John Peck, One Of Surfing’s Most Mystical And Influential Characters, Passes At 81

It’s with heavy hearts that we learned of the passing of John Peck, one of surfing’s most mystical, psychedelic, and influential original characters. 

Peck was born in Los Angeles in 1944. His dad was a pilot in the Navy, which meant Peck spent his youth on the move, from Virginia to Texas, then California and eventually Hawaii. 

Learning to surf while stationed in California, Peck and his family moved to Waikiki when he was 16. For the next few years Peck would become one of the most exciting young surfers in Hawaii, an early Pipeline pioneer and the first purveyor of the backside rail grab technique now commonly referred to as the pig dog, which he famously employed on New Years day, 1963, the nineteen year old knifing a Pipe drop on a chunky single fin, crouching and grabbing his toeside rail to help pull himself tighter into the pocket. 

You can read Jim Kempton’s wonderful retelling of this iconic session, here. 

Shortly after, Peck designed the iconic Penetrator model, gorgeously refined by Tom Morey —double-stringer, red resin nose and tail blocks, and a black resin panel on the deck’s nose—shaped by legendary production shaper Dennis Ryder. Peck and the Penetrator appeared regularly in most all of the famous early surf  filmamker’s films, but in 1965 Peck commenced a “seven year LSD phase.” A more legendary story of Peck’s involves him being incarcerated and escaping imprisonment by meditating and turning into a ball of light, slipping through the keyhole. 

An early proponent of Yoga and specialized diets, Peck retained an iconic aesthetic—bone thin, rubber-band flexible, and perennially present in the lineups in and around San Diego county. 

Timothy Leary believed surfer’s were the “Throwaheads of mankind,” and the embodiment of certain eastern principles popularized in Peck’s 1960s and early ‘70s psychonaut era, and certainly Peck exemplified that perfectly. 

The tributes have been pouring in from surfing’s foremost historians:

Joel Tudor
I first met John Peck at the age of 13 …he was walking down the beach at the oside comp and I hear Donald Takayama say holy shit …there’s John Peck! He had just recently gotten sober and was beginning to show his face again at the longboard comps of the time. I was well aware of his accomplishments in surf , he was known for being the first backside surfer at pipeline who truly understood how to ride the wave! He is credited for being the man responsible for creating the use of grabbing the rail to stall for barrel …aka “Backside Barrel Riding” and the man responsible for designing the first winged nose or down nose Noserider! He stayed active from his early beginnings in the late 1950s all the way to present day! Surfing places like hanalei bay & Newport point well into his late 70s in life! We traveled the world together surfing waves from Malibu to snapper rocks! He was my first yoga teacher at the age of 18 , taught me the importance of staying fit in your old age and the balance of a healthy diet! I’m gonna miss you John Peck! Thanks for always being my friend! May your journey into the afterlife be a cosmic experience like the life you lived here on earth! Love you eternal!

Jim Hogan
John Peck RIP John’s influence, on surfers around the world. With board design from long boards to shorter boards, taking heavy drops at pipeline , I believe he was the first one to do rail grabs off bottom. First photo in Huntington Beach with @mike.downey.31 , myself and legendary John Peck. Photo #2 John Grab rail Pipeline. Surfing World has lost an original. 🙏 God Bless

Wayne Rich
Brother John was the true definition of : Heart, Soul, Kindness, Innovation, Intensity, Honesty and All Things Good. He shared his incredible energy with everyone he came across through the path of life and inspired and influenced us all in the surfing culture and our daily challenges physically – mentally and spiritually. A profound man who’s Spirit will be with all of us forever. I will miss you my brother and carry on your ways as best I can until we meet again. Peace and love to you forever 🙌❤️🙏 Thank you Mark Bromley for sending me this image of us after a heat to raise money for the Scripps cancer foundation