In early 1970, Jock Sutherland enlisted in the U.S. Army to fight in Vietnam. At that time, he was considered amongst the most visible and versatile surfers on the planet. The surfing world was shocked; and so was his mother.
Jock never made it to active duty, but spent two years in the service, after which he was rarely included in surf media.
In 1989, Jock was busted for running cocaine and spent two years in prison.
In his complexity and cleverness, Jock Sutherland has held an iconic position in the surfing community – a kind of hero’s hero – for his pioneering approach to tuberiding and switchoot surfing in waves of consequence.
Jock grew up on Oahu's North Shore and is the son of adventurer Audrey Sutherland, author of several books including Paddling My Own Canoe, who lived by the motto "Go Simple, Go Solo, Go Now."
Continuing in the slipstream of his mother’s daring, Jock went on to become a defining surfer of the 1960s.
He claimed the cover of SURFER MAG in 1966, won the 1967 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational, and was featured in nearly a dozen surf movies, including Pacific Vibrations.
"We used to call him 'the Extraterrestrial,'" fellow surfer Jeff Hakman later said, "because he was so good at everything. He could beat anyone at chess or Scrabble; he could smoke more hash than anyone, take more acid, and still go out there and surf better than anyone."
Jock talks us through the highs, lows and the middle ground where he is currently anchored in service and surfing.
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Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich
Sound Engineer: Ben Alexander
Soundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll
Additional music by Ben Alexander
Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast
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Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich
Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander
Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll
Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander
Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast
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