Always click on the LEGENDARY SURFERS icon to return to this homepage.LEGENDARY SURFERS
A Definitive History of Surfing's Culture and Heroes
By Malcolm Gault-Williams  

This page updated on 18 July 2008
  Malc 2005 Complete List of Malcolm's Writings


  • "... just remember, even though I wrote a Dora piece in 1983, and surfed contemporaneously with him in the '60s, my work wouldn't have been nearly as possible without yours... the history on your site and the care with which you render it, were absolutely invaluable as research and source material."
    - David Rensin, 2008

  • "Keep up the writing... you do a great job and a lot of us enjoy the read!"
    - Brett Thomas, 2008

  • "Thanks, I really enjoy your work - it’s a treasure you capture. That book [Volume 2] is a deal... you're the real deal, the original Webster / Funk and Wagnal of surfing."
    - Michael O'Shaughnessy, 2008

  • "Volume 1 is such a prized book of mine! The BEST wrap on surfing history by far. Take care and hope to meet in person one of these days."
    - John Mellor, 2007

  • "i just ordered DORA from you, as I enjoyed "The Malibu Board." I surfed in Santa Monica in the mid 1950's, first on a Balsa Board then on a 9-2 Velzy-Jacobs that I worked all summer to pay for in 1959. I never good very good at board surfing, but I was in love with body surfing and walked down to ride State Beach at the foot of the Santa Monica Canyon with my buddy John just about every morning to ride the glass off as the sun came up... Your legendary surfer series is excellent... I am printing some of your articles into a booklet for my older son's Christmas present."
    - Scott McGilvray, Santa Cruz, CA, December 2007

  • "I never knew this story and just stumbled upon it this morning while looking for something else. Nick [Gabaldon] sounds like a person we as surfers, whatever our race, should want to emulate and should strive to bring his type of spirit to the line up each and every time we paddle out. What an inspiration 2 days before Christmas. Thanks for the early present."
    - John Mikstay, CT, December 2007

  • "I LOVE all of your material and share it with anyone and everyone who will listen..."
    - Jack McCoy, Australia, 2007

  • "As a born and raised Santa Cruz surfer, all I can say is 'wow' and 'thank you'. This is one of the best blogs I have found on the internet. I will be sure to check back often. Please keep up this incredible historical work."
    - Adventure Out LLC, 2006

  • "Hey, Malcolm: You are the keeper of the flame, every time I get you newsletter I learn something... Email me when your ready to let the rubber meet the road. Anyways, there's nobody doing what you are. Keep up the great work. 'AS ALWAYS,'"
    - Tubesteak, 2005

  • "Malcolm, I just wanted to tell you that Legendary Surfers is getting better and better all the time. Keep it coming. I am enjoying every news letter better than the last. Thanks,"
    - Gary Howe, 2004

  • "My old pal, Chuck Shipman, lives across the street from Sunset, hosted Mal Piau (sp) the navigator from Yap island. He has retold me many storries about the birth of the Hokule'ia and how it was destined for trouble... History cannot be lost to time, it is too valuable an asset. This is evident by your extensive research, Malcolm. Mahalo and aloha."
    - Jim The Genius, 2004

  • "At 45 & surfing most of my life , it wasn't till I went through you're volumes, did I realize just how heavy the surfing STOKE really is and always has been. I'm especialy moved by the old Hawaiian stories, and of course, the fact that woman were so much a big part of that history. I've been to Hawaii twice and somehow this info never passed through this thick skull! Long story short, I really think these volumes should be mandatory for all people, young and old who have an interest in the sport. It would undoubtedly alter many attitudes out in some of the more pleasant line-ups we have today... sincerely and kudos to yah,"
    - Al Allison, 2004

  • "You have created quite an asset to the surfing community."
    - Frank A. Baldridge, 2004

  • "Hi Malcolm: thanks for putting me on your list. I continue to be amazed at your prolific output and dedication. Keep up the great work -- a valuable and lasting contribution to surf culture and history. Best regards,"
    - Paul Holmes, 2003

  • "As a kid growing up in Malibu in the late 50's I had a chance to be pushed off more than one wave by Miki Dora, so reading the booklet on him has been very entertaining, educational, and  factual... Thank you."
    - Tim Cassidy, Jackson Beach, Florida, 2003

  • "Always find something interesting in your newsletter. Aloha Always, Jack"
    -- Jack McCoy, August 2003

  • "Thank you for a most extraordinary article -- still the best surfing site on the web. Go well."
    -- Baron Stander, South Africa, July 2003

  • "I really think you have been doing an incredible service to the surfing community. I have been facinated by all the info... Mahalo and all the best!"
    -- Randy Rarick, May 2003

  • "Malcolm, I am so impressed with your site. A thoughtful, informed contribution and a lot of effort... Thanks, Tom"
    -- Tom Adler, Santa Barbara, May 2003

