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Press release:

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – Against the backdrop of Surf City’s 100 Years of Surfing celebration and the 20th Anniversary of the U.S. Open of Surfing, the Surfers’ Hall of Fame is pleased to announce its 2014 inductees: Timmy Turner, the filmmaker and modern-day inspiration who overcame a virulent staph infection to return to the water and his craft; Carissa Moore, the two-time world and U.S. Open Champion; and Rusty Preisendorfer, one of the industry’s most prolific and forward-thinking shapers/entrepreneurs whose iconic R-dot boards are ridden by the world’s elite surfers.  The three newest inductees will have their hand and footprints immortalized in cement for the ages on Friday, August 1st at 10 a.m. in front of Huntington Surf & Sport.

“We are extremely stoked and honored to induct Timmy Turner, Carissa Moore, and Rusty Preisendorfer into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame this August,” said Surfers’ Hall of Fame founder Aaron Pai.  Brief inductee bios include:

Timmy Turner: Huntington Beach’s favorite son Timmy Turner is a living miracle.  Captain of his high school surf team and busboy at his family’s restaurant, The Sugar Shack, a surf trip to Indonesia at age 17 became the catalyst for a burgeoning filmmaking career.  Over the span of three years and numerous trips to an uninhabited Indonesian island, Timmy documented three surfers conquering epic waves on a dangerous reef, braving the elements and struggling to survive.  “Second Thoughts” won Movie of the Year at the 2004 SURFER Poll and Video Awards, putting Turner on the map.  His next film, “The Tsunami Diaries,” which documented relief efforts in Indonesia, may have contributed to an aggressive staph infection that attacked Turner’s brain in December 2005.  After six different brain surgeries, losing most of his skull and spending more than a month in the intensive-care unit of Hoag Memorial Hospital, Timmy survived but was forced to recalculate his life.  His next film, “Cold Thoughts,” was a tribute to his journey: hospitalization, rehab, recovery and lifestyle changes to ward off future infections, including a ban on trips to tropical climates.  Six years in the making, Timmy and crew sought surf in remote and frigid spots in Canada, Chile, Iceland and Alaska to film “Cold Thoughts”.  In late 2013 the father of five was finally allowed by doctors and family to make his return to the place and waves he loves so much: a dry left hander in Indonesia.

Carissa Moore: Hawaiian Carissa Moore is setting the pro surfing world on fire.  Already a two-time ASP World Champion (2011 & 2013) and two-time U.S. Open Champion (2010 & 2013), the 21 year-old was the youngest-ever winner in the prestigious Triple Crown of Surfing at age 16 and won the Surfer Poll Award for top female surfer in 2011.  Carissa was born in 1992 in Honolulu and began riding waves with her father at age five.  In 2004 the 12 year-old began a remarkable competitive run, winning the first of four National Scholastic Surfing Association “open division” women’s titles.  She became the most decorated surfer in NSSA history with 11 national titles.  In 2007, at age 14, Carissa finished second at the Roxy Pro Gold Coast ASP event, twice defeating seven-time world champ Layne Beachley.  By 2009 Moore had signed lucrative endorsement deals with Nike and Target, reportedly becoming the highest paid female surfer in the world. She finished third on the World Tour in 2010, won the largest purse in history ($50,000 at the U.S. Open) and was named Rookie of the Year.  The following year Carissa made the finals of all six and won three of the World Tour events, dispatching four-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore on her way to the title. Following a disappointing 2012, Moore stormed back in 2013 winning four and finishing in the top five of all eight events to secure her second world crown.  Her torrid pace continues this year where she’s already won two events and currently sits atop the leader board in the world title race.

Rusty Preisendorfer: Nicknamed the “Stradivarious” of shapers due to his reputation for quality and innovation, Rusty Preisendorfer’s huge impact on the sport dates to the 70s when he worked for San Diego’s Canyon Surfboards, and shaped for international stars Shaun Tomson, Ian Cairns and Peter “PT” Townend among others.  By the mid-80s his stable of riders grew to include Dave Parmenter and an up-and-coming Aussie named Mark Occhilupo, whose shortboard prototypes set the standard for the high performance thruster.  In 1985 Rusty left Canyon and launched Rusty Surfboards.  The iconic R-dot logo boards were ridden by more than half the world’s Top 16 surfers at the time and Rusty was the most in-demand shaper anywhere.  He launched a full line of clothing in 1988, growing the business into  one of the industry’s largest-grossing companies and helped launch the careers of Serena Brooke, Pat O’Connell and CJ and Damien Hobgood.  Surfer ranked Preisendorfer fifth on a 2002 list of the “25 Most Powerful People in Surfing” while Surfing magazine named him one of the “10 Best Shapers of All Time,” in 2004 and their “Shaper of the Year” in 2008 for his command of myriad technologies.  SIMA will honor Rusty for his extensive impact on the surfing world with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Waterman’s Ball.

The Surfers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony pays tribute to those individuals who have made an indelible mark on the sport, industry and culture of surfing.  Annually, tens of thousands of visitors travel to Huntington Beach’s downtown area and literally walk in the footsteps of surfing superstars and legends from several eras including Laird Hamilton, Andy Irons, Jack O’Neill, Robert August, Bob Hurley, Sean Collins, Kelly Slater, Lisa Andersen, Pat O’Connell, Al Merrick, Shaun Tomson, Rob Machado, Skip Frye and Rabbit Kekai, who are already immortalized in cement.

The nation’s first imprint collection of legendary surfers, the Surfers’ Hall of Fame celebrated its first induction in 1997 inside of specialty retailer Huntington Surf & Sport where several slabs remain.  Four years later with the blessing of the City Council and a stunning bronze statue of the sport’s spiritual leader Duke Kahanamoku serving as a backdrop, the ceremony moved outside to the corner of PCH and Main, less than 100 feet from the famed Huntington Beach Pier, site of the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing.

The Surfers’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony is open to the public, free-of-charge.  Further information is available at https://hsssurf.com/shof/.