The Surfer’s Library

Billy Jack
  • 5.0 (8)
  • HISTORY

It’s basically just a surfer reading about surfing for you to listen to when you’re not surfing. Stay surfing. Check out the library. If you want to help with podcast costs you can donate at: https://buymeacoffee.com/thesurferslibrary.  Or, if you would like to sponsor the podcast or have any story ideas or feedback for the podcast please contact us on Instagram or at thesurferslibrary@gmail.com

  1. FEB 2

    S2 E22: John Severson, Inventing Surf Culture by Drew Kampion

    Today I’ll be reading from a book I recently picked up titled The Way of the Surfer: Living It, 1935 to Tomorrow by our friend Drew Kampion. The Way of the Surfer profiles thirteen incredible names from surf history: Woody Brown, John Severson, Dick Brewer, Nat Young, Billy Hamilton, Rolf Aurness, Gerry Lopez, Tom Curren, Lisa Anderson, Kelly Slater, and Titus Kinimaka. Today’s story is titled “John Severson: Inventing Surf Culture,” all about the guy who created the bible of our sport Surfer Magazine. It tells the story of how one surfer with a camera helped shape the look, feel, and mythology of modern surfing. Let’s paddle out and see how surf culture was born and why Severson’s influence is still everywhere you look in surfing today. If you’d like to help support the podcast, you can visit buymeacoffee.com/thesurferslibrary. Your support helps cover the platform fees that keep the show going each month. Also, if you would like to sponsor the podcast or have any story ideas or feedback for the podcast please contact us on Instagram or at thesurferslibrary@gmail.com

    20 min

  2. JAN 20

    S2 E21: Masters of the Universe by Matt Warshaw

    This episode we revisit Matt Warshaw’s book Surfriders: In Search of the Perfect Wave and read a story called “Masters of the Universe” In this story Warshaw takes us straight into the pressure cooker of professional surfing, where talent, ego, friendship, and fate all collide. We drop in at Pipeline in December of 1995, at the Chiemsee Pipeline Masters the final event of the season, held at the most dangerous and consequential wave on tour. The stage couldn’t be bigger: a semi-final heat that will decide the world title. On one side is Kelly Slater, already a prodigy, chasing another championship and redefining what high-performance surfing looks like. On the other is Rob Machado, smooth, stylish, and surfing with a looseness that seems almost out of place in a moment this tense. If you’d like to help support the podcast, you can visit buymeacoffee.com/thesurferslibrary. Your support helps cover the platform fees that keep the show going each month, so any little bit truly helps. Also, if you have any story ideas or feedback for the podcast please contact us on Instagram or at thesurferslibrary@gmail.com Let’s paddle out.

    27 min

  3. JAN 5

    S2 E20: Excerpts from 'Not Done Yet' by Corky Carroll

    This episode we dig into chapters 1, 2 and 3 of Corky Carroll's autobiography Not Done Yet. From growing up in Southern California to chasing waves, contests, and a life shaped by the ocean, Corky’s early chapters set the foundation for one of surfing’s most influential figures. These opening pages are filled with ambition, humor, and the unmistakable voice of someone who helped turn surfing into a profession long before it was fashionable. If you’d like to help support the podcast, you can visit buymeacoffee.com/thesurferslibrary. Or, if you would like to sponsor the podcast or have any story ideas or feedback for the podcast please contact us on Instagram or at thesurferslibrary@gmail.com

    35 min

  4. 12/22/2025

    S2 E19: Selected excerpts from Mr. Sunset: The Jeff Hakman Story, by Phil Jarratt

    This episode we are excited to read selected excerpts (chapters 8 & 9) from Phil Jarratt's incredible book Mr. Sunset: The Jeff Hakman Story. Jeff Hakman was born in California in 1948, and by the age of eight his father had already set him on a surfboard. Four years later, the family moved to Oahu, and a year after that at just thirteen Hakman paddled out at Waimea Bay for the first time. We pick up in 1965, Jeff is 17 and finds himself invited into history, competing at Sunset Beach in the inaugural Duke Kahanamoku Invitational. Paddle out with us and learn how Mr. Sunset arrived on the world surfing stage. If you’d like to help support the podcast, you can visit buymeacoffee.com/thesurferslibrary. Your support helps cover the platform fees that keep the show going each month. Also, if you would like to sponsor the podcast or have any story ideas or feedback for the podcast please contact us on Instagram or at thesurferslibrary@gmail.com

