Nick Gabaldon

Nick Gabaldon, born Nicolas Rolando Gabaldon in Los Angeles on 23 February 1927, was an early surfer credited by surfing experts as California's first documented surfer of African American and Latino descent. He grew up in Santa Monica and taught himself to surf at the roped off stretch of beach known as the Ink Well, one of the few places local Black residents could use freely during the era of beach segregation. After Navy Reserve service in the Second World War he studied at Santa Monica College, worked as a lifeguard and from about 1949 surfed at Malibu, where he was accepted by pioneers of the sport. He drowned on 6 June 1951 after crashing into the Malibu Pier. Santa Monica dedicated a plaque to him at the Ink Well in 2008, and the Black Surfers Collective marks an annual Nick Gabaldon Day.