Bill Bringhurst
Bill Bringhurst came of age during Central Florida’s original surfing ascendence, when East Coast Surfing’s history was being written in real-time.
In the mid-1960s, when Dick Catri (ECSHOF 1996) established what would become the legendary Surfboards Hawaii Team out of his surf shop in Satellite Beach, Bringhurst rose above peers like Gary Propper, Mike Tabeling, Bruce Valuzzi, and Mimi Munro to become the feared and respected team’s captain. Bringhurst took pride in being the leader of such an illustrious team, and went on to mentor future generations of top-talent Florida surfers, young men and women like Richard Munson (ECSHOF 2020), Jimbo Brothers and Fletcher Sharpe (ECSHOF 1998).
Beyond the water, Bringhurst soon made a career out of savvy surf marketing. In 1969, he founded Ocean Promotion, which was the first of its kind to represent West Coast surf apparel companies in the rapidly growing East Coast market. Fifty years later, Ocean Promotion is still cranking — based out of Melbourne Beach, the company sells wholesale products in the men’s, women’s and children’s sportswear space, as well as in non-durable goods. The company’s success is a testament to Bringhurst’s talent, tenacity and longevity.
Bill Bringhurst was inducted into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame in 2006.
