monocle and carried a cane. He was managed by the tuxedo-wearing Captain Leslie Holmes, a friend of Blears' from his schooldays who had also traveled to the United States.
In the early 1950s, Blears relocated to California. In 1952, he formed a tag team with Lord Athol Layton. Managed by Holmes, in 1953, they won the NWA World Tag Team Championship (Chicago version) in the Chicago-based Fred Kohler Enterprises. Blears also wrestled for Worldwide Wrestling Associates, where he held the WWA International Television Tag Team Championship eight times between 1954 and 1957, and for NWA San Francisco, where he held the NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) on two occasions in 1953 and 1954 with Layton and the NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) four times between 1955 and 1957.
In 1957, Blears wrestled in Australia, unsuccessfully challenging Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on several occasions. In the late 1950s, Blears relocated to Hawaii after developing a fondness for the state during a tour, where he built his career in the Honolulu-based promotion 50th State Big Time Wrestling. Blears had a single reign as NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Champion, defeating King Curtis Laukea on October 25, 1961. He lost the championship to the Masked Executioner on December 13, 1961. Blears also held the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship numerous times between 1955 and 1964.
At the invitation of Rikidōzan, Blears began wrestling in Japan in the 1950s. After the death of Rikidōzan in 1963, Giant Baba – the owner of All Japan Pro Wrestling – asked him to identify foreign wrestlers to perform for AJPW. Blears arranged for wrestlers such as Davey Boy Smith, Don Leo Jonathan and Dynamite Kid to tour Japan. From 1973 to 2001, Blears made appearances with AJPW as an on-screen authority figure under the title of chairman of the Pacific Wrestling Federation.
Blears stopped wrestling full-time in 1965, transitioning to a commentator for the Hawaiian Championship Wrestling broadcast and the booker for the promotion.
In the 1980s, Blears provided commentary for the American Wrestling Association's broadcasts on ESPN. At the AWA supercard" Super Sunday" on April 24, 1983, Blears served as guest referee for a high-profile title bout between Hulk Hogan and AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel that saw Bockwinkel retain via a Dusty finish.
Acting career
Blears made his first acting appearance in 1950, playing a dramatized version of himself in an episode of The Buster Keaton Show.
In 1966, Blears appeared in the surfing documentary The Endless Summer, playing himself. He played himself once more in the 1974 professional wrestling documentary The Wrestler. In 1987, he appeared in the surfing movie North Shore.
Blears appeared in an episode of Hawaii Five-O in 1977 and in episodes of Magnum, P.I. filmed in Hawaii in 1982 and 1983.
Personal life
Blears was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire in the United Kingdom, but moved to the United States in the mid-1940s and ultimately successfully applied for United States citizenship.
While living in Chicago, Blears met Leonora "Lee" Adelaina (died 2007), who he would ultimately marry. The couple had four children: two sons, James Jr. ("Jimmy") (1948–2011) and Clinton, and two daughters, Laura (born 1951) and Carol. All four rose to prominence as professional surfers.
Blears legally changed his name to "Lord Blears". Blears was an avid fan of surfing. He served as commentator and master of ceremonies for many surfing events in Hawaii, earning him the title, "The voice of Hawaiian surfing".
Death
Blears' wife Lenora predeceased him in 2007. His eldest child, Jimmy, died in 2011. Blears spent the final years of his life in a nursing home in Honolulu. Blears died on March 3, 2016 in the Kuakini Medical Center in Honolulu at the age of 92.
Remembering Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaii: Father of Modern Surfing
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968) was a Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) competition swimmer, who is widely credited with popularizing the ancient Hawaiian sport of surfing. He was born towards the end of the Kingdom of Hawaii, just before the overthrow, living well into statehood as a United States citizen. He was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming. Duke was also a law enforcement officer, an actor, a beach volleyball player and businessman.
His name "Duke" has often been confused with a royal title; however, it was his given name, passed down from his father. His grandparents were attendants to the Kamehamehas. While not a formal member of the royal family, he was descended from Alapainui, who ruled Hawaii Island.
According to Kahanamoku, he was born in Honolulu at Haleʻākala, the home of Bernice Pauahi Bishop which was later converted into the Arlington Hotel. He had five brothers and three sisters, including Samuel Kahanamoku. In 1893, the family moved to Kālia, Waikiki (near the present site of the Hilton Hawaiian Village), to be closer to his mother's parents and family. Duke grew up with his siblings and 31 Paoa cousins. Duke attended the Waikiki Grammar School, Kaahumanu School, and the Kamehameha Schools, although he never graduated because he had quit to help support the family.
