Donald Takayama
| Donald Takayama | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Donald Moke Takayama November 16, 1943 |
| Died | October 22, 2012 (aged 68) Waikiki, Hawaii |
| Nickname |
|
| Residence | Waikiki, Hawaii, Oceanside, California |
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) |
| Weight | 130 lb (59 kg) |
| Surfing career | |
| Best year | 1966 and 1967 U.S. Surfboard Championships (runner-up) |
| Sponsors | Velzy/Jacobson |
| Major achievements | Renowned surfboard shaper |
| Surfing specifications | |
| Stance | Goofy foot |
| Shaper(s) | Dale Velzy, Renny Yater, Pat Curren, Mike Diffenderfer, Ken Tilton, Hap Jacobs, Joe Quigg |
| Favorite maneuvers | Nose ride |
Donald Moke Takayama (November 16, 1943 – October 22, 2012) was an American professional surfer and surfboard shaper. Originally a longboard surfer, Takayama won the Master's division of the United States Surfing Champions in 1971, 1972 and 1973. Hawaiian born, Takayama learned surf at Waikiki Beach and moved to California in the mid-1950s. Takayama died of complications from heart surgery, he is survived by his wife and four daughters.
Takayama started surfing during his kindergarten year at Waikiki Beach on the south shore of Oʻahu, Hawaii. At 45 pounds, his 95-pound redwood surfboard was too heavy to carry home. Takayama decided he would have to keep his surfboard at the beach, so he buried it in the sand for safe keeping.
Well, the next day I was digging holes everywhere, and the oldtimers who played checkers in Kapiolani Park were looking at me, shaking their heads. I looked like a sand crab. Finally, I found a hole in the seawall and stuffed my little board in there. That’s where I kept it all summer.
Dale Velzy discovered Takayama while surfing at Mākaha Beach. Velzy noted that none of the young surfers were attending school and told Takayama that if he ever got to the mainland, there would be a job waiting for him. Takayama bought a plane ticket to Los Angeles, at twelve years of age, with money saved from a newspaper delivery route. Takayama worked for Velzy/Jacobs Surfboards and lived in the loft of Dale Velzy's Venice, California surf shop.
After a harrowing ten-hour flight that landed at pre-L.A.X. Burbank Field, Takayama realized he’d landed on “a pretty big island.” He made his way to Velzy’s shop, and the rest is shaping history. Velzy recalls that his star surfer of the time, Dewey Weber, was ”jealous as hell” of all the attention the young Hawaiian garnered upon his arrival, and Velzy’s immediate worry was “Shit, I’ve wounded my team!” The two eventually became famous friends. D.T. worked his okole [butt] off for the Velzy/Jacobs label, and at the time, there was no heavier house. For that time and place, Donald was the equivalent of an artisan’s apprentice in High-Renaissance Florence. In between frequent surf trips up and down the coast, Donald’s only job was to shape balsa boards and surf with the crew at Hermosa Beach’s 22nd Street.
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