The 2024 Surfers’ Hall of Fame is pleased to announce Jamie O’Brien, Jeff Deffenbaugh and Ilima Kalama as this year’s inductees. Jamie, being a Hawaiian surf sensation and Ilima, being a surfing champion and also coming from Hawaiian lineage going back over three centuries, is a beautiful and magical connection that this Olympic year surfing will be a part of the 2024 Summer Games which was a lifelong ambition and wish of the Father of Surfing, Hawaiian legend Duke Kahanamoku, and now that dream has come true. From ancient Hawaiian history up to modern times and into the future of surfing, the thread runs through these inductees. Another great connection is Jeff Deffenbaugh, being a local Huntington Beach surfing champion winning multiple significant surf events through the years in his home town, the same goes for Ilima who was a Huntington Beach lifeguard and became the United States Surfing Champion in Huntington Beach in 1962. Both of these champions are staples in their communities from different generations linking together in great agility and a calm, steely eyed competitiveness with apparent ease.
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 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 U.S. Open of Surfing.
“We are honored and excited to thank Jamie O’Brien, Jeff Deffenbaugh and llima Kalama for their achievements and contributions to our Surfing World… all three are true Surfing Legends!” said Surfers’ Hall of Fame founder Aaron Pai.
Jamie O’Brien
About Jamie O’Brien:
Jamie grew up on one of the greatest stretches of modern day surf real estate on the planet, living directly in front of Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu. At the young age of three, Jamie was successfully riding waves understanding the ocean in all its power and beauty and learning from his lifeguard Dad about the wonderful world of the ocean. Growing up at Pipeline is like being a student in front of a modern day surf coliseum and witnessing surf gladiators doing things heroic and death defying whilst getting an education from surf heroes right in front of your house. Jamie learned quickly and started competing at age six. The young O’Brien was very successful in competitive surfing and even becoming one of the youngest Pipe Masters in 2004. That same year Jamie came out with his first movie “Freak Show” which began his path into the new world of his dream vision beyond professional surfing- Freesurfing. Surfing in contests was just not interesting to Jamie anymore. “Competing was fun for awhile, but that’s all I did for 12 years, and at some point, it just wasn’t fun anymore” says O’Brien. He would forge a new reality for himself creating films and surfing at distant exotic locations following his love for surf and adventure. Jamie starred in the film, “Who is JOB?”, changing the world of surf films, capturing the greatest waves around the world tapping into unknown locations and fulfilling the surfers idyllic dream. Then with his Red Bull video series of “Who is JOB?”, and his Youtube channel, O’Brien has taken his Freesurfing idea to the next level and the future is a blank canvas for his ingenuity and creative gift for finding new ways to literally fire up the new surf world (He lit himself on fire while riding a huge Tahitian barrel)
Jeff Deffenbaugh
About Jeff Deffenbaugh:
Jeff grew up in Huntington Beach taking to the water at an early age. Jeff attended Dwyer Middle School and began surfing with a bunch of young shredders his age becoming the pier rats scrounging for surf any chance they got. Jeff and his brother Barry became powerhouse competitors in the various contests and excelled as super groms right off the bat. Jeff acclimated to the Huntington Beach High School surf team helping that incredible group of surfers excel through the years under the coaching of Andy Verdone. Jeff was natural at competing and surfed with calm super style. In 1989 Jeff became the US Junior Men’s Champion. Jeff was part of the 1990 NSSA National team with the likes of Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Taylor Knox and Pat O’Connell. The Katin Team Challenge on Northside Huntington Beach was a huge prestigious event, with the greatest surfers from all over the world competing and Deffenbaugh became the champ of that event twice in 1992 and in 1998. Jeff had 7 WQS wins and was the US Pro Tour Champion. Jeff has been involved in the HB Boardriders club and is key to helping that team win in the West Coast Board Riders club events. Usually, if the HB Boardriders team needs points it will be Deffenbaugh under pressure with his innate competitive, calm, cool ability to pull out the big score. Even up to this day at 50 years old, Jeff Deffenbaugh has been beating surfers half his age in the Retro Surf Series events of the Surfside 70s and HB 80s becoming multiple years champ and 3 time Triple Crown of Retro Surf Series Champ. One of the greatest surfers to ever come out of Huntington Beach and a staple of the surf community. Jeff gives back to this place he grew up surfing by helping young surfers by imparting his knowledge and coaching tips as part of the HB Board Riders Club. A man giving back his gift to the groms.
