Butch Van Artsdalen
Encyclopedia
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
. He moved to La Jolla, California, from his birthplace of Norfolk, Virginia, at age 14. Artsdalen is best known as a pioneer of surfing 25-foot waves at such North Shore locations as Waimea Bay and Sunset Beach; and tube riding
Tube riding
Tube riding is a term used by surfers to describe riding well inside the curve or barrel of a finely-shaped breaking wave. Under the right conditions, waves in some areas form a moving "tube" or cylinder as they break, for example, see the Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii.The most straightforward way to...
in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
during the early 1960-1970s. A member of the Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian swimmer, actor, lawman, early beach volleyball player and businessman credited with spreading the sport of surfing. He was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming.-Early years:The name "Duke" is not a title, but a given name...
Surf Team, he appeared in several surf movies and remained a fixture of the international surfing community until his death from alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
-related illness in 1979.
Van Artsdalen's athletic prowess was first noted in the years he attended La Jolla High School
La Jolla High School
La Jolla, CA 92037 Enrollment 1,650 Colors Black & Red██ Mascot Viking Rival Schools The Bishop's School, Cathedral Catholic High School, Mission Bay High School, University City High School Homepage...
where he earned varsity letter
Varsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
in baseball, basketball, and football. He began surfing at the age of fourteen, and chose to continue in the sport because of its unstructured freedom when compared to the discipline of conventional professional sports. While in La Jolla, Van Artsdalen became part of a well-known surfing group at Windansea Beach
Windansea Beach
Windansea Beach is stretch of coastline located in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. The neighborhood adjacent to the beach is named Windansea after the beach. It is named after an oceanfront hotel that burned down in the late 1940s...
. He moved to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
after graduating high school to begin his professional career.
The challenging waves of Oahu's
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
North Shore soon became Van Artsdalen's home. He was among the first to master the powerful, hollow waves at Ehukai Beach known as the Banzai Pipeline
Banzai Pipeline
The Banzai Pipeline, or simply "Pipeline" or "Pipe," is a surf reef break located in Hawaii, off Ehukai Beach Park in Pupukea on O'ahu's North Shore. A reef break is an area in the ocean where waves start to break once they reach the shallows of a reef...
. This, along with his reputation for riding switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
in the large surf at Waimea Bay, earned him the nickname "Mr. Pipeline."
Because of his talents, Van Artsdalen was featured in several early surf films by Dale Davis and Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown is an American documentary film director, known as an early pioneer of the surf film...
, the most notable of which was The Endless Summer
The Endless Summer
The Endless Summer is a 1966 film in the surf movie genre.Director Bruce Brown follows two surfers, Mike Hynson and Robert August, on a surf trip around the world. Despite the balmy climate of their native California, cold ocean currents make local beaches inhospitable during the winter...
. Van Artsdalen received onscreen credit in one of William Asher
William Asher
William Asher is an American television and film producer, film director, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific early directors in the budding television industry, producing or directing over two dozen of the leading television series.With television in its infancy, he introduced the...
's "surfploitation" comedies, Muscle Beach Party
Muscle Beach Party
Muscle Beach Party is the second of seven beach party films produced by American International Pictures. It was made in 1964 and was directed by William Asher, who also directed four other films in this series...
, starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. He was recruited by artist and talent scout Michael Dormer
Michael Dormer
Michael Dormer is an American artist, cartoonist, writer, songwriter, entrepreneur, and creator of famed cartoon personalities Hot Curl and 1960s' TV star Shrimpenstein....
to American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
for auditions, but a violent temper precluded a film career.
In 1964, Van Artsdalen was ranked among the world's best surfers by the Surfer Magazine Surfer Poll. A year later he was invited to join the Duke Kahanamoku Surf Team, becoming a global ambassador for wave riding and making appearances at shopping centers and promotional events.
As surfing evolved during the late 1960s from heavier, more cumbersome longboards to lighter, shorter boards, Van Artsdalen's reputation was gradually eclipsed by a new generation of tube riders such Gerry Lopez
Gerry Lopez
Gerry Lopez , aka Mr. Pipeline, is an American surfer, shaper, journalist, and film actor.-Early life:Lopez was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, grew up in East Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii and attended Punahou School. He frequented the semi secret reefs in and around Aina Haina as well as better known surf...
and Rory Russell. Still, he remained at Banzai Pipeline, working as a lifeguard
Lifeguard
A lifeguard supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, or beach. Lifeguards are strong swimmers and trained in first aid, certified in water rescue using a variety of aids and equipment depending on...
in his later years. In 1969 Van Artsdalen won the 35th Annual Stone Steps Invitational Surf Contest at Stone Steps in Leucadia, California. Surfing had grown in popularity by that point, and Van Artsdalen felt the purity of the sport was being spoiled by posers. He frequently succumbed to binge drinking
Binge drinking
Binge drinking or heavy episodic drinking is the modern epithet for drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is a kind of purposeful drinking style that is popular in several countries worldwide,...
, and died of alcohol-related causes in 1979.