"Duke" was not a title or a nickname, but a given name. He was named after his father, Duke Halapu Kahanamoku, who was christened by Bernice Pauahi Bishop in honor of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, who was visiting Hawaii at the time. His father was a policeman. His mother Julia Paʻakonia Lonokahikina Paoa was a deeply religious woman with a strong sense of family ancestry.
Even though not of the formal Hawaiian Royal Family, his parents were from prominent Hawaiian ohana (family); the Kahanamoku and the Paoa ohana were considered to be lower-ranking nobles, who were in service to the aliʻi nui or royalty. His paternal grandfather was Kahanamoku and his grandmother, Kapiolani Kaoeha (sometimes spelled Kahoea), a descendant of Alapainui. They were kahu, retainers and trusted advisors of the Kamehamehas, to whom they were related. His maternal grandparents Paoa, son of Paoa Hoolae and Hiikaalani, and Mele Uliama were also of aliʻi descent.
Growing up on the outskirts of Waikiki, Duke Kahanamoku spent his youth as a bronzed beach boy. At Waikiki Beach he developed his surfing and swimming skills. In his youth, Kahanamoku preferred a traditional surf board, which he called his "papa nui", constructed after the fashion of ancient Hawaiian "olo" boards. Made from the wood of a koa tree, it was 16 feet (4.9 m) long and weighed 114 pounds (52 kg). The board was without a skeg or fin, which had yet to be invented. In his later career, he would often use smaller boards but always preferred those made of wood.
On August 11, 1911, Kahanamoku was timed at 55.4 seconds in the 100 yards (91 m) freestyle, beating the existing world record by 4.6 seconds, in the salt water of Honolulu Harbor. He also broke the record in the 220 yd (200 m) and equaled it in the 50 yd (46 m). But the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), in disbelief, would not recognize these feats until many years later. The AAU initially claimed that the judges must have been using alarm clocks rather than stopwatches and later claimed that ocean currents aided Kahanamoku.
Duke easily qualified for the U.S. Olympic swimming team in 1912. At the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, he won a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle, and a silver medal with the second-place U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay. During the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, he won gold medals both in the 100 meters (bettering fellow Hawaiian Pua Kealoha) and in the relay. He finished the 100 meters with a silver medal during the 1924 Olympics in Paris, with the gold going to Johnny Weissmuller and the bronze to Duke's brother, Samuel Kahanamoku. At age 34, this was Kahanamoku's last Olympic medal. He also was an alternate for the U.S. water polo team at the 1932 Summer Olympics.
Between Olympic competitions, and after retiring from the Olympics, Duke Kahanamoku traveled internationally to give swimming exhibitions. It was during this period that he popularized the sport of surfing, previously known only in Hawaii, by incorporating surfing exhibitions into these visits as well. His surfing exhibition at Sydney's Freshwater Beach on December 24, 1914 is widely regarded as a seminal event in the development of surfing in Australia. The board that Kahanamoku built from a piece of pine from a local hardware store is retained by the Freshwater Surf Club. There is a statue of Duke Kahanamoku on the Northern headland of Freshwater Beach, New South Wales. He made surfing popular in mainland America first in 1912 while in Southern California.
During his time living in Southern California, The Duke performed in Hollywood as a background actor and a character actor in several films. In this way, he made connections with people who could further publicize the sport of surfing. Duke Kahanamoku was involved with the Los Angeles Athletic Club, acting as lifeguard and competing on both swimming and water polo teams.
Remembering WindanSea's Greatest Surfer: Butch Van Artsdalen
"It is my opinion after surfing for 64 years and watching what I consider to be, all the greats either live or by film, that within the confines of the times, the available equipment and surfing knowledge, that the greatest surfer in terms of poetic skills, wave knowledge, timing, balance, raw courage, guts, bravado and pure athletic ability, must be Butch Van Artsdalen of La Jolla, California. I believe that he was the most impressive and skillful surfer to ever come out of WindanSea Beach. It was my enjoyment to watch Butch surf and on one occasion at La Jolla Shores during a summer swell circa 1961 or 1962, to actually surf on the same wave with Butch. Of course when Butch was finished displaying his bag of skills, tricks and moves, he pulled up next to me, stepped on my board and we road tandem for a few seconds. I will not forget his smile and laughter as we both fell into the water, during that once in a lifetime ride with a True Surf Legend: Butch Van Artsdalen." Martin "Doc" Oliver
The original WindanSea Team comprised of the best Surfers in existence.
My Friend Chuck Hasley, Founder of the WindanSea Surf Club, Sport's Coach La Jolla High School
Just a few photos of one of the greatest surfing beaches in the world: WindanSea Beach, La Jolla, California.
My friend Skip Frye WindanSea Surf Club Charter Member, showing how a legend surfer and surfboard builder, rides a surfboard.
