Not many people can say they've single-handedly changed the course of a sport. Fewer still have done so with all the casualness of a cat licking its haunches. Gerry Lopez not only made Pipeline the world's most important wave, he made the tube the ultimate prize in surfing.
Lopez was born in Honolulu, the son of a newsman for the city's Bulletin and Advertiser. When Lopez got serious about surfing in high school, his hero was Paul Strauch -- his style and grace would be Lopez's reference point. At Ala Moana in the mid-'60s, Lopez witnessed his first tuberides, and the wave became his training ground. Along with Reno Abellira, he was a protege of the much-in-demand Dick Brewer. He pursued a degree in architecture from the University of Hawaii from 1967-'69, then dropped out and became the epitome of the new age surfer.
For the past 20 years, Lopez has committed his life and career to nurturing these last three traditional surfing offshoots. Relocating to Oregon in 1992, he continues to live there with his wife, Toni, and their son, Alex. Not only do his boards remain in high demand -- Lopez earned Surfing Magazine's 2002 'Shaper of the Year' award for whittling Hamilton and Darrick Doerner's tow-in blades to barely six-feet -- he also began building snowboards. Most recently, he took a consulting role with Patagonia, helping the mountain clothing giant enter the surf market. And though he prefers personal trips to Indonesia, he'll occasionally return to his beloved Pipeline; in 2009, he and Rory Russell put on a show at the Pipeline Masters, sharing some six-foot surf past the 60-year-old mark.
Whether shaping boards or building brands, Lopez's mastered every pursuit with peerless grace and infinite respect, undertaking each new challenge with the same approach as his classically effortless Pipe crouch. This has earned an unprecedented level of respect within the surfing world. No matter how heavy the situation, Lopez continues to make the near impossible look deceivingly easy.
