RIP Buttons

legend..RIP to the smooth man


Loose, jiving regularfoot surfer from Waikiki, Hawaii; winner of the 1979 Sunkist Pro at Malibu, and one of the sport's most naturally gifted riders. He was born Montgomery Ernest Thomas Kaluhiokalani (1958) in Honolulu, the son of an army serviceman, and raised on Oahu's North Shore. At age five he moved with his two brothers and bartender mother to Waikiki; his grandmother said his black curly hair looked like buttons sewn to his head, and gave Montgomery his nickname.

Kaluhiokalani began surfing at age nine; at 15 he placed second to future world tour powerhouse Dane Kealoha in the boys' division of the state titles, and also finished second in the United States Surfing Championships. He shot to prominence in 1975, when he and surfing partner Mark Liddell, riding their new split-rail Ben Aipa-shaped stinger boards, set a new high-performance standard in small waves. Like Larry Bertlemann before him, Kaluhiokalani had spring-loaded legs and a riding style that was at once flamboyant and smooth. More so than Bertlemann???or virtually any surfer aside from eleven-time world champion Kelly Slater???Kaluhiokalani was spontaneous and innovative, stringing together turns, cutbacks, tuberides, tailslides, and 360s with offhanded genius.

Apart from his surfing, Kaluhiokalani was known for his sun-tinged afro (he once described himself as "half-Hawaiian, half black, a little bit Chinese"), and his chattering, laughing, often manic personality. He wore a curly blond wig for a surf magazine portrait shot, and ate sand in a brief but memorable surf movie clip.

Along with his win in the 1979 Sunkist, Kaluhiokalani placed third in the 1975 Pro Class Trials, third in the 1981 Pro Class Trials, third in the 1981 Pipeline Masters, and first in the 1981 Peru International. For the most part, though, he was unable to focus on competition or any other facet of professional surfing. "He approached his career," surf journalist Phil Jarratt wrote, "with all the steadiness and timing of a chicken with its head cut off."

Kaluhiokalani was featured on NBC's Real People in 1983, and the following year he appeared on the cover of Surfing magazine's "20 Who Rip" issue. Starting in 1985, however, heavy cocaine use all but removed Kaluhiokalani from the surf scene. He reappeared suddenly in 1996, surfing better than ever, announcing that "drugs are not where it's at." Nevertheless, Kaluhiokalani was arrested in early 1998 when Oahu police raided a North Shore crystal methamphetamine drug lab; charges were later dropped.

In 2007 he again reentered the public's consciousness as the bail-skipping target of a Dog the Bounty Hunter episode. Having his demons exposed to a national audience deeply affected the Hawaiian legend, and he seemed to finally pull himself free of his drug addictions. A 2012 Surfer profile detailed Kaluhiokalani's struggles, and ran a double-page spread of an extremely fit Buttons, now in his 50s, midway through a flawless carving 360. As of 2013, Kaluhiokalani ran the Buttons Surf School on Oahu.

Kaluhiokalani was featured in 1996, somewhat incongruously, as a surfer-model in the J. Crew summer catalog. He appeared in dozens of surf movies, including Playgrounds in Paradise (1976), Free Ride (1977), Fantasea (1976), and Ocean Fever (1983).

As of 2012, the 54-year-old Kaluhiokalani had eight children and eight grandchildren.

A great surfer with a smooth individual style.

Shame the demons get the great ones.

ET.

may his waves keep rolling and his net full of fish. respect

Some great surfing here:

hadn't seen him surf on film since i was a kid. so good to watch him again with a eye for modern surfing. i knew he was good and had a few tricks, but didn't realise how advanced his surfing really was.

pretty sure you wont find to many old clips of surfers reeling out rebound cutbacks like he was doing for starters.

he might just replace MR as my 70's hero now after watch that vid. thx's for posting


the surfing and all round waterman scene is sadly losing a few greats this year

Sad day

RIP...just when he was getting his life sorted too...sad loss for surfing

Great clips SP . You can always be relied on to dig out gems like these.

Select to expand quote

SP said...

I kept away from facebook for so long....then I was forced to have it....the best thing is get clips like yours sp when I wake up

The worst part off it is all the random people who send me friend requests.....I am on private and peeps send me spam all day.....at one sstage I thought I was popular lol

Select to expand quote

chrispy said..

.....at one sstage I thought I was popular lol

the girl in the bottleshop knows you

Select to expand quote

chrispy said..

weiry said...

chrispy said..

.....at one sstage I thought I was popular lol

the girl in the bottleshop knows you

She knows you as well Weiry

you cant do anything on the glodcoast without someone knowing it

Just sent you a friend request Chrispy

found this recent vid of him.. grab a beer and watch... man the cancer sucks the life from such a powerful man. i couldnt believe it was buttons