Mickey Munoz
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mickey Muñoz 1937 (age 88–89) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Website | www |
| Surfing career | |
| Sport | Surfing |
Mickey Muñoz, aka Mickey Munoz, nicknamed "The Mongoose,"[1] (born 1937) is an early surfing pioneer, sailor, paddleboarder, skier, and surfboard shaper.[2]
He was featured in the 2004 surfing documentary Riding Giants. He currently resides in Capistrano Beach, California and designs boards for Surftech, a manufacturer of epoxy boards.
Born in New York City in 1937, he graduated from Santa Monica High School.[1] He was part of the surfing scene at Malibu and was present on June 27, 1956, the day a young lady showed up and Terry "Tubesteak" Tracy [who?] nicknamed her "Gidget".[3] Later, he was cast as the surfing stunt double for Sandra Dee[4] in the 1959 film Gidget[1] wearing a 2-piece bikini.[2]
Muñoz developed a variety of unconventional, sometimes humorous, yet highly difficult surfing stances. While surfing in Malibu with Bobby Patterson, Muñoz found the wave so perfect that they entertained themselves with different poses. "We had the mysterioso, the el spontáneo, the el telephono, and others -- all just stupid, spontaneous moves that made us laugh."[2] While Muñoz and John Severson were reviewing his recent film footage, they were giving the stances names: "At the time, we were naming these stances and poses, and we came up with the name Quasimodo, because it sort of looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame."[2] Muñoz's stance then became famous when Severson published the image in 1960 in the first issue of SURFER magazine (which used the different spelling "quasimoto").[5]
Honors
[edit]The iconic Quasimodo stance is depicted in a statue of Mickey Muñoz by William Limebrook, unveiled at Watermen's Plaza, Dana Point, California on May 14, 2026.[6] It was the tenth life-size cast bronze statue of famous Dana Point watersport athletes, filmmakers, artists, and entrepreneurs at Watermen's Plaza.[6]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Carroll, Corky (March 10, 2012). "Paddleboard event honors 'Mongoose'". The Orange County Register. pp. Local 1, 2.
- 1 2 3 4 Muñoz, Mickey (2011). No Bad Waves - Talking Story With Mickey Muñoz (1st ed.). Patagonia Books, Patagonia Inc., 259 W. Santa Clara St., Ventura, CA 93001-2717: Patagonia Books. pp. 27, 133–135. ISBN 978-0-9801227-0-1.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: location (link) - ↑ Gault-Williams, Malcolm (2005-12-29). "The Golden Age of Malibu: Mid-1950s". Legendary Surfers: A Definitive History of Surfing's Culture and Heroes. Surfing Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
- ↑ "Mickey Muñoz "2006 Surf Pioneer" Surfing Walk of Fame". 2017-07-19. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ "Thumb Through SURFER Magazine's Earliest Print Issues". Surfer. Archived from the original on 2024-08-02. Retrieved 2026-08-01.
- 1 2 "PUBLIC ART IN PUBLIC PLACES - Mickey Munoz (2026) by William Limebrook". www.publicartinpublicplaces.info. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
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