Hawaii’s Laura Blears was a surfing pioneer, paving the way for females of today.
In the early to mid 1970s, Blears was a leader in women’s professional surfing, winning events like the 1974 Smirnoff Pro-Am, which, at the time, had a prize of $1,000.
And now, Blears has been inducted into the Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame – sharing the honor with other surfing icons including Duke Kahanamoku, Carissa Moore, Shane Dorian, Rabbit Kekai, Fred Hemmings, Rell Sunn, Kai Lenny, and others.
Congratulating Blears on the honor, longboarding legend Joel Tudor wrote:
“Congrats Linda Laura Blears on her prestigious acceptance to the waterman’s hall of fame …..always marveled at the courage it took to paddle out in 1970s north shore and defy what was acceptable for men but not for women! Her topless moment is one of the most gangster times in wave riding! Bravo and congrats!”
In addition to her role as an early pioneer of female professional surfing, and perhaps more famously, Blears was known for surfing nude. (Well, topless.)
Per Matt Warshaw’s Encyclopedia of Surfing:
“In 1975, Blears also posed and surfed in the nude for ‘Here’s Why the Lady is a Champ Super Surfer!’ a six-page layout in the July issue of Playboy; the outdoor photos were shot at Yokohama Bay, a semi-secluded beach on Oahu’s west side.”
As for her surfing career, Warshaw continued:
“Blears surfing career hit a snag in 1975 when she was again announced as the Smirnoff winner, only to learn a few minutes later that there was a scorer’s error and that Margo Oberg was in fact the winner. Blears continued to compete, but never again with the success she’d had earlier in the decade; when the women’s pro circuit began in 1977, Blears sat it out. ‘I never got to go on tour,’ she later said. ‘But I paved the way [for women’s pro surfing], and I’m proud of that.’”
Cheers to this legend.
***
Don’t miss another headline from SURFER! Subscribe to our newsletter, follow us on Instagram, and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of surfing. We’re always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging surf-related videos to feature on our channels.
Whether you’re a professional surfer or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on SURFER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality surf videos.