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Butch Van Artsdalen (January 31, 1941-July 18, 1979) |
 The Largest Surfing EncyclopediaA-Z: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Advertisement
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A prodigious athlete gifted in organized sports, Butch Van Artsdalen was one of the most colorful characters surfing has known. His ability, however special, is secondary to the legendary stories of his pranks, fights, binges, and general recklessness. Everyone who came in contact with Butch (and many who didn't) have eccentric tales they will never forget.
Van Artsdalen hadn't ever seen a surfboard when he moved to La Jolla from Norfolk, Virginia, at age 14. He was a certified jock, lettering in baseball, basketball, and football three years at La Jolla High School. Two years after moving west, he started going to the beach at Windansea, borrowing surfboards from whoever was around until Dale Velzy eventually gave him one. With his prodigious athletic ability, Butch was instantly at home in the water. After graduation in 1960, he planned to become a plumber but instead found himself swept up in surfing. Intensely competitive, he entered his first contest in 1961 but preferred the straight-ahead struggle of paddle racing, often winning on behalf of his beloved Windansea Surf Club. His feelings toward surf competition were made clear when he tossed a dead fish atop the judges tower at an early California meet. His raucousness stood out even from the local crew as his indulgence knew no bounds. Van Artsdalen eventually tossed aside all career ideas in favor of surfing. He received offers as a catcher for the San Diego Padres and as a salesman with Southern California's famous Marvin K. Brown auto dealership, but refused in favor of following his destiny to Hawaii. Butch arrived on the North Shore in the early '60s and quickly renowned for his radical anticsw. His propensity for drinking and fighting led to full acceptance by the Hawaiians, and he became known as the invincible "Black Butch." Already the acknowledged king of La Jolla's Big Rock, he sought out the most challenging waves around, riding switchfoot, going left at Waimea, and actually surfing, rather than merely surviving, at Pipeline. During the winter of 1962/63, he set the performance standard and became the first to assume the role of Mr. Pipeline. He was far from a sellout, but he did cash in on the commercial side to some extent as a member of the Duke Kahanamoku Surf Team for its tour of malls around America. Butch became a lifeguard at Pipe in the '70s, a position he would hold until his untimely death. Disheartened by the ever-growing presence of posers and rowdy groms who were in his opinion ruining the sport, he became gradually more cynical. He saw the sport's purity vanishing in the face of outsiders and was deeply resentful of crowds in the water and on the beach. A binge drinker since his teenage years, he eventually drank himself to death in 1979. A huge service was held at Pipe in his honor and his ashes were scattered over the lineup. -- Jason Borte, June 2001
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