Bustin' Down the Door

In 1975, South African and Australian upstarts Shaun Tomson, Rabbit Bartholomew and Mark Richards went to Hawaii with their surfboards and their love of surfing. They not only set a standard for wave riding, but also transformed surfing from a casual pastime into a viable profession. This book tells the story of these free ride pioneers.

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“You have to bust down the door before they hear ya knockin’.” —Rabbit In the winter of 1975, South African and Australian upstarts Shaun Tomson, Rabbit Bartholomew, and Mark Richards arrived in Hawaii with little else than their surfboards and their love of surfing. With courage, skill, and raw ambition, they not only set a new standard for wave riding, but also succeeded in transforming surfing from a casual lifestyle into a professional sport. Published to coincide with a documentary feature film narrated by Academy Award nominee Edward Norton, Bustin’ Down the Door tells the incredible story of these free ride pioneers. With essays by the surfing legends themselves, along with previously unpublished photographs by award-winning photographers such as Dan Merkel, Bustin’ Down the Door re-creates the genesis of modern surfing from the perspective of the visionaries who turned their unlikely dreams into reality and revolutionized the sport of surfing.