Skip Frye Biography
"Ponce DeLeon sailed the ocean in search of The Fountain of Youth,
when all he had to do was jump over the side of his ship."
–Skip Frye
The Early Years
Skip Frye, known for his smooth trim and classic surfing style, was born in San Diego in 1941. His birth name was Harry, but because his father was away in the military, he was assigned the task of being the "skipper" in charge of things at home and the name stuck.
Skip began surfing in 1958 and his first surfing experience was while he was in high school. His friend, Bill Duncan, took him to Pacific Beach at the foot of Thomas Avenue and let Skip borrow his board. It was the beginning of not only a lifelong passion of wave riding, but also a passion for designing and shaping surfboards and fins.
Skip's first surfboard was a 9'3" single fin, balsa board shaped by Mike Diffenderfer in the summer of 1958. Skip, Bob Hine and Bob Phillips glassed the board at Skip's parent's garage.
Shortly after he started surfing, Skip broke his jaw and suffered a crushed kneecap in an automobile accident and was told by the doctors that he would never have the proper use of his leg again. Skip did not accept what the doctors told him and in 1963, placed first in the Senior Men's division in the Mission Bay Aquafair in Pacific Beach.
It was also in 1963 that Skip began shaping surfboards. He shaped for Gordon & Smith during the '60s and part of the '70s, where he developed his iconic logo, a pair of wings. That logo was used for the G&S Skip Frye Models, and Skip still uses the logo today for his boards.
Skip went on to win many titles in surfing contests. In 1964, he again placed first in the Mission Bay Aquafair in Pacific Beach, first in the Senior Men's division at the 1965 US Surfing Association Surf Contest in Ocean Beach, second in the 1965 San Clemente Surf Capades and third in the Tom Morey Invitational Noseriding Contest, which was a timed noseriding contest. In December, 1965, Skip competed in the First Annual Duke Kahanamoku Surfing Championships at Sunset Beach in Hawaii, was ranked second in the final USSA standings, and seventh in the Surfer Magazine Surfer Poll.
In 1965, Skip also competed in the International Skateboard Championships and won second place in the downhill slalom, "a tenth of a second behind Willie Phillips' 16.424 time for the specially-constructed 125-foot run." Both were riding a G&S Fibre-Flex board. He designed and shaped his first Skip Frye Model at G&S in 1966.Also in 1966, Skip placed first in the Ocean Beach Contest, second in the U.S Pro Championships, and was rated ninth in the Surfer Magazine Surfer Poll.
In 1967, Skip placed fifth in the AAA Oceanside Invitational and first in the Men's division at the Third Annual Laguna Masters Invitational. He was ranked second in the AAA final standings and was voted the second best male surfer in the Surfer Magazine Surfer Poll.
In 1968, Skip placed first in the A division at the Third Annual Baja Surf Club Invitational at San Miguel, Mexico, second in the Carlsbad Open, and first in the Men's division at the Oceanside U.S. Invitational Surf Meet. He competed in the World Contest in Puerto Rico and was ranked second in the 4A Men's Western Surfing Association ratings, sixth in the Surfer Magazine Poll and also received the award for Best Spontaneous Speech.
WindanSea Surf Club and Shorter Boards
Skip was also one of the original members of the WindanSea Surf Club. Many of the surfing events in which Skip competed and participated in, such as the 1963 Malibu Club Contest, the boat trip to Todos Santos, and a trip to Hawaii in 1964 were as a member of that club. In 1967, Skip traveled with the WindanSea Surf Club to the South Pacific, including New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, and Tahiti. He met up with Australian surfers, such as Bob McTavish. That trip is chronicled in the movie, The Fantastic Plastic Machine.
After that trip, Skip became more interested in the shorter and more maneuverable boards that the Australians were riding, and upon his return, began experimenting with designs such as the V-bottom and Baby Gun. In The Encyclopedia of Surfing, by Matt Warshaw, Skip is credited with being the "first West Coast shaper to build the new Australian-invented vee-bottom design." Skip kept refining the designs and ended up sawing the tail off of one of his V- bottoms and made it into a round tail. That action ultimately led Skip to design a board he called the Egg, one of the shapes for which he is best known.
He was also designing and experimenting with shorter fins, and in early 1967, Frye designed the New-E-Free, a "super high drift free foil fin" and conceived, with Ricky Ryan, a fin called The Finger, which offered controlled drag "in any board attitude."
The '70s and '80s
Skip didn't much care for the competitive side of surfing, even though he almost always did well. He stopped competing during the '70s and experienced some hard times, but that was balanced out through his faith, surfing, shaping and the support of friends. He stayed with G&S until the mid-seventies and then went out on his own. During this time, Skip shaped boards at The Green Room and also had a shaping room, known as The Shack, behind Select Surf Shop in Pacific Beach. In 1980, he met his wife, Donna.
