I know there are many who would disagree with me, but they are wrong, and I am right when I say that the most influential surfer in the history of the sport was Kathy Kohner aka. Gidget. Don’t believe me? How many people know the name of the current World’s Champion surfer? Not many I’ll wager. Now how many know of Gidget? You see, the odds rise exponentially. With the book and film based on her own, handwritten diary, Kathy Kohner introduced Southern California surfing, and the culture that developed around it, to the world. Of course, the Hollywood characterization was not a totally accurate depiction, but it was close enough to pique the interest of millions. As always, the truth is much more alluring than fiction. Gidget was not an indecisive, wispy blond waif, but a dark-haired Jewess of very strong will and determination. She had to be to stand up to, and gain the respect of, Malibu’s all-male pit crew. And thankfully, she took notes. Her father called her “the little girl with big ideas;” I call her “the pied piper of Malibu.”
