Power surfer Sam Hawk was born in 1950 in South Gate, California. Hawk first started surfing at age fourteen at Huntington Beach, California. Sam was considered one of the area's top surfers right alongside his brothers Chris and Tom. Hawk moved to the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii in 1967 and by 1971 had firmly established himself as the most advanced regular footer surfer at the Pipeline in Hawaii as well as a key pacesetter at both Sunset Beach and Rocky Point.

Well known for riding massive waves with complete and startling abandon, Sam finished fourth at the 1972 Pipeline Masters contest and placed third in the 1974 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship. A protégé of master surfboard shaper Dick Brewer in the early 1970's, Hawk went on become a highly regarded board maker in his own right: He initially made boards for the Brewer label before eventually branching out with his own business. Moreover, Sam continued to surf throughout the decades and was Australian champion surfer Cheyne Horan's tow partner during the enormous Biggest Wednesday swell that hit Hawaii's North Shore in January, 1998.

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Sam Hawk

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