The surfing world and son of California lost a good one this week. Surfers in San Clemente and beyond have been honoring Mike Hynson for his contributions to the sport.

Hynson, legendary surfer, shaper, and trendsetter featured in The Endless Summer, died January 10, age 82, in Encinitas, California following a brief illness, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Born in Crescent City, Hynson’s unique fashion style and taste in music influenced surf culture for decades. Fellow surfer Herbie Fletcher explained to The Surfer’s Journal how Hynson affected the core values of the industry.

He was as responsible for surfing’s soul movement as anyone else, maybe more. He recognized that it was all about music. If you merged the cool of jazzmen like Herbie Mann, Dave Brubeck, and Jimmy Smith with the raw sweat of Ray Charles, that’s what Hynson was all about. … As the music started swingin’ toward Cream, Hendrix, and the Stones, Hynson shrunk the templates and dropped the rails; the mini-gun had arrived.

According to Stab Magazine, longtime friend Ken Lewis wrote on Instagram:

There will only be one Mike Hynson. For better or worse, this gruff style master changed surfing forever. I first met him in the late 1980s and he was far different than the slicked hair kid in the Endless Summer. He had wild stories and was making some questionable boards at the time. But over the decades, there was redemption but never did he change his tune. Mike was Mike. He had a tough exterior and that’s what left an indelible mark on wave riding forever.

Mike Hynson’s enduring surf legacy

Indeed, Hyson helped change the historical trajectory of surfing for decades. He and the surf movement are intricately linked, especially due to his role in The Endless Summer, a landmark documentary released in 1966. Together with filmmaker Bruce Brown and surfer Robert August, they made the water sport an adventure that inspired future surfers also to become world citizens. Big Wave surfer Bianca Valenti states in a trailer for the film, “They made me want to explore new cultures and places and waves. Just made me dream of how beautiful the world is.” Big Wave surf champion Greg Long adds, “I wanted to go to these obscure countries and experience the cultures and use surfing as the vehicle of doing so.”

A memorial service has not yet been planned for Hynson, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. The family is planning a paddle-out ceremony at Windansea Beach in June, when Hynson would have turned 83.