In 1981, Skip returned to shape boards for Gordon & Smith. He also started competing again and in 1982, placed first in the 2nd Annual Ocean Beach Pier Summer Classic.
Longboards were becoming more popular and with that, there were more longboard surfing events. It was a good opportunity to meet up with friends whom Skip had not seen in many years. He left G&S in 1986 to join the crew at Diamond Glassing, and began shaping under his own business name, Skip Frye Surfboards. While at Diamond, Skip often used the Diamond Frye logo, a combination of his wings and a diamond. Also in 1986, Skip placed first in the Master's division in the 2nd Annual Oceanside Longboard Surfing Contest and became a member of the Chart House Surfing Team.
Skip went to Australia in 1988, to surf in the ASP Diet Coke Longboard Classic at Manly Beach and placed second in the Men's division. He placed first in the Master's division at the 2nd Annual Nissan Coors Belly Up Longboard event in Solana Beach that same year. He also competed in the Ocean Beach Surfer Bowl and won the Surfer Bowl Champion title (surf off between the long boarders and short boarders) in both 1988 and 1989.
Skip stayed at Diamond Glassing until 1988, at which time, Eric "Bird" Huffman (owner of Bird's Surf Shed) and Ernie Higgins asked if Skip wanted to shape boards at their new shop, WindanSea, in Pacific Beach. Skip and Donna officially opened Skip Frye Surfboards, which was a small shaping room and front office attached to WindanSea Surf Shop.
The Harrys' Surf Shop Era and Beyond
Longer surfboard blanks became available from Clark Foam in the late '80s/early '90s, and Skip began shaping boards that were 11 and 12 feet long. He loved the smooth glide from the increased planning surface and developed templates for a variety of shapes, including the Eagle and Fish Simmons. Skip also continued to work on new fin configurations for the big boards.
In November, 1990, Skip and Donna left WindanSea, moved across the street and opened Harrys' Surf Shop with Skip's longtime friend and fellow surfer and shaper Harry "Hank" Warner. Harrys' was the namesake of not only Skip and Hank, but both their fathers and also Hank's and Donna's grandfathers. It was home to Skip Frye Surfboards and Hank Warner Custom Shapes, which was unique because Skip and Hank actually shaped the boards on the premises. They did not glass the boards there, and had most of their boards glassed at Diamond Glassing, Moonlight Glassing, Pacific Surf Glass and Joe Roper. The first board Skip shaped at Harrys' was an 11-foot Squaretail.
Harrys' was not your typical surf shop; it was a combination retail store, surf museum, art gallery, shaping shop, political gathering spot and a place to talk story. Photos of customers with their new surfboards lined the walls of the shop as well as historical photos. Art pieces and sculptures were prominently featured and included work from many local artists who had a difficult time finding a place to display their work. Harrys' also carried Patagonia clothing and for many years Skip served as one of their ambassadors, along with the Queen of Makaha, Rell Sunn.
During the Harrys' era, Skip traveled to surfing events such as the Annual Biarritz Surf Festival in France in 1993 and 1994, and Da Bull's 4th Annual Surf Legends Classic at Kuta Beach, Bali in 1994, organized by the legendary big wave rider, Greg Noll. Skip and Hank also participated in local fundraising events such as the Annual Moores UCSD Cancer Center Longboard Invitational and Luau.
In 1995, Skip and Donna founded Surfer's Tired of Pollution (S.T.O.P.) an environmental organization dedicated to protecting the ocean and preserving coastal resources. In 2000, Harrys' Surf Shop was evicted from its ocean view location so the developers could build another hotel at the beach. Skip and Donna moved Skip Frye Surfboards to its current location, slightly inland, and Hank Warner returned to shaping at Diamond Glassing. Donna ran for a seat on the San Diego City Council in 2001 and won. That same year, she won the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association Environmentalist of the Year Award. Donna served as a city council member for almost 10 years and left office in December 2010 due to term limits.
Skip has two daughters, one son, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren. He still shapes surfboards (except when the surf is good), and he still hand shapes each and every board that bears his name. He continues refining and designing surfboards and fins, and on occasion, still rides a Fibre-Flex skateboard. He surfs almost every day, always has a broom and trash picker-upper in his car for cleaning the beach and never uses a surf leash. And he has never lost his enthusiasm for finding the next wave to ride.
