Charles M. Van Artsdalen (January 31, 1941 – July 18, 1979) was a surfer. He moved to

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

, California, from his birthplace of Norfolk, Virginia, at age 14. Van Artsdalen is best known as a pioneer of surfing 25-foot waves at such North Shore locations as

Waimea Bay Waimea Bay is located in Haleiwa on the North Shore of O'ahu in the Hawaiian Islands at the mouth of the Waimea River. Waimea Valley extends behind Waimea Bay. ''Waimea'' means "reddish water" in Hawaiian. History Captain Charles Clerke ...

and Sunset Beach; and

tube riding Tube riding is a term used by surfers to describe riding well inside the curve or barrel of a finely-shaped breaking wave. Under the right conditions, waves in some areas, such as the Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii, form a moving "tube" or cylinder as ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

during the early 1960-1970s. A member of the Duke Kahanamoku Surf Team, he appeared in several surf movies and remained a fixture of the international surfing community until his death from alcohol-related illness in 1979. Van Artsdalen's athletic prowess was first noted in the years he attended

La Jolla High School La Jolla High School (LJHS) is a comprehensive high school for grades 9–12 located in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California. Opened in 1922, La Jolla High School (LJHS) is the second-oldest campus in the San Diego Unified School Distric ...

where he earned

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

in baseball, basketball, and football. He began surfing at the age of fourteen, and chose to continue in the sport because of its unstructured freedom when compared to the discipline of conventional professional sports. While in La Jolla, Van Artsdalen became part of a well-known surfing group at

Windansea Beach Windansea Beach is a stretch of coastline located in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. The neighborhood adjacent to the beach is named Windansea after the beach. It is named after the 1909 oceanfront Strand Hotel that was renamed "W ...

. He moved to

after graduating from high school to begin his professional career.Warshaw The challenging waves of Oahu's North Shore soon became Van Artsdalen's home. He was among the first to master the powerful, hollow waves at Ehukai Beach known as the Banzai Pipeline. This, along with his reputation for riding switchfoot in the large surf at Waimea Bay, earned him the nickname "Mr. Pipeline."Warshaw Because of his talents, Van Artsdalen was featured in several early surf films by Dale Davis and Bruce Brown, the most notable of which was ''

The Endless Summer ''The Endless Summer'' is a 1966 American surf documentary film directed, produced, edited and narrated by Bruce Brown. The film follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a surfing trip around the world. Despite the balmy mediterrane ...

.'' Van Artsdalen received onscreen credit in one of

William Asher William Milton Asher (August 8, 1921 – July 16, 2012) was an American television and film producer, film director, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific early television directors, producing or directing over two dozen series. Wit ...

's "surfploitation" comedies, ''

Muscle Beach Party ''Muscle Beach Party'' is the second of seven beach party films produced by American International Pictures. It stars Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello and was directed by William Asher, who also directed four other films in this series. ...

,'' starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. He was recruited by artist and talent scout Michael Dormer to

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

for auditions, but a violent temper precluded a film career. In 1964, Van Artsdalen was ranked among the world's best surfers by the ''

Surfer Magazine ''Surfer'' was an American monthly periodical focused on surfing and surf culture, founded in 1962 by noted surfer, writer, photographer, artist and humorist John Severson (1933–2017). The magazine folded in 2020. ''Surfer'' began as a quarte ...

'' Surfer Poll. A year later he was invited to join the Duke Kahanamoku Surf Team, becoming a global ambassador for wave riding and making appearances at shopping centers and promotional events. As surfing evolved during the late 1960s from heavier, more cumbersome longboards to lighter, shorter boards, Van Artsdalen's reputation was gradually eclipsed by a new generation of tube riders such as

Gerry Lopez Gerry Lopez (born November 7, 1948), aka Mr. Pipeline, is an American surfer, shaper, journalist and film actor. Early life Lopez was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, grew up in East Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, and attended Punahou School. He frequented ...

and Rory Russell. Still, he remained at Banzai Pipeline, working as a lifeguard in his later years. In 1969 Van Artsdalen won the 34th Annual Stone Steps Invitational Surf Contest at Stone Steps in Leucadia, California. Surfing had grown in popularity by that point, and Van Artsdalen felt the purity of the sport was being spoiled by posers. He frequently succumbed to binge drinking, and died of alcohol-related causes in 1979.Warshaw The only family authenticated Butch Van Artsdalen surfboard made since Butch’s passing is made by Bill Shrosbree.

References

;Bibliography *

External links

Legendarysurfers.com

Surfline.com

Van Artsdalen on the over of Surfing Illustrated

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Artsdalen, Butch 1941 births 1979 deaths American surfers Sportspeople from San Diego