A Successful 60's - 80's Surfer


A 70's - 90's Speaker, Mentor, and Professional Surfer Coach

List of Dr. Bruce "Snake" Gabrielson's
Surfing Affiliations, Contributions, and Accomplishments
Been There - Done That

  • 1960s-1980s WEST COAST SURFER, SHAPER AND CONTRIBUTOR
  • Semi-sponsored by Surfboard's Hawaii and Local Team Member During Longboard Era (mid 1960s)
  • President, South Sea Surf Club (1966-1967)
  • President, Huntington Beach Surfing Association (1967-1977)
  • Designer and Surf Team Member, Soul Surfboards (where Dale Velzy taught me to shape)
  • Surf Team Member, Petrillo Surfboards
  • Surf Team Member, Walden Surfboards
  • Shaper, Designer, Glasser and Owner, Wave Trek Surfboards in HB
  • District 5 Director, Western Surfing Association (WSA)
  • Competition Rules Committee Chairman, WSA and USSA
  • WSA AAA Mens
  • #3 Competition Ranking, WSA and US
  • 3rd Place, United States Surfboard Championships (USSA)
  • Board of Directors, United States Surfboard Championships
  • Contest Director, United States Surfboard Championships (I'm the person telling Corky Carroll that I didn't make the rules in the movie 5-Summer Stories)
  • Judge, United States Surfboard Championships (and many other events)
  • Founding Member, Western Intercollegiate Surfing Council (First US College Surfing Organization)
  • Co-founder, Coach, and Captain, Cal. State University Long Beach Surf Club
  • Author of petition to CIF for formal recognition of surfing as a HS sport
  • Founder, Edison High School Surf Club
  • Founder and First Varsity Coach, Huntington Beach High School Surf Team (First US HS to Formally Recognize Surfing as a Varsity Sport)
  • Awarded First Varsity Letter for Surfing to a HS Athlete (HBHS)
  • Founder, Orange Coast Surfing League/Sunset League (First Official High School Surfing League in US - Recognized by CIF)
  • Founding contributor and life member, Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum
  • Author, The Complete Surfing Guide for Coaches
  • Surfing Editor, The Huntington Beach News
  • Surfing Editor, Orange County Daily Pilot Newspaper
  • Founder and First Contest Director, Huntington Beach Residents Contest
  • Movies - 5 Summer Stores, Pacific Vibrations, Expression Session
  • 1980s-2000s EAST COAST SURFER, SHAPER AND CONTRIBUTOR
  • Member, Eastern Surfing Association, Maryland District
  • Member, Eastern Surfing Association, Delaware District
  • Delaware ESA State Champion
  • 2x High Point Winner Delaware ESA
  • Inventor, Gabrielson Break, Continuously moving artificial wave for pools
  • Surf Team Member, Sundancer Surfboards
  • Surfing Chairman, Potomac Valley Association, AAU (1985-1987)
  • Directed the First AAU Sanctioned Surfing Event in US (1985)
  • Amateur Athletic Union Surfing Coach
  • Surfing Contest Director, Capital Games (DC State Games)
  • National Surfing Committee, Amateur Athletic Union
  • Established the Internet's First Surfing Oriented Web Site (1993)
  • Placed the First Book (The Complete Surfing Guide for Coaches) of any Subject on the Internet (1994)
  • Established the Internet's First On-line Surfing Reference Library
  • Honorary Member, East Coast Surf Music Alliance
  • Member, Greg Noll "Da Bull" Surf Team
  • Member, Washington DC Chapter, Surfrider Foundation
  • Member, Big Stick Surf Club
  • Member, 62nd St. Longboarders Club, Ocean City, MD
  • Co-Organizer, Delaware's First High School Surfing Competitions
  • Award Winner, 1999 Paddle-Out Award, Washington DC Surfrider
  • 3rd Place, US Surfboard Championships
  • 6th Place, ESA Easterns Surfing Championships
  • 2nd Place, Shortboard, East Coast Surf Championships
  • 2x3rd,2x4th & 6th Place, Longboard, East Coast Surf Championships
  • Judge, East Coast Surfboard Championships and ESA Easterns
  • Chairman, USSF Sports Science Committee
  • Chairman, USSF USOC Recognition Committee
  • Primary Author, Formal USOC Application by USSF for Surfing to Become an Olympic Sport
  • Surf Team Member, Robert Strickland Surfboards
  • Surf Team Member, New Jersey Surf
  • Shaper, Designer, Glasser and Owner, Wave Trek Surfboards (Chesapeake Beach, MD)
  • Lifetime Member and Hall of Fame Member, Huntington Beach Longboard Crew
  • Founder and Owner, Snake's Surf School (Ocean City, MD)
  • Co-Founder, Annapolis Surf Club, MD
  • East Coast Team Manager - Turbo Tunnel Performance Team
  • Walden Surfboards Surf Team
  • Founder and Chairman, National Surf Schools and Instructors Association
  • Primary Author, Teaching Surf Instructors to Teach
  • Author, Surfing, The Culture and Complexity of the Sport (3 unit college course)
  • NSSIA Certified Master Level Surf/SUP Instructor
  • Founder, Caravan Surf Club
  • Chairman, Ironman Surfing/Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Official Advisor, Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum
  • Director, Snakes Surf Museum and Surf Art Gallery (Ranked top 20 cultural museums in MD by the MD Dept. of Tourism)
  • Board Member, International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame (Responsible for getting East Coast Shapers recognized)
  • Official Advisor - SurfDreams
  • Board Member - People Enhancing Other People's Lives (PEOPLE) Foundation
  • #2 Top Answerers in Surfing, Yahoo.com Answers
  • Participant - Circle of Honor Paddle Out (Guiness World Record)
  • Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame
  • Movies - Cruzing Atlantic Avenue, Makaha Skateboard Documentary, HBSA 30th Celebration
  • Member West Coast East Surf Club

Huntington Beach Longboard Crew Surfing Hall-of-Fame (HBLC)
Ironman Hall of Fame
Shapers Hall fo Fame (Shaper's Tree)

Surf Champions and Shapers Coached or Mentored over the years

Still hanging in after over 50 years on a surfboard.


Indian River Inlet - September 1999

Mentor and Coach of Many Professional and Successful Surfers Over the Years
Active Contributor to Surfing Related Research Studies Around the World
Reviewer of Numerous Books Published by Surf Authors

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