RIP: Surfer Magazine Founder John Severson

by The Editors on May 29, 2017

We were saddened to learn this weekend that John Severson, the founder of Surfer Magazine, Wind Surf Magazine, and inventor of so much that we now take for granted in action sports died peacefully in his sleep at home on Maui on Friday May 26, 2017, according to a Drew Kampion story on Surfline.com. He was 83.

Before John Severson, there was really no surf art, no surf magazines, no real surf films, no surfwear industry, no pro surfing, no Surfrider Foundation, no surf culture as we know it. In a very large sense, he made it all happen by synthesizing the sport of surfing into various expressions of his art. “I always daydreamed real big,” Severson admits. “I was the guy who stood up there and just nailed them over the fence and pitched no-hitters and ran for touchdowns — I could just daydream the biggest dreams.”  

We have Severson to personally thank for creating the style of photo driven magazines that made us love media in the first place. He will be missed. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

[Link: Surfline.com]

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