Greg Noll (aka Da Bull) at Pipeline, 1964. Photo by John Severson
“It is with a heavy heart the Noll family announces the death of our patriarch, Greg Noll.
Greg died of natural causes on Monday June 28th, at the age of 84.
We invite all of our friends and family to celebrate his life by sharing this post and your stories, pictures and experiences through your preferred platform.
Aloha
The Noll Family”
Da Bull huge Makaha, 1969.
A simple post on Facebook for a surfing icon.
When you think of the most enduring big wave surfing images it’s hard to flick past those of the Da Bull. Riding huge Pipe or charging Waimea and Makaha they are stuff of legend. All achieved in his legendary Jailbird trunks. The small excerpt probably captures his surfing as well as any.
“The wave I caught at Outside Pipeline that day walled up twenty-five-feet high about half a mile in front of me. It broke to the left, so I was riding with my back to the wave, goofyfoot, and it was a god-awful uneasy feeling. Instead of getting smaller as I rode it, the sonofabitch grew on me. It got bigger and bigger, and I started going faster and faster, until I was absolutely locked into it. I felt like I was on a spaceship racing into a void. At first, I could hear my board chattering across the face of the wave in a constant rhythm. As my speed increased, the chattering noise became less frequent. Suddenly there was no noise. For about fifteen or twenty feet, I was airborne. Then I literally was blown off my board.
— Greg Noll, Da Bull: life over the edge
So many stories to celebrate.
RIP Da Bull
