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Ken Bradshaw is recognized by some as one of the most influential and fearless big wave surfers in history. I first met Ken in Hawaii on the North Shore circa 1979/80 however our paths had crossed before this. His biggest claim to fame came on January 28, 1998 when he towed into and rode a wave at Outside Log Cabins, estimated at over 80 feet (some sources say 85 feet), making it one of the largest waves ever surfed.
Ken Bradshaw was born October 4, 1952, in Houston, Texas. He began surfing at age 13 in Texas, moved to California in 1969 before moving to Hawaii in 1972 to pursue big wave surfing on Oahu’s North Shore. It was in Encinitas California where I first heard his name.
Circa 1977 I was shaping surfboards in Encinitas for Ed Wright’s Sunset Surfboards which were considered cutting edge and in high demand at the time. Ken Bradshaw who had already transplanted to Hawaii came by the shop for a visit. Although I had never heard of him all the other guys in the surfboard factory had.
It wasn’t until I moved to Hawaii in the fall of 1978 that I would meet Ken personally, under less than ideal circumstances, when we both were out surfing Sunset Beach on a huge day. It was an extremely powerful swell straight out of the West and the current was ferocious.
A massive clean up set came in taking out the majority of the surfers including me. As I wasn’t wearing a leash, I lost my surfboard and had to begin my long swim back to the shore. When I finally reached the beach I saw Ken Bradshaw standing there with my surfboard under his arm.
As I approached he began to berate me for not wearing a surfboard leash, exclaiming my surfboard almost hit him. I didn’t say anything but I was thinking, “What were you doing paddling behind me? A Cardinal rule in surfing is never paddle out behind another surfer, especially in high surf. I thought he would have known better.
Later that evening Ken stopped by where I was living at Sunset Point on Holawa st. and dropped off a brand new big wave surfing leash for me We were not exactly friends yet but that was our starting point. In a way I was flattered by Ken’s gesture, although I already had plenty of big wave surfboard leashes.
As time went on I got to know Ken better as we were both Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay regulars along with big wave icons Peter Cole, James Jones, Mark Foo, Alec Cooke and my twin brother Milton. Peter Cole and Ken Bradshaw used thicker longer surfboards so they could sit much further out positioning themselves for the biggest waves. It seemed to always be a competition for who could catch the biggest waves.
Surfers like Mark Foo and the late great Brock Little liked to used narrower, thinner surfboards and positioned themselves more inside to catch the steepest, hollowest waves. Milton and I liked surf both outside or inside lineup. Usually we surfed off each other, if Milton sat outside I’d be further in, if Milton was sitting inside I’d be further out, picking up the biggest and steepest waves we could paddle into.
I can’t remember if it was Surfer Magazine or Surfing Magazine that ran a centerfold of Milton, Ken, Foo and Little all surfing the same wave together at Waimea Bay. Everyone was in perfect flow except Ken Bradshaw, who took a unique line causing Milton to be catapulted off his surfboard. The caption mentioned something about poor Milton eating it.
Famous shaping pic north shore shapers
Ken Bradshaw and I were photographed along with the best shapers on the North Shore of Oahu at the time. Contest promoter, expert surfer, master surfboard shaper Randy Rarrick arranged the iconic photo taken by legendary lensman Bernie Baker that appeared in Surfer magazine.
Some of the illuminated shapers that featured in addition to Ken and I were Barry Kanaiapuni, Eric Arakawa, Dennis Pang, Milton Willis and Bill Barnfield.
Of all Ken Bradshaw’s great achievements, including winning the Duke Kahanamoku Surfing Tournament his greatest achievement is surfing an 85’ wave that I gave him, yes I gave him, on a day he calls “The Biggest Day Ever Surfed”
I’ve written about this historic event in 100 Foot Wave the official book. But for those that don’t know, January 28th 1998 was and is still considered the biggest day ever surfed. No one had ever seen waves breaking out as far as the eyes could see and beyond, nor have they since this date. The Eddie Aikau big wave contest was cancelled due to waves thought to be too big and literally impossible to ride. In addition a Condition Black was enacted legally closing all North Shore beaches for the first time in Hawaii’s history.
With the worlds best big wave surfers all declining to go out, including big wave specialists like Garrett McNamara It appeared Milton and I we’re going to be the only takers, and we were, at first. Milton and I and our trusty 2nd hand Seadoo jet ski launched off of backyards north of Sunset Point. It was an incredible experience, only by the grace of a higher power were we able to make it all the way out.
When we finally got to where we had planned to go we thought we found heaven, we were surfing 70’ to 85’ sky scraping waves all alone, with absolutely perfect off-shore winds and great conditions. Being out there with just my twin brother was in every way an outer-worldly and deeply spiritual experience. We didn’t raise the ceiling of big wave surfing we blew the roof right off.
To our complete and utter astonishment two or three helicopters arrived, followed by two tow teams consisting of Dan Moore/Ken Bradshaw and Sam Hawk/Cheyne Horan who showed up shortly after. As the jet ski driver I had Milton perfectly slotted for the next wave coming in. It was beautiful, I gunned the throttle and we were in line for takeoff.
However, with Dan Moore driving the ski, Ken Bradshaw had his eyes on our wave. They were coming directly at us as fast as they could. Had I have held our line they would have no choice but to back off or collide with Milton and I. I will always remember the wild maniacal look in their eyes. It was like they were out of their minds.
At this point knowing that Milton had already surfed bigger and better waves this morning, and seeing their relentless, big body determination I decided to be a gentleman and give Ken the wave, which I did! The rest is history. Photographer Hank photo snapped the iconic picture capturing the ride which appeared on the cover of the Honolulu Advertiser and was circulated worldwide.
Neither Ken Bradshaw nor Dan Moore ever personally thanked Milton and I for giving them the wave that would become Ken’s crowning achievement of his surfing career.
Ken eventually made a poster of this image with the words printed on the bottom “the Biggest Day ever Ridden”. And though Milton and I were never thanked, Bradshaw did acknowledge our generosity when he was interviewed for Tim Bonython’s Biggest Wednesday video saying another team had “acquiesced”there by giving him the wave of his life.
Not to fret, Milton and I ended up surfing waves double the size of Outer Log Cabins when we went further out to the Devil’s Garden located what seemed a mile outside of Sunset Point. To this date no one has surfed bigger waves. I write about this extensively in 100’ Wave the official book.
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Much Love All
