Surfer Magazine: 1960-2020

Founded in 1960 by surfer, artist, and filmmaker John Severson, Surfer was the longest continuously published surf magazine, referred to as ’the bible of the sport’. Surfer was firmly established as the sport’s leading voice, serving as a template for a small but growing number of surf magazines around the world. Featuring a mix of travel articles, contest reporting, surf spot profiles, big wave pictorials, and surfer interviews, Surfer worked with the world’s best photographers, writers, and graphic designers. This anthology features the most timeless, inspirational, and historically significant covers and interior pages from the magazine’s extensive archive and depicts the chronological progression of the sport, the gear, the style, and the world’s top surfers throughout the decades, from Mickey Dora to Kelly Slater and Laird Hamilton.

Grant Ellis was the photo editor of Surfer magazine for 17 years (2003-2020). He is the photo editor at Surfer’s Journal and continues his career as a surf photographer. Beau Flemister is an award-winning journalist, travel writer, and novelist. Based in Hawaii, he is a former editor at Surfing Magazine, has traveled to over 70 different countries, and has published articles in VICE, Outside Magazine, Lonely Planet, Surfer’s Journal, and more. William Finnegan is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life and a staff writer at the New Yorker.