The first ‘Mr Pipeline’ before Lopez, La Jolla’s bruising, big drinking tough nut Butch van Artsdalen was one of the first haole transplants to be accepted on the North Shore and the first guy to truly attack Pipe. one of the earliest North Shore lifeguards alongside Eddie Aikau, Butch was a larger than life character, a physically impressive maestro at a number of sports, famed for surfing, drinking and brawling in equal measure. A goofyfoot who switched stance with ease in big surf and was among the early Waimea pioneers, it is said that ‘every surfer from the 60’s has a Butch story’. Tragically, most of those stories involved him drinking, which would ultimately lead to his death aged just 38.