    30 min

  5. 12/08/2025

    S2 E18: Young, Loud and Shameless

    This episode we are reading Jamie Brisick's short story Young, Loud and Shameless from the book: The Eighties at Echo Beach. It captures the wild, neon-soaked, punk-influenced surf scene of early ’80s Orange County and dives into the youthful chaos of the Echo Beach crew, kids who surfed hard, partied harder, and defined an entire aesthetic of the 1980s surf world. It's nostalgic, fast, stylish, and slightly bittersweet showing how a tight knit group of teenagers shaped global surf culture. If you’d like to help support the podcast, you can visit buymeacoffee.com/thesurferslibrary. Your support helps cover the platform fees that keep the show going each month so any little bit truly helps. Also, if you would like to sponsor the podcast or have any story ideas or feedback for the podcast please contact us on Instagram or at thesurferslibrary@gmail.com Let’s paddle out.

    24 min

  6. 12/02/2025

    S2 E17: Death of a Legend

    This episode we’re diving into one of the most powerful stories in modern surf history, the rise and tragic loss of big-wave icon Mark Foo. In Matt Warshaw’s story 'Death of a Legend', we trace Foo’s journey from a driven, stylish Hawaiian charger to one of the most recognizable names in big wave surfing. Foo wasn’t just talented; he was relentless, competitive, and completely committed to proving himself in the heaviest waves on the planet. The story leads us to Mavericks in 1994, a cold, foggy, still-mysterious Northern California break. Warshaw takes us into the lineup that day, describing the conditions, the atmosphere, and the fatal wipeout that stunned the surf world and changed big wave surfing forever. In the end, Warshaw looks at how Foo’s death transformed Mavericks into a global stage, and how it elevated Foo himself from a gifted professional to a larger than life legend. This story is part of a compilation of 32 stories in a book called The Big Drop edited by John Long. You can find this book currently at Amazon.com. Just a quick reminder, if you’d like to help support the podcast, you can visit buymeacoffee.com/thesurferslibrary. Your support helps cover the platform fees that keep the show going each month so any little bit truly helps. Also, if you would like to sponsor the podcast or have any story ideas or feedback for the podcast please contact us on Instagram or at thesurferslibrary@gmail.com Let’s paddle out.

    45 min

  7. 11/17/2025

    S2 E16: Morning at Freshwater

    This episode features a story from Matt Warshaw’s book Surfriders: In Search of the Perfect Wave. It’s called “Morning at Freshwater.” When this story was written in the 1990’s, most people believed Duke Kahanamoku introduced surfing to Australia in 1914. Today, we know there were earlier examples of wave riding in Australia, but Duke’s visit to Freshwater remains a defining moment that helped surfing take root and grow into a national passion. With a board he shaped by hand during his first two weeks in Australia, Duke paddled out and showed the crowd on the beach something most had never seen before — the pure art of wave riding. If you’d like to help support the podcast, you can visit buymeacoffee.com/thesurferslibrary. Your support helps cover the platform fees that keep the show going each month, so any little bit truly helps. Also, if you have any story ideas or feedback for the podcast please contact us on Instagram or at thesurferslibrary@gmail.com Let’s paddle out.

    27 min

  8. 11/04/2025

    S2 E15: Excerpts From Greg Noll: Art of the Surfboard

    The Greg Noll Da Cat model surfboard is one of the most sought after surfboards of all time. One early first generation board sold for around $34,500, and even the 250 limited edition reissues made in the 1990s, hand signed by both Dora and Noll, are highly prized by collectors. Today, I’ll be reading four stories from Drew Kampion’s incredible book Greg Noll: The Art of the Surfboard. The selected stories are “The Greg Noll Da Cat Model,” “Me, Miki, and Da Cat,” “A Tale of Two Cats,” and “The Copy Cat.” There’s so much great material in this book, but I wanted to share these particular stories the highlighted Greg Noll’s relationship with Miki Dora and their collaboration on the legendary and much sought-after Da Cat surfboard models. The author of these stories, Drew Kampion has been a friend of the podcast since day one so please take the time to visit his website drewkampion.com. Just a reminder that if you want to help support the podcast you can do so by visiting buymeacoffee.com/thesurferslibrary to do so. It helps cover the cost of the podcasting platform fees needed to get the podcast out each month so any little bit helps.

    23 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

It’s basically just a surfer reading about surfing for you to listen to when you’re not surfing. Stay surfing. Check out the library. If you want to help with podcast costs you can donate at: https://buymeacoffee.com/thesurferslibrary.  Or, if you would like to sponsor the podcast or have any story ideas or feedback for the podcast please contact us on Instagram or at thesurferslibrary@gmail.com

Information

  • Creator
    Billy Jack
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    36
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Surfer’s Library