(
[photo by my brother Simon , at the c. 1977 or 1978 ? 'Stubbies' contest , burleigh heads] )
My favourite Hawaiian power surfer of the 1970s and 80s....
WHATEVER became of him ?
is he still surfing ?
what island is he living on nowadays ?
what board[s] does he ride now ?
is he still Mr. Muscleman ?
....and ..... Mark Liddell , and 'Buttons' ?! .... I wonder if they still all hang out together , the three of them ?
well , cheers for any update , guys !
ben
I saw Dane just the other day on the beach near Ala Moana Bowls. He has a surf school and was giving instructions to a few students prior to paddling out. Last I heard Buttons had a surf school on the north shore somewhere. I recently saw an ad for a surf shop on craigslist advertising boards shaped by Mark Liddell and also saw him heading out to Three’s during the last big south swell. I’ve never seen them together, but that does’nt mean they don’t hang out.
Of course , he was [is?] a GREAT tuberider , too !
5'10" [single fin] boards , or thereabouts ? at big off the wall too .
I think Michael Ho was the other guy I saw in movies riding small boards in big surf then ....
[isn't that Mike, in the background of the shot of Dane , I wonder ?]
Howzit foamdust, Glad to hear Buttons is doing good these days because the last I saw was him on that diphead Dog the Bounty hunter and they were picking him up and he was strung out on ice.I felt so bad and hoped he would be able to get off the s&^t and it seems that he has and that is great. Aloha,Kokua
I truly hope he is still on the straight and narrow. Besides having that surf school, I also did hear he had started a new family with a woman who I think he married. My best recollection of him was when he ran down from the look out at Rocky Pt. and saved my board after my leash slipped off my foot, from a gettting bashed against the rocky shoreline. Most guys might have just let my board get thrashed but he made the effort to save my board. Thats true Hawaiian spirit.
Howzit foamdust,I hope he is off the crap also since he has been a good guy and I hate to see people get hung up on that junk and people just don't realize they are killing themselves. Aloha,Kokua
I think I saw that Owl Chapman is now shaping boards for Buttons’ label.
Now if they can only get Rory Russell as team rider…the legends comeback crew.
Rory is on the new - revived - lightning bolt team. TSJ did a write up on Owl Chapman awhile back, a sketchy character for sure, but a Hawaiian classic nonetheless.
Remarkable how much the board in the first photo…from the leading edge of the fins forward… looks like so many “modern” boards today. But from the fins back… whaaa? Look how big those fins are. Look how far back the wing is from the trailing edge. NOTHING like that today.
Did the cart lead the horse?
My earliest memories of surf flicks… watching Dane and Company killing it on REEL film at Cape May Convention Hall back in the 70s… beer bottles rolling down the isles. Hooting sunburned masses staring up at the big screen… jaws dropping…beaded shell necklaces glowing in the flickering, relfected light… skinny girls in short shorts and bikini tops clinging to their boyfriends’ arms…
What I would give for that board…
I ran into Dane at Magic Island just after he came back from a contest in South Africa. He was telling me how apartheid was still going on and the people were supposed to use segregated bathrooms. He told me he said F’um, and would go into the whites only places. Dane’s older brother Mike’s nickname was Rat. Every now and then someone would ask “e, you seen Rat?” Those 2 ripped at Bowls in the 70’s and 80’s, same for Mark and Buttons.
I see Dane down by Queens once in a while. He’s a little heavier these days. I haven’t seen Mark or Buttons for quite a while.
In my high school days, Mark and Buttons were like siamese twins. Never saw one with out the other. In the 80’s Mark had a shop right next to where the Surfline guys used to shape and glass. I used to walk by on my way home from work so I’d stop by and talk story. I ended up buying a 7-10 long short board from him. Mark’s boards were always so thin, and I ended up buckling mine at Courts.
That was when Lance was riding those hybrid longboards that were basically stretched out short boards that we now call high performance longboards. They just kept making them a little longer and longer until they were 9’ long. I think Lance was the first to ride them all the time, even in contests at Sunset. Don’t see Lance anymore either. I guess I’m lucky, more waves for everyone.
A good friend of mine was staying in the same building as Buttons last Winter. Backyards area. I believe she had a downstairs apartment in the house where Buttons lives. (Or, something to that effect) She says he’s clean and doing well.
I took a classic pic of Dane K just before he was about to padlle out for a heat in the '87 Eddie. He’s giving me stinkeye, right through my lens. I’ll try to find it.
I met his brother Mike, that same Winter. He was hanging out with some sketchy guy that I knew. They would show up at the house we were renting and make everyone uncomfortable. Always looking to get ‘hooked up’ with something or other, yet never really invited guests. Strange.
How’s the mint HJ he’s sitting on!!
Since we’re on the subject of Rory Russell, a friend recently hooked me up with him for a board. I guess it’s an official Lightning Bolt, since he’s the poster child for the brand. It’s 6’6"x21"x2 5/8". Holding the board is north shore glasser extraordinaire, Ed Searfoss.
Sweet one Derek. Is it a thruster or quad?
.....or , hopefully , a SINGLE fin , yes ?!
Thruster. I was leaning toward single…but the thruster is such a versatile set up.
Hozit foamdust,A single fin would be fun to ride and you can always add side biters. Aloha,Kokua
Chip,
I surfed Chun’s Reef this afternoon and Buttons has a surf school right there on the beach, renting boards, giving lessons, sharing aloha. I had a chat with him and can tell you this much. He is married, has two children, a three year old and a 4 month old. He is very chill, in great shape, down to earth and from what I can see clean. He paddled out to the inside reef I was surfing called “Baby Chun’s” and in between ripping the little inside double ups, gave tips, called and pushed some beginners into waves. I was glad I had a chance to thank him again for saving a board he rescued from imminent destruction from the rocky shoreline at Rocky Point a few years back. Definitely a stoker of an afternoon session.
...maaan.... that's GREAT , mate !! [wish I coulda been there to take photos!!]
does he still do switchfoot reos , cutbacks , and 360's , into his mid-50s ??
cheers
ben
I definitely would have taken a pic if I had my cam. I didn’t see him do any switch foot reos or cutbacks which I’m sure he can still do, but did see him do a 360 and a couple off the lips. I was aiming to ask him how Mark Liddell was doing but had leave. I’ll keep u posted. DT