Surf legends draw a crowd at appearance

JACKSONVILLE BEACH - It's been four decades since The Endless Summer made Mike Hynson a surf film star, but with the turnout at Twisted Sisters for his autographing session Wednesday, it appeared he was a contemporary rising in the surfing world.

About 100 people packed the rear dining area of the restaurant on Beach Boulevard to meet Hynson and get autographs signed by the 65-year-old surf film legend. Hynson said it was similar to when he and co-star Robert August toured during screenings of The Endless Summer when it was originally released in 1966.

"What can I say? It's a resurgence of the old days," Hynson said. "When The Endless Summer came around, it was a new introduction to surfing. We caused a scene everywhere we went."

While there was exhilaration about The Endless Summer when it first hit, Hynson said he's more recognizable now than in the height of the movie's popularity.

"We would go into the movie house and no one knew who you were. But after the movie, they were all looking for you," said Hynson, who sported a gray goatee and had sunglasses resting on his forehead.

Fans didn't have to search very hard Wednesday as Hynson and his business partner Sean Mattison signed autographs. Mattison is a former Jacksonville Beach surfer who lives in California near Hynson. Mattison is also a key figure in competitive surfing with his other venture, Surf Coach USA, which trains intermediate- and expert-level competitive surfers. The two were in Jacksonville Beach prior to attending the annual Surf Expo in Orlando this weekend.

Hynson was the big draw as surfers from far outside the First Coast came to get a glimpse and autograph from The Endless Summer star.

"When I was in seventh grade, my science teacher showed me The Endless Summer and that movie changed my whole recreational life," said 44-year-old Shawn Graves, who drove from Gainesville. "I fell in love with surfing from that point on."

Graves' surfing buddy, 43-year-old J.R. Neal, said the drive was worth it to meet Hynson.

"When you watch the movie, it's just simple," he said. "If you watch that movie, at the end of it you want to try that. You just want to get in the car and just go."

Dan Rourke, 59, of Jacksonville Beach said The Endless Summer and Hynson captured his formative years of surfing.

"Mike is one of the original surf legends for my generation," Rourke said. "Mike was made visible by The Endless Summer and we all admired his longboarding skills and most of us tried to emulate him."

Bill Heath, 70, one of the founders of the WaveMasters Society surf club, said Hynson is an icon of surfing after The Endless Summer told a story about two surfers chasing waves around the world.

"It seemed like, for the guys to take off and go around surfing was pretty radical. It's something I never would have thought about doing at that age," Heath said.

Cheryl Fallon of Jacksonville Beach got an autograph from famed surfer Mike Hynson