Kimo Hollinger

Big wave surfer Kimo Hollinger was born in 1939 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His Irish-Portuguese father Henry "Chubby" Hollinger Sr. was a firefighter and his Hawaiian-Caucasion mother "Dutchie" Hollinger was a musician who played with Johnny Almeida's band. Kimo started surfing at age sixteen. Well regarded as one of the best big wave riders at Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay in Hawaii, Hollinger placed eighth at the 1965 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational contest and served as a judge at this particular event for the next three years. During this time Kimo also worked as a Honolulu city and county fireman. Hollinger quit surfing big waves after he was rescued by a human chain of fellow surfers from almost drowning in the ocean at Waimea Bay in 1976. An occasional writer for Surfer's Journal magazine, Kimo's nonfiction compilation "Kimo: A Collection of Short Stories" was published in 2002. The father of two daughters, Hollinger lives on the North Shore of Oahu with his wife Bunnie.