John Peck, the pioneering Pipeline surfer who is widely revered as the first regularfooter to ride inside the tube at the infamous wave, has died. He was 81.
Following news of his passing, surfers far and wide honored the late legend. They remembered his profound influence on the surfing world – from board design to technique in the water. Specifically, his patented backside rail grab, which would later be dubbed the “pigdog” stance, and is still used today by the world’s best tube-riders.
Here’s a tribute from Southern California powerhouse competitor turned Costa Rican expat and surf camp operator, Jim Hogan.
Peck was born in 1944 in Los Angeles, and started surfing in Coronado, California at the age of 15. As the son of a navy pilot, the family moved around the country, but the same year he found surfing, the Pecks moved to the storied shores of Waikiki on Oahu, Hawaii.
By the 1960s, Peck had honed his skills in Hawaii. And on New Year’s Day, 1963, he altered the course of surf history forever with the first outside rail-grab backside tube-ride at Pipeline. When asked about how he discovered the technique, Peck said:
“I grabbed the outside rail and stuck my hand in the wall, because your first instinct is to pull yourself in to get under the lip and avoid getting clipped in the head.”
Simple as that. It even landed him on the cover of this very publication.
Per Matt Warshaw’s Encyclopedia of Surfing:
“[Peck] was virtually unknown in the surf world until New Year’s Day, 1963, when he and California switchfooter Butch Van Artsdalen put on a fantastic display at Pipeline, with Peck spontaneously inventing a low-crouch stance, his right hand grabbing the rail of his board, that allowed him to ride high and tight to the curl. That summer, Peck’s thrilling Pipeline rides were the highlight of three surf movies, Angry Sea, Gun Ho!, and Walk on the Wet Side.”
By the mid-sixties, Peck was involved with the Brotherhood of Eternal Love – a hippie lifestyle outfit with ties to international drug smuggling, spawned in Laguna Beach, CA. He served jail time on Maui for drug charges, but eventually, per Warshaw:
“He gave up drugs and drinking in 1984, four years later began surfing again, and in the mid-’90s was reintroduced to the nostalgia-hungry surfing world as a thin, weathered, flexible yoga master who claimed he could levitate.”
Additionally, Peck made his impact on the surf world with his innovative Peck Penetrator surfboard model – a board originally designed by Morey-Pope Surfboards in Ventura, CA, and defined by its double stringer and special foil.
Rest in peace, John Peck.
About the author
Managing Editor, SURFER
Managing Editor of Surfer, Dashel Pierson is a lifelong waverider and storyteller hailing from the storied, yet fickle, surf town of Laguna Beach.
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