Ilima Kalama
About Ilima Kalama:
Ilima is a living legend. Like Deffenbaugh he is a longtime surfing champion of his community and like Jamie O’Brien has the Hawaiian homeland and Aloha Spirit guiding his way. Ilima was born and raised in Honolulu as the youngest of 9 siblings to a Hawaiian waterman lineage spanning over three centuries. Ilima learned to surf with his Dad at Waikiki Beach in Oahu, beginning his lifelong love for the ocean at the birthplace of surfing. When Ilima was 16, his family moved to Newport Beach, California. Ilima brought his significant surf skills with him and quickly became a young surf standout in the surf zone of Newport/Huntington Beach during the late 1950s. The local surfing community admired Ilima for his surf style and powerful strength and super ability beyond his years. Everybody wanted to surf like Ilima. The esteemed surf brands of Hobie and Hang Ten sponsored Ilima because he was the man. Remember, surfboard and clothing sponsors back in these days was the closest thing to being a professional surfer and Ilima was courted by the biggest brands. Ingrained in his surf community, Ilima became a lifeguard for Huntington Beach in 1961-62 which emphasized his skills even further in swimming and tapping into his family heritage as a Hawaiian waterman. The United States Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach was the most distinguished surf event of the era and was won by Ilima Kalama in 1962. Ilima Kalama was the Unites States Surfing Champ of 1962. Every great champion surfer around the world surfed in that event and Ilima would beat them all with cool, calm style and grace, the power of his presence and spirit was a thing to behold. Ilima would be a staple of the community and a guiding force of greatness and example for young and old surfers for a generation. Ilima moved back to Hawaii in 1990 continuing his surfing through the region until relocating again to Costa Mesa, California. The beautifully strong Kalama lineage is continuing through Ilima’s son Dave Kalama whom has been charging giant surf for many years and heralded as one of the greatest waterman maybe of all time. Ilima can be seen at many surf related events all around the Orange County area giving out his Aloha Spirit and smile and love to anyone in his presence. The modest surf champion Ilima Kalama is a part of our surfing community and has been for over a half century and we are all better humans because of his presence.
About the Surfers’ Hall of Fame:
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, Gerry Lopez, George Downing, Shane Dorian, Greg Noll, Corky Carroll, Shaun Tomson, Rob Machado, Timmy Turner, Shawn Stussy, Laylan Connelly, Sam Hawk and Casey Wheat, who are already immortalized in cement. The Surfers Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place during the US Open of Surfing which is the evolution of the first West Coast Surfing Championships of 1959 at the HB Pier and evolved into the US Surfing Championships (later evolved into the OP Pro) The US Champ Ilima our inductee became the 3rd annual Surf Champion of these prestigious surf events that we still enjoy today. We are celebrating the beginning of these championships with Ilima into the modern times and future of surfing with each of these influential inductees.
PUBLIC CEREMONY TO BE HELD FRIDAY, AUG. 2, 2024 9 a.m.:
The 2024 inductees will have their hand and footprints immortalized in cement for the ages on Friday, August 2nd at 9:00 a.m. in front of Huntington Surf & Sport; under the watchful eye of Duke Kahanamoku, father of modern Surfing whose statue anchors the Surfers’ Hall of Fame. This year’s induction ceremony features the inductees, family, friends, pro surfers and industry leaders, and is open to the public, free-of-charge. Further information is available at http://hsssurf.com/shof/.