Throughout the years, Skip has appeared in numerous films and books. Some of the books include Good Things Love Water, 1994, by Chris Ahrens, and The Glide, by Chris Bystrom, who said in the book's dedication: "...Skip is a gentleman of great humility. In two words he is the master glider of the modern era and this holds true no matter what size board he's riding. It is an Honor to dedicate this, my first book, to Skip Frye. This does not in any way, shape or form forgive Skip for making the cherry red fish I ordered........hot pink!"
Some of the surf films Skip has appeared in include: On Safari To Stay, by Steve Cleveland and Chris Ahrens, 1991; Liquid Stage; The Lure of Surfing, by Michael Bovee and Robbie Greaves, 1995; The Seedling, by Thomas Campbell, 1999; Changes and The Outsiders, 2002, by Walking on Water Foundation; Sprout, by Thomas Campbell, 2004; Glass Love, by Andrew Kidman, 2006; One California Day, by Jason Baffa, 2008, Into The Ether, a photo-book by Andrew Kidman, 2010, and The Still Point, by Taki Bibelas, 2011.
Skip has been humbled by the many honors he has received over the years from the surfing community. In the early '60s, Skip spoke on behalf of the surfers in accepting the dedication of Tourmaline Canyon, located both in Pacific Beach and La Jolla, as a surfing park at the official City of San Diego ceremony.
Over forty years later, in 2006, a surfer's memorial was constructed that would honor " all surfers past and present, male and female, famous, and the unknown." Completed and dedicated in 2008, the words on the memorial include the inscription " Surf Well, Spread Aloha, Share Waves Without Judgement" and an etched photo of Skip surfing.
In 1990, Skip was honored at the Action Sports Retailer show held in San Diego as one of many Surf Pioneers. In 1991, he received the LeRoy Grannis Waterman's Award from the Oceanside Longboard Surfing Club, and was inducted into the International Surfing Hall of Fame. In 1999, the WindanSea Surf Club named Frye "Surfer of the Century", and in 2000, he was voted first in the Master's division in the Longboard Magazine Readers Poll. Skip was inducted into the International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame in December 2006.
On August 4, 2011, he was inducted into the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame as a Surf Pioneer. Peter Townend made the presentation and the biography for the induction program stated in part: "...Frye's influence on surfing transcends many levels. And it could be argued that surfboard design in the USA progressed largely because of his innovation in the shaping bay. A smooth, polished surfer, Frye was renowned as a 'master of the undervalued art of trim - finding and holding a pure angle in the fastest part of the wave. His roots run deep..."
On July 26, 2013, Skip was inducted into the Huntington Beach Surfers' Hall of Fame. "The Surfers' Hall of Fame pays tribute to those individuals who have made an indelible mark on the sport, industry and culture of surfing. Annually, tens of thousands of visitors travel to Huntington Beach's downtown area and literally walk in the footsteps of surfing superstars and legends from several eras."
On May 13, 2016 Skip was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame. He was recognized for his contributions in the '60s which included his competing in the International Skateboard Championships where he placed second in downhill slalom. Skip also rode and helped promote the G&S flexible skateboard which became known as the FibreFlex. In 2010, Skip joined up with G&S again to make skateboards. He created two templates- one for a longer board and one for a shorter board. Both were FibreFlex and were limited editions. He still skateboards and said in a December 2015 article in Surfer Magazine," Let me tell you, the legs really go as you get older. But my legs feel like they're five years younger just because I've been riding skateboards."
"Ponce DeLeon sailed the ocean in search of The Fountain of Youth,
when all he had to do was jump over the side of his ship."
–Skip Frye
The Early Years
Skip Frye, known for his smooth trim and classic surfing style, was born in San Diego in 1941. His birth name was Harry, but because his father was away in the military, he was assigned the task of being the "skipper" in charge of things at home and the name stuck.
Skip began surfing in 1958 and his first surfing experience was while he was in high school. His friend, Bill Duncan, took him to Pacific Beach at the foot of Thomas Avenue and let Skip borrow his board. It was the beginning of not only a lifelong passion of wave riding, but also a passion for designing and shaping surfboards and fins.
Skip's first surfboard was a 9'3" single fin, balsa board shaped by Mike Diffenderfer in the summer of 1958. Skip, Bob Hine and Bob Phillips glassed the board at Skip's parent's garage.
Shortly after he started surfing, Skip broke his jaw and suffered a crushed kneecap in an automobile accident and was told by the doctors that he would never have the proper use of his leg again. Skip did not accept what the doctors told him and in 1963, placed first in the Senior Men's division in the Mission Bay Aquafair in Pacific Beach.
It was also in 1963 that Skip began shaping surfboards. He shaped for Gordon & Smith during the '60s and part of the '70s, where he developed his iconic logo, a pair of wings. That logo was used for the G&S Skip Frye Models, and Skip still uses the logo today for his boards.
