Fred Hemmings Board Member Emeritus

Fred Hemmings, Surfing Heritage Foundation Board Member Emeritus, was born and raised in Hawaii and began surfing at the age of 8 at  Waikiki. Four years later in 1958, Fred began competing in surfing events.  That year he placed 3^rd in the Makaha International Surfing Championships in the junior men’s division.  Three years later he won that division (1961) and followed up with a first again in 1962.  In the Senior Men’s division he took 1^st Place twice (1964 and 1966).  He continued to enter surfing contests taking him as far away as Peru, where he won the Peruvian International Championships in 1964.  Four years later in 1968, he became the first surfer from Hawaii to win the World Surfing Championship, held that year at Rincon, Puerto Rico.  Simultaneously with surfing, Hemmings was a champion canoe paddler.  He was the steersman on four Molokai to Oahu championship teams in 1967, 1968, 1975, and the Masters in 1984.  After winning the World Championships, Hemmings retired from competitive surfing to focus on creating a new sports industry:  promoting and marketing surfing as a viable professional sport.  He is the founder of the professional surfing circuit and the Triple Crown events and has been referred to as “the father of professional surfing.”  He later served Hawaii as a State Senator from 2000 to 2010.  Currently, Fred is a much sought after keynote speaker highlighting the history of Hawaii and the sport of surfing.