Of the many exceptional San Diego surfers, I want to take the time to pay my respects to Richard Kenvin, someone whom I’ve come to deeply admire throughout the years.

Small surf and a summer crowd, Kenvin has a way of standing out and leaving his mark with powerful and yet stylish turns. Fall and its occasional solid south swell, the San Diego local hits that inconsistent break, which happens to be delivering epic waves that particular day. Wintertime and the swell of a decade, he is riding a Simmons model and proving that past board designs have more to offer than some might think. Spring and the mid morning winds that come with the warmer days, Kenvin is climbing in and out of a surf spot to score some glassy and uncrowded surf.

But surfer is only one of his hats. Writer, artist, and movie director are others. For the past years, he has spent numberless hours interviewing and researching the multitude of surfers and shapers who have been on the forefront of board design. Most notably, Kenvin has been focusing on the contributions made by the historical Bob Simmons, an innovative shaper who lost his life while riding Windansea, Kenvin’s break. His film Hydrodynamica – currently a work in progress – “explores the legacy [of] several tribes of nonconformist surfers active from the 1940s to the present,” among whom is Simmons.

So whether in the water, on a magazine, or on the screen, be on the lookout for Kenvin. His many contributions to the surf industry and culture have certainly made and are likely to continue to make an impression. (See also the My Local Lineup article on his appearance at Patagonia and the footage of him at Windansea .)