  • "You have it all. There's nothing better around; you did a lot of homework. It's great stuff; makes it seem like it was yesterday and not 43 years ago." -- Tubesteak's comments on "The Golden Age of Malibu," April 1999

  • "Kudos and accolades."
    -- E.J. Oshier, 1998

  • "Your [writings web] page is a very big asset to preserving and celebrating the historic figures of Surfing. Terrific..."
    -- Fred Hemmings, April 1997

  • "Malcolm Gault-Williams is on a mission to record oral histories as told to him by as many of our great surf elders as possible, in scholarly fashion, before they are lost forever. He submits his manuscripts painstakingly footnoted. He transcribes and presents the interviews verbatim, the way they were spoken, false starts, verbal stumbles and all. This allows a fuller sense of the personality and nature of the speaker than the condensed, sanitized versions normally published"
    – Steve Pezman, Editor, The Surfer’s Journal, Fall 1996

  • I think you've got it like I said it, even with the local talk we use when we're among friends. Thanks for taking the time"
    -- Wally Froiseth, May 1996


    • Published Magazine Articles on Surfing (partial)

  • "TARZAN REDUX," The Surfer's Journal, Volume 13, Number 2, May 2004. Photos courtesy of the Smith Family photo album.

  • "GEORGE FREETH: Modern Surfing Revivalist," Longboard, Volume 12, Number 2, April 2004. Photos courtesy of the Tom Witt Collection.

  • TOM BLAKE: The Uncommon Journey of a Pioneer Waterman, by Gary Lynch and Malcolm Gault-Williams, 2001, published by the Croul Family Foundation.

  • "Pulling Seaward: Tommy Zahn," The Surfer's Journal, Volume 9, Number 2, Spring/Summer 2000. Co-authored with Gary Lynch.

  • "Last Chapter: 'Tarzan' Smith," The Surfer’s Journal, Volume 7, Number 4, Winter 1998.  Archivist: Gary Lynch.

  • "Doc Ball, Through the Master's Eye," Longboard, Volume 6, Number 4, August 1998. Written with Gary Lynch.

  • "Surf Drunk: The Wally Froiseth Story," The Surfer’s Journal, Volume 6, Number 4, Winter 1997. Photographs from Wally's collection reshot by Steve Wilkings.

  • "Fran Heath: The Forgotten Hot Curler," Longboard, Volume 5, Number 1, March/April 1997.

  • "Woody Brown - Pilot, Surfer, Sailor," The Surfer’s Journal, Volume 5, Number 3, Fall 1996, pp. 94-107. Photo prints by Bud Browne.

  • "Early California Surfriders," Surfing, Volume 32, Number 10, October, 1996, p. 64. Book Review of the reissue of the old Doc Ball classic.

  • "Surfin' Da Net," Surfing, Volume 32, Number 3, March 1996.

  • "Tom Blake and the Hollows," Longboard, Volume 3, Number 3, Aug./Sep. 1995.

  • "Old School Stash," Surfing, Volume 31, Number 7, July 1995. Bud Browne profile.

  • "Mo‘ikeha at Maka‘iwa," Kauai Magazine, H & S Publishing, Kapa‘a, Kaua`i, Hawai‘i, Spring 1995.

    • Interviews

  • Hobie Alter, October 2001

  • John Elwell, Chuck "Gunker" Quinn, Jack "Woody" Ekstrom, Jim Voit, Tom Carlin, July 1999

  • LeRoy "Granny" Grannis, June 1999

  • E. J. Oshier, September 1998

  • John "Doc" Ball, January 1998

  • Russ Takaki, March 1997

  • Wally Froiseth, Ka-pahulu, Hawai`i, April 1996

  • Fran Heath, Waikiki, Hawai`i, April 1996

  • Ben Finney, UH, Honolulu, Hawai`i, April 1996

  • Woody Brown, Pa‘ia, Maui, Hawai‘i, November 1994

  • Bud "Barracuda" Browne, San Clemente, California, October 1994

  • Rennie Yater, Santa Barbara, California, March 1994

    • Transcriptions

  • Thomas Edward Blake, Spring 2000
  • Tommy Zahn & Chauncy Granstrom, December 1998
  • Tommy Zahn, August 1998

    • Education

  • 1990-1992 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • 1985-1988 University of California, Santa Barbara, California
  • 1967-1973 University of Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas; B.A., English.

    •  

    A favorite photo. Woody Brown and I on the porch in Paia, Maui, November 22, 1994. Photo taken by Miya.

    Back to the TOP of Malcolm's Surf Writings Resume

    History to add or other communications? Email: malcolm@legendarysurfers.com


    Copyright © 1993-2008  by Malcolm Gault-Williams.  All Rights Reserved.