Skip went on to win many titles in surfing contests. In 1964, he again placed first in the Mission Bay Aquafair in Pacific Beach, first in the Senior Men's division at the 1965 US Surfing Association Surf Contest in Ocean Beach, second in the 1965 San Clemente Surf Capades and third in the Tom Morey Invitational Noseriding Contest, which was a timed noseriding contest. In December, 1965, Skip competed in the First Annual Duke Kahanamoku Surfing Championships at Sunset Beach in Hawaii, was ranked second in the final USSA standings, and seventh in the Surfer Magazine Surfer Poll.
In 1965, Skip also competed in the International Skateboard Championships and won second place in the downhill slalom, "a tenth of a second behind Willie Phillips' 16.424 time for the specially-constructed 125-foot run." Both were riding a G&S Fibre-Flex board. He designed and shaped his first Skip Frye Model at G&S in 1966.Also in 1966, Skip placed first in the Ocean Beach Contest, second in the U.S Pro Championships, and was rated ninth in the Surfer Magazine Surfer Poll.
In 1967, Skip placed fifth in the AAA Oceanside Invitational and first in the Men's division at the Third Annual Laguna Masters Invitational. He was ranked second in the AAA final standings and was voted the second best male surfer in the Surfer Magazine Surfer Poll.
In 1968, Skip placed first in the A division at the Third Annual Baja Surf Club Invitational at San Miguel, Mexico, second in the Carlsbad Open, and first in the Men's division at the Oceanside U.S. Invitational Surf Meet. He competed in the World Contest in Puerto Rico and was ranked second in the 4A Men's Western Surfing Association ratings, sixth in the Surfer Magazine Poll and also received the award for Best Spontaneous Speech.
WindanSea Surf Club and Shorter Boards
Skip was also one of the original members of the WindanSea Surf Club. Many of the surfing events in which Skip competed and participated in, such as the 1963 Malibu Club Contest, the boat trip to Todos Santos, and a trip to Hawaii in 1964 were as a member of that club. In 1967, Skip traveled with the WindanSea Surf Club to the South Pacific, including New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, and Tahiti. He met up with Australian surfers, such as Bob McTavish. That trip is chronicled in the movie, The Fantastic Plastic Machine.
After that trip, Skip became more interested in the shorter and more maneuverable boards that the Australians were riding, and upon his return, began experimenting with designs such as the V-bottom and Baby Gun. In The Encyclopedia of Surfing, by Matt Warshaw, Skip is credited with being the "first West Coast shaper to build the new Australian-invented vee-bottom design." Skip kept refining the designs and ended up sawing the tail off of one of his V- bottoms and made it into a round tail. That action ultimately led Skip to design a board he called the Egg, one of the shapes for which he is best known.
He was also designing and experimenting with shorter fins, and in early 1967, Frye designed the New-E-Free, a "super high drift free foil fin" and conceived, with Ricky Ryan, a fin called The Finger, which offered controlled drag "in any board attitude."
The '70s and '80s
Skip didn't much care for the competitive side of surfing, even though he almost always did well. He stopped competing during the '70s and experienced some hard times, but that was balanced out through his faith, surfing, shaping and the support of friends. He stayed with G&S until the mid-seventies and then went out on his own. During this time, Skip shaped boards at The Green Room and also had a shaping room, known as The Shack, behind Select Surf Shop in Pacific Beach. In 1980, he met his wife, Donna.
In 1981, Skip returned to shape boards for Gordon & Smith. He also started competing again and in 1982, placed first in the 2nd Annual Ocean Beach Pier Summer Classic.
Longboards were becoming more popular and with that, there were more longboard surfing events. It was a good opportunity to meet up with friends whom Skip had not seen in many years. He left G&S in 1986 to join the crew at Diamond Glassing, and began shaping under his own business name, Skip Frye Surfboards. While at Diamond, Skip often used the Diamond Frye logo, a combination of his wings and a diamond. Also in 1986, Skip placed first in the Master's division in the 2nd Annual Oceanside Longboard Surfing Contest and became a member of the Chart House Surfing Team.
Skip went to Australia in 1988, to surf in the ASP Diet Coke Longboard Classic at Manly Beach and placed second in the Men's division. He placed first in the Master's division at the 2nd Annual Nissan Coors Belly Up Longboard event in Solana Beach that same year. He also competed in the Ocean Beach Surfer Bowl and won the Surfer Bowl Champion title (surf off between the long boarders and short boarders) in both 1988 and 1989.
Skip stayed at Diamond Glassing until 1988, at which time, Eric "Bird" Huffman (owner of Bird's Surf Shed) and Ernie Higgins asked if Skip wanted to shape boards at their new shop, WindanSea, in Pacific Beach. Skip and Donna officially opened Skip Frye Surfboards, which was a small shaping room and front office attached to WindanSea Surf Shop.
