Mark Foo
Mark Foo was a prominent Chinese American surfer celebrated for his contributions to the sport and his larger-than-life personality. Born in Singapore and raised in Hawaii, Foo's early life was marked by a passion for surfing, which he developed at a young age. He achieved fame in the surfing community through competitive events and as a self-promoter, becoming one of the earliest surfers to secure major sponsorships. Foo was not only an athlete but also an entrepreneur, founding a surfboard company and writing for various surfing publications.
His legacy is particularly defined by his fearless approach to big-wave surfing, culminating in a legendary ride at Waimea Bay. Tragically, Foo's life ended at the age of thirty-six when he drowned while surfing at Mavericks in California in 1994. His passing was mourned by many, and he is remembered as a key figure in surf culture, whose charisma and passion not only advanced the sport but also inspired a generation of surfers. Foo's impact lives on as he is celebrated for both his surfing prowess and his role in popularizing the surfing lifestyle.
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Mark Foo
Singaporean-born athlete
- Born: February 5, 1958
- Place of Birth: Singapore
- Died: December 23, 1994
- Place of Death: Half Moon Bay, California
Chinese American surfer Mark Foo gained celebrity status as one of the most recognizable surfers in the world. As a charismatic voice for a new generation, he was consistently in the spotlight as he traveled the world in search of the biggest waves. His life was tragically cut short when he drowned in California at the age of thirty-six, at the peak of his career.
Full Name: Mark Sheldon Foo
Areas of achievement: Sports, business
Early Life
Mark Sheldon Foo, the youngest of three siblings, was born in Singapore to Lorna Ling and Major Charles Foo. His father worked for the United States Foreign Service, and during the early years of his childhood, the Foo family migrated often. They eventually settling on Niu Valley, Hawaii, when Foo was nine. Even as a youngster, Foo demonstrated an astute business mind, taking up a paper route that he expanded to include other local boys, who paid him a percentage of their earnings. Bored with school, he was mischievous and restless until a friend introduced him to body boarding. Foo felt drawn to surfing, bought his first surfboard at age eleven, and displayed a natural capacity instantly.
In spite of Foo’s new passion, Washington, DC, beckoned his father and the rest of the Foo family. After arriving in suburban Maryland, Foo was distraught at not being able to surf. In time, the teenager lobbied his mother to let him move to Pensacola, Florida, and stay with a friend and his family. She acquiesced, giving Foo another chance to return to what he loved at age fifteen. In 1974, Foo reunited with his mother in Honolulu, Hawaii, and went on to graduate from Roosevelt High School in 1975, one year ahead of schedule.
Life’s Work
Foo entered the University of Hawaii but completed only one semester. In 1977, he began surfing competitively, touring the International Professional Surfers (IPS) pro circuit. While competing in Japan, Foo noted his appeal with local citizens and media. Upon returning to Hawaii, Foo promptly started Hawaiian Vibrations, a surfboard and surfing apparel company, as a way to earn additional money. Combining his unique look and knack for self-promotion, Foo quickly earned the favor of photographers and landed on the cover of the February 1978 issue of Surfing magazine. Over the years that followed, Foo’s fame grew as he wrote articles for surfing magazines and regular columns for local newspapers. He also sprang into a broadcasting career in 1981, hosting SurfScene, a weekly one-hour radio talk show on Honolulu’s 98 Rock. Foo created Backpackers Vacation Inn, a hostel for young travelers. He became one of the first surfers to land a sponsorship from a major company, earning eight hundred dollars a month from the Anheuser-Busch beer company. He also appeared in several surf movies, such as Fantasea(1978), Follow the Sun(1982), Totally Committed (1984), and North Shore (1987).
Foo never ranked better than sixty-sixth on the IPS tour. He left the professional tour in 1982 for the second chapter of his life, following the siren song of Waimea Bay and big-wave surfing. In 1985, Foo reached legendary status at Waimea under extremely dangerous conditions. After a brief time in the water, a massive rogue wave, by many accounts as high as fifty feet, pulsed through the lineup. Everyone dove into the depths to escape. After the colossal force had passed, surfers bobbed up like flotsam, but Foo was the only rider still with his board. Amid the massive closeout sets that continued to come in, a helicopter offered him a ride to safety, but Foo refused, paddling into a thirty-five-foot wave that sent him on a free fall down the face of the wave, some twenty-five feet. Luckily, he survived the heaviest wipeout of his life. Foo later went on to write about the epic day for Surfing magazine, describing waves too large to be handled as the “unridden realm.” Foo returned to competitive events with the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Invitational, finishing runner-up in 1986. He took to the same event in 1990. Foo later went on to become an executive producer for H3O, a television show that began airing on Oahu’s public-access channel in 1990.
When news spread that a break called Mavericks just south of San Francisco had been pounding out thirty-foot swells, Foo accompanied his former rival and friend Ken Bradshaw on a late-night flight to catch a promising winter storm. The next morning, December 23, 1994, Foo paddled out into the icy water of Half Moon Bay with fifteen- to eighteen-foot conditions. He took his first wave, but it was his last, as Foo drowned after a routine wipeout. In the days ahead, a large memorial service was held upon the waters of Waimea Bay, where friends said their goodbyes and Foo’s ashes were scattered in the sea.
Significance
Foo’s popularity transcended the sport of surfing, and even more so in the name of big-wave riding, a forgotten art form. If Foo loved anything as much as surfing, it was the public spotlight. Perhaps this trait should be viewed not as an egocentric shortcoming, but as Foo’s biggest impact, as he bottled the essence of surfing and packaged it for the world. Just as he was able to surf the world’s biggest waves, he promoted the surfing lifestyle in a brilliant light. Foo may have paid the ultimate price and met an untimely death, but his life was not in vain; he died doing what he loved and as the ambassador of a generation.
Bibliography
Kempton, Jim. "Remembering Mark Foo, a Hero Who Left Us Too Soon." Surfer, 23 Dec. 2023, www.surfer.com/people/remembering-mark-foo-a-hero-who-left-us-too-soon. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
Martin, Andy. Stealing the Wave: The Epic Struggle Between Ken Bradshaw and Mark Foo. New York: Bloomsbury, 2007. Print.
Foo, Mark. “Occurrence at Waimea Bay.” The Big Drop: Classic Big Wave Surfing Stories. Ed. John Long. Guilford: Globe Pequot, 1999. 66–72. Print.
Krakauer, Jon. “Mark Foo’s Last Ride.” Byliner. Byline, May 1995. Web. 9 Jan. 2012.