Surfer Magazine
1960 – October 2nd 2020
“I like to feel that surfing is a little more artistic and light, with a sense of humor, because of SURFER Magazine”
– John Severson
Surfer Magazine, the first major print magazine dedicated to surfing and surf culture and often referred to as “the Bible of our sport”, was closed down by its parent company A360 Media (formerly American Media) on Friday October 2nd 2020.
For sixty years, Surfer Magazine has been a constant in surf culture and a central pillar in surf media. It is the Ford Motor Company of surfing. Its closure, albeit presented as a temporary shutdown (with Editor in Chief Todd Prodanovich, Photo Editor Grant Ellis and three other full-time staff being furloughed), represents a dark day for surf media, and for surfing.
“Without Surfer, there is no authoritative voice left to talk about the culture in an informed way — it’s a huge loss.”
– Todd Prodanovich, Surfer’s Editor-in-Chief 2015 – 2020
John Severson And The Origins Of Surfer Magazine
Created by artist and surf filmmaker John Severson to help promote his third film, Surf Fever, in 1960, Severson struck upon the idea of producing a booklet rather than handbills that could be sold to the audience. He titled the landscape-format booklet The Surfer and it proved very popular, with surfers lining up to buy copies from surf stores. Severson’s intention was to produce a follow up the next year to promote his next film, but he turned enough of a profit that he decided instead to publish a quarterly magazine (briefly renamed The Surfer Quarterly and printed in standard portrait/vertical format), which was to become Surfer Magazine.