The Harrys' Surf Shop Era and Beyond
Longer surfboard blanks became available from Clark Foam in the late '80s/early '90s, and Skip began shaping boards that were 11 and 12 feet long. He loved the smooth glide from the increased planning surface and developed templates for a variety of shapes, including the Eagle and Fish Simmons. Skip also continued to work on new fin configurations for the big boards.
In November, 1990, Skip and Donna left WindanSea, moved across the street and opened Harrys' Surf Shop with Skip's longtime friend and fellow surfer and shaper Harry "Hank" Warner. Harrys' was the namesake of not only Skip and Hank, but both their fathers and also Hank's and Donna's grandfathers. It was home to Skip Frye Surfboards and Hank Warner Custom Shapes, which was unique because Skip and Hank actually shaped the boards on the premises. They did not glass the boards there, and had most of their boards glassed at Diamond Glassing, Moonlight Glassing, Pacific Surf Glass and Joe Roper. The first board Skip shaped at Harrys' was an 11-foot Squaretail.
Harrys' was not your typical surf shop; it was a combination retail store, surf museum, art gallery, shaping shop, political gathering spot and a place to talk story. Photos of customers with their new surfboards lined the walls of the shop as well as historical photos. Art pieces and sculptures were prominently featured and included work from many local artists who had a difficult time finding a place to display their work. Harrys' also carried Patagonia clothing and for many years Skip served as one of their ambassadors, along with the Queen of Makaha, Rell Sunn.
During the Harrys' era, Skip traveled to surfing events such as the Annual Biarritz Surf Festival in France in 1993 and 1994, and Da Bull's 4th Annual Surf Legends Classic at Kuta Beach, Bali in 1994, organized by the legendary big wave rider, Greg Noll. Skip and Hank also participated in local fundraising events such as the Annual Moores UCSD Cancer Center Longboard Invitational and Luau.
In 1995, Skip and Donna founded Surfer's Tired of Pollution (S.T.O.P.) an environmental organization dedicated to protecting the ocean and preserving coastal resources. In 2000, Harrys' Surf Shop was evicted from its ocean view location so the developers could build another hotel at the beach. Skip and Donna moved Skip Frye Surfboards to its current location, slightly inland, and Hank Warner returned to shaping at Diamond Glassing. Donna ran for a seat on the San Diego City Council in 2001 and won. That same year, she won the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association Environmentalist of the Year Award. Donna served as a city council member for almost 10 years and left office in December 2010 due to term limits.
Skip has two daughters, one son, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren. He still shapes surfboards (except when the surf is good), and he still hand shapes each and every board that bears his name. He continues refining and designing surfboards and fins, and on occasion, still rides a Fibre-Flex skateboard. He surfs almost every day, always has a broom and trash picker-upper in his car for cleaning the beach and never uses a surf leash. And he has never lost his enthusiasm for finding the next wave to ride.
Throughout the years, Skip has appeared in numerous films and books. Some of the books include Good Things Love Water, 1994, by Chris Ahrens, and The Glide, by Chris Bystrom, who said in the book's dedication: "...Skip is a gentleman of great humility. In two words he is the master glider of the modern era and this holds true no matter what size board he's riding. It is an Honor to dedicate this, my first book, to Skip Frye. This does not in any way, shape or form forgive Skip for making the cherry red fish I ordered........hot pink!"
Some of the surf films Skip has appeared in include: On Safari To Stay, by Steve Cleveland and Chris Ahrens, 1991; Liquid Stage; The Lure of Surfing, by Michael Bovee and Robbie Greaves, 1995; The Seedling, by Thomas Campbell, 1999; Changes and The Outsiders, 2002, by Walking on Water Foundation; Sprout, by Thomas Campbell, 2004; Glass Love, by Andrew Kidman, 2006; One California Day, by Jason Baffa, 2008, Into The Ether, a photo-book by Andrew Kidman, 2010, and The Still Point, by Taki Bibelas, 2011.
Skip has been humbled by the many honors he has received over the years from the surfing community. In the early '60s, Skip spoke on behalf of the surfers in accepting the dedication of Tourmaline Canyon, located both in Pacific Beach and La Jolla, as a surfing park at the official City of San Diego ceremony.
Over forty years later, in 2006, a surfer's memorial was constructed that would honor " all surfers past and present, male and female, famous, and the unknown." Completed and dedicated in 2008, the words on the memorial include the inscription " Surf Well, Spread Aloha, Share Waves Without Judgement" and an etched photo of Skip surfing.
