Peter Mel

Peter Mel was born and raised along the beautiful coastline of Santa Cruz, California. He grew up in its surf community and in his family surf shop, established in 1969 by his father, John Mel. This combination helped him become a talented surfer. Peter soon became well known in his home town and around the world for his prowess in the big wave arena surfing waves of fifty foot faces, while using his signature sweeping turns and humble demeanor. Peter soon earned the respect of his peers and in 1998 established himself as a premier big wave rider being voted eighth best surfer in the world at the Surfer Poll Awards. On October 28, 1999, ten days after the birth of his son, Peter was towed into the biggest wave ever ridden on the West Coast at the time. Some say one of the biggest waves ever ridden anywhere. He backed it up in 2001 with the inaugural mission to Cortes Bank, site of the first XXL Challenge winning wave. Candor was always one of Mel's better traits and by 2010, his straig