George Downing

George Downing was an American surfer from Honolulu who lived from 1930 to 2018 and is remembered as a pioneer of big-wave surfboard design. Born and raised in Hawaii, he learned to surf at nine and was taken around the islands by his uncle Wally Froiseth. In 1951 he built a surfboard with a removable fin, and his redwood board The Rocket is considered the first true big-wave gun. He won the Makaha International Surfing Championship in 1954, 1961 and 1965, finished seventh at the 1965 World Championships, and placed third at the 1968 Peru International before coaching Hawaii to the 1968 World Surfing Championship title. He ran a surf shop in Kaimuki, received a Legacy Award from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, and entered the Surfers Hall of Fame in 2011.