In 1990, Skip was honored at the Action Sports Retailer show held in San Diego as one of many Surf Pioneers. In 1991, he received the LeRoy Grannis Waterman's Award from the Oceanside Longboard Surfing Club, and was inducted into the International Surfing Hall of Fame. In 1999, the WindanSea Surf Club named Frye "Surfer of the Century", and in 2000, he was voted first in the Master's division in the Longboard Magazine Readers Poll. Skip was inducted into the International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame in December 2006.
On August 4, 2011, he was inducted into the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame as a Surf Pioneer. Peter Townend made the presentation and the biography for the induction program stated in part: "...Frye's influence on surfing transcends many levels. And it could be argued that surfboard design in the USA progressed largely because of his innovation in the shaping bay. A smooth, polished surfer, Frye was renowned as a 'master of the undervalued art of trim - finding and holding a pure angle in the fastest part of the wave. His roots run deep..."
On July 26, 2013, Skip was inducted into the Huntington Beach Surfers' Hall of Fame. "The Surfers' Hall of Fame pays tribute to those individuals who have made an indelible mark on the sport, industry and culture of surfing. Annually, tens of thousands of visitors travel to Huntington Beach's downtown area and literally walk in the footsteps of surfing superstars and legends from several eras."
On May 13, 2016 Skip was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame. He was recognized for his contributions in the '60s which included his competing in the International Skateboard Championships where he placed second in downhill slalom. Skip also rode and helped promote the G&S flexible skateboard which became known as the FibreFlex. In 2010, Skip joined up with G&S again to make skateboards. He created two templates- one for a longer board and one for a shorter board. Both were FibreFlex and were limited editions. He still skateboards and said in a December 2015 article in Surfer Magazine," Let me tell you, the legs really go as you get older. But my legs feel like they're five years younger just because I've been riding skateboards."
Member from June 2000- to Present
Oliver's gone crazy over AJ Surfboards, La Jolla California. Poster circa 1960
Waves, sand dunes, cowboys and art skills courtesy of God, willing Artist Diane L. Oliver
Morning Waves: by Diane Oliver
Austin James Oliver: The Surfer, by Diane L. Oliver
Clint Eastwood: by Diane Oliver
Eve Touched by God: by Diane Oliver
John Wayne: by Diane Oliver
The Most Radical Revolutionary of All Times.
Diane Oliver painting in the Mississippi forest.
Member from June 2000- January 2021
Martin "Doc" Oliver, WindanSea Surf Club Member Since 2000, Land-Locked in Meridian Mississippi with His Trusty & Fast Steed, Black Beauty. Circa 2010
Where Doc Ollie got his sea legs: Crew member on the FLIP Navel Electronics Lab, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, 1965-1966.
Personally Autographed 1st Edition Print, Signed by Endless Summer Legend Surf Star Mike Hynson, 2nd Founding Member of the WindanSea Surf Club. Circa 1963
Where It All Began, Learning to Surf At North Beach, Coronado Island, San Diego, California. (From Left to Right) Martin Oliver, Walter McCreary, Michael Oliver, Bill Nystall Trying To Be Funny. Circa 1959.
In 1964 Walter Received An Appointment To The United States Navel Academy Annapolis. Walter Graduated And Received His Degrees in Marine Engineering and Physics. Then Became A Navy Jet Pilot.
Bill Nystall Went Off To College Circa 1963, Dedicated His Life To Jesus Christ, Became A Helicopter Pilot And Fought Giving His Life For His Men In A Nighttime Helicopter Crash In Vietnam.
In 1964 Walter Received An Appointment To The United States Navel Academy Annapolis. Walter Graduated And Received His Degrees in Marine Engineering and Physics. Then Became A Navy Jet Pilot.
Bill Nystall Went Off To College Circa 1963, Dedicated His Life To Jesus Christ, Became A Helicopter Pilot And Fought Giving His Life For His Men In A Nighttime Helicopter Crash In Vietnam.
Doc Getting A Little Book Marketing Mileage Out Of An Old Surf Photo.
Joshua Makes The Cover Of Doc Oliver's Potential Book. Nice Ride Son!
Austin Makes The Cover Also ...Hey, You Gotta Be Fair!
Eat My Dust Devil !
Is that Doc Oliver's Woody??? Nope, but looks just like it use to look back in 1963!
Doc Oliver the cowboy ...where's the surf man, where is the surf???
Hawaiian-Doc, showing some kindness to an abandoned stray: Gracy The Cat, Hemet, California, 2015 ...pur, pur, pur!
Highway to Heaven, Highway to Hell? Which road are you on???
Dr. Martin Oliver at age 75, bike riding between clients. Hemet, California. Snow Capped Mountains in background. December 2020.