“Turn and Go! 50 Years of Surf Writings” is a compilation of Steve Pezman’s writing over the past half-century. Pezman, for those few who might not know, is the publisher of what is widely consider the finest surfing publication of all time, The Surfer’s Journal. Prior to that, Pez, as he is known, edited and published Surfer Magazine.
Having been a surfer in Orange County since the mid-1950s, Pezman was a part of the surf scene before it was offered for public consumption via Gidget, The Beach Boys and the magazine he would one day steer, Surfer.
He was in the second wave of Californians to attack Oahu’s North Shore and pushed himself over the ledge to surf Waimea Bay. He was a surfboard shaper and an intellectual who articulated the joy of riding waves in ways few others ever have. He was also along for the ride when surfers flooded the Tijuana Bullring, and it was Pezman (by his own admission) who threw a watermelon at a popular bullfighter, something he regretted after being escorted into our hemisphere’s version of the Black Hole of Calcutta, the infamous Tijuana Jail.
I first became aware of Pezman in the mid-’70s when he ran the top surf publication in the world, and I nervously approached his little office adjacent to Doheny. I walked in and handed him half a dozen hand-scrawled pages about the destruction of the beautiful surf spot Dana Point, which to this day lies buried beneath mountains of massive boulders.
While I am embarrassed about my sloppy handwriting, poor grammar and countless misspellings, Pezman liked the piece enough to consider publishing it, something he never did. A few years later, however, under Steve’s authority, Surfer editor Jim Kempton helped me hit the big time with the publication of my short story, “The Day We Became Real Surfers.”
Has it really been 32 years since Pezman rolled the dice to begin The Surfer’s Journal? By then I had a bit more experience as a writer. My grammar and spelling could have used some improvement, but Steve called to ask me to drive up and talk about his as-yet-unpublished publication.
He explained that the Journal would resemble a book more than a magazine. It would contain only five ads, sell for over $10 and be bound rather than stapled. I told him I liked the idea although I never believed a surfer would pay more for a magazine than they would fish tacos and a beer. Other of my hesitations included the title and there being no centerfold. What could a gremmie do without having an image of their favorite surfer hanging on their wall?
Time quickly struck down each of my objections. The name, the binding, the quality and the price are all accepted by a surfing world hungry for more.
Steve Pezman ranks alongside visionaries like Tom Morey and Phil Edwards as someone whose work is always worth examining. I just ordered his new book and will soon offer my assessment of it in this column.
I promise not to rush to judgment, however. I’ve done that before, and Pezman proved himself years ahead of his time, and my restrictive thinking. I have no doubt he still is.
To learn more about Steve Pezman’s book of his compiled surf writings, please check out: https://www.surfersjournal.com/product/turn-and-go-50-years-of-surf-writings/
