Windsurfers have long been able to do what rock stars can do: photographer and filmmaker Jonathan Weston launched the "Windsurfing Hall of Fame" last year, which has now been expanded for the first time. But there hasn't been a big introduction party yet, the honour is purely virtual. Not only the best windsurfers in the world are included, but also shapers, sailmakers and other innovative minds as well as photographers, filmmakers and journalists.
In the latter categorysurfeditor-in-chief Andreas Erbe has now been inducted into the "Windsurfing Hall of Fame". He belongs, just like surf-Editor Manuel Vogel, is also a member of the election committee for the drivers.
"Of course I'm very happy about the honour. But I only accept it on behalf of the entire surf Magazin team. It's only thanks to our super motivated team that we are able to produce such a great magazine every month that it is obviously recognised worldwide to the extent that it has been inducted into the Windsurfing Hall of Fame," says Andreas Erbe. "Many thanks to Jonathan Weston for bringing the Hall of Fame to life and keeping the history of windsurfing alive."
There was another honour for surf Magazin. The founder of the magazine, Uli Stanciu, was also inducted into the Windsurfing Hall of Fame.
Among the riders honoured this year was Jürgen Hönscheid. Big names such as Robby Naish, Björn Dunkerbeck and co. have been there from the start, as well as legends such as Jenna and Arnaud de Rosnay, Jim Drake and many others.
How the "Windsurfing Hall of Fame" is elected
After an attempt was made in the early 2000s to establish a windsurfing hall of fame, the topic remained quiet for many years. Jonathan Weston started his project as a whimsical survey on Facebook. This developed into an ambitious project with the aim of honouring the people who have significantly influenced the sport.
The first approach was an open poll on the internet, but this resulted in a completely unknown Italian receiving more votes than Robby Naish. As a result, the group of eligible voters was limited, but there are still more than 100 people involved in the selection process. Weston is keen to keep the committee as diverse as possible, especially geographically.
The criteria for inclusion in the Windsurfing Hall of Fame are straightforward: candidates must be over 50 years old and at least 60% of the voting committee must vote for them.
On the website windsurfinghalloffame.com all members can be seen, the detailed biographies are constantly being expanded! In the Facebook group "Windsurfing Hall of Fame" candidates are regularly presented and exciting pictures from the archives are posted!
These are the members of the "Windsurfing Hall of Fame"
Class of 2021:
- Robby Naish
- Rhonda Smith-Sanchez
- Björn Dunkerbeck
- Matt Schweitzer
- Mark Angulo
- Jenna De Rosnay
- Fred Haywood
- Hoyle & Diane Schweitzer
- Ken Winner
- Mike Waltze
- Kelby Anno Bruno
- Larry Stanley
- Pascal Maka
- Jason Polakow
- Barbara Kendall
- Bruce Kendall
- Debbie Brown
- Pete Cabrinha
- Jim Drake
- Malte Simmer
- Britt Dunkerbeck
- Gary Eversole
- Stephen van den Berg
Class of 2022:
- Alex Aguera
- Nathalie LeLièvre
- Robert Teriitehau
- Arnaud de Rosnay
- Jürgen Hönscheid
- Jessica Crisp
- Dave Kalama
- Anders Bringdal
- Nancy Johnson
- Jill Boyer
- Annie Gardner
- Craig Maisonville
- Cort Larned
- Bruce Wylie
- Angela Cochran
- Mike "Thor" Hogan
Shapers, sailmakers and other innovators:
- Jimmy Lewis
- Peter Thommen
- Ed Angulo
- Craig Masonville
- Harold Iggy & Rick Naish
- Malte & Klaus Simmer
- Monty Spindler
- Barry Spanier & Geoff Bourne
- Dave Ezzy
- Pat Love & Larry Stanley
- Ken dress
- Mark Paul
- Nevin Sayre
- Lazare Boghossian
- Hugh England
Photographers, filmmakers and journalists:
- Steve Wilkings
- Darrel Wong
- Erik Aeder
- Jonathan Weston
- Sylvain Cazenave
- Angus Chater
- Warren Bolster
- Ulli Seer
- Robert Masters
- Yuri Farrant
- Dave Nash
- Torsten Schulze
- Drew Kampion
- Clay Feeter
- Hervé Hauss
- John Severson
- Bernard Biancotto
- Andreas Erbe
- John Chao
- Pietro Porcella
- John Carter
