Donald Takayama

Donald Moke Takayama, nicknamed Fuzzy and D.T., was an American professional surfer and surfboard shaper, born on 16 November 1943 and died on 22 October 2012. Born in Hawaii, he learned to surf at Waikiki Beach on Oahu as a very small child and moved to California in the mid-1950s, after the board builder Dale Velzy noticed him at Makaha Beach and promised him a job if he ever reached the mainland. Originally a longboard surfer, Takayama won the Master's division of the United States Surfing Champions in 1971, 1972 and 1973, and his article records him as runner-up at the 1966 and 1967 U.S. Surfboard Championships. He died of complications from surgery and was survived by his wife and four daughters.