Larry Bertlemann
Jay Adams on Larry Bertleman:
Hero, Surf God, Hawaiian, skater and later a friend.
From: Hilo, Hawaii (lives on Kauai)
The Rubberman opened the door. Arriving amid a period of flux, he demonstrated that no limits exist beyond our imagination. He didn't invent the shortboard; he just showed us how to ride it. No one had a greater influence on the way people surf -- from the best in the world on down -- than Larry Bertlemann. (excerpt from Surfing a-z article by Jason Borte, March 2001)
The most progressive surfer of his generation and one of the most influential surfers of the modern era, Larry Bertleman showed the world the possibilities of the shortboard revolution.
At the time(of Larry's emerging on the Hawaiin surf scene), Gerry Lopez' subtle, Zen-like approach was considered the quintessential style, meshing with the wave being the ultimate goal. But Bertlemann, an avid skateboarder, envisioned translating his land-based repertoire of tricks to the water.
"Visualization," he insists, was what separated him from the pack. "A friend of ours used to take Super 8 movies of us, and I would watch them thinking, wow, I could cut that line shorter. Anything is possible. I knew what I wanted to do; I just had to get the boards to do it."
Humble and gracious, Larry states simply," it is the simplest thing to do is to be yourself, it is so much easier to be yourself and let everyone else try to keep up with you. Just be yourself, period."
Still amazed at the impact he has had on the surfing world, Larry continues to impact the industry and everyone he meets by doing just that, being true to himself.
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