Montgomery Kaluhiokalani
{{Short description|American surfer (1958–2013)}}
{{Infobox surfer
|name = Montgomery Kaluhiokalani
|image =
|caption =
|birth_name = Montgomery Ernest Thomas Kaluhiokalani
| birth_date = {{birth date|1958|3|30|mf=y}}
|birth_place = Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
|death_date = {{death date and age|2013|11|2|1958|3|30|mf=y}}
|residence = Hawaii
|nickname = Buttons
|website = [http://buttonssurfschool.com/ Official website]
}}
Montgomery Ernest Thomas Kaluhiokalani (March 30, 1958 – November 2, 2013) was a surfer from Hawaii, known as Buttons.{{cite web |author1=Staff |title=RIP Buttons Kaluhiokalani |url=https://www.surfer.com/features/rip-buttons-kaluhiokalani/ |website=SURFER Magazine |publisher=American Media |accessdate=7 October 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702021739/http://www.surfer.com/features/rip-buttons-kaluhiokalani/ |archivedate=2 July 2017 |date=2 November 2013}} He was an innovator of modern surfing maneuvers and was known for his switch foot surfing and for performing the first backside 360 in a major surf film. Surfer Magazine called him one of the most influential surfers of all time,{{cite web |author1=Staff |title=Buttons Kaluhiokalani, 1959 - 2013 |url=https://www.surfer.com/surfing-magazine-archive/surfing-news/buttons-kaluhiokalani-1959-2013/ |website=SURFER Magazine |publisher=American Media |accessdate=7 October 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007052631/https://www.surfer.com/surfing-magazine-archive/surfing-news/buttons-kaluhiokalani-1959-2013/ |archivedate=7 October 2019 |date=3 November 2013}} and he has been described by Surfer Today as a "surf legend."{{cite web|url=https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/buttons-kaluhiokalani-the-iconic-progressive-surfer-of-the-70s|title="Buttons" Kaluhiokalani: the iconic progressive surfer of the 70s|date=June 1, 2012|accessdate=September 2, 2012|publisher=Surfer Today}}
Early life
Born Montgomery Ernest Thomas Kaluhiokalani in Honolulu, his father was an army serviceman and his mother was a bartender. When he was five, his mother moved with him and his two brothers to Waikiki, where his grandmother gave him his nickname, saying that the tight curls of his hair looked like "buttons" attached to his head.{{cite book|author=Matt Warshaw|title=The Encyclopedia of Surfing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DWQSYRx4MUC&pg=PA311|year=2005|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-15-603251-3|page=311}}
Career
Kaluhiokalani was active from the 1970s onwards.{{cite web|url=http://www.liquidsaltmag.com/2009/11/buttons-kaluhiokalani-still-charging-2/|title=Buttons Kaluhiokalani|date=November 12, 2009|accessdate=September 2, 2012|author=Glenn Sakamoto|publisher=Liquid Salt Magazine}} In 1973 he came second in the Boys' Division of the United States Surfing Championship.{{cite web|url=http://www.surfline.com/surfing-a-to-z/buttons-kaluhiokalani-biography-and-photos_840/|title=Buttons Kaluhiokalani (March 30, 1959-)|author=Jason Borte|accessdate=September 2, 2012|publisher=Surfline}} At the age of 21 he competed in the Pipeline Masters and Sunset World Cup. In 1979 he won the Malibu Pro; he also came third in the 1975 Pro Class Trials, third in the 1981 Pro Class Trials, third in the 1981 Pipeline Masters, and first in the 1981 Peru International.
Drug problems
In 2009, Buttons described himself as a "recovering drug addict" who had been sober for three years. His drug problems began in 1985 with cocaine; he returned to surfing in 1996 but was arrested in 1998, although charges were later dropped. In 2007 he featured on the TV show Dog the Bounty Hunter after being arrested for drug offenses. He recovered from his drug problems and started his own surf school on Oahu's North Shore. Buttons also gave lessons to the disabled and made multiple PSA videos encouraging adults and youth alike to stay off of drugs.{{cite web|url=http://www.surfingmagazine.com/news/dog-the-bounty-hunter-surf-legend-buttons-KALUHIOKALANI/|title=Dog the Bounty Hunter Captures Hawaii Surf Legend Buttons|date=May 14, 2007|accessdate=September 2, 2012|publisher=Surfing Today}}
Personal life
Buttons was named after actor Montgomery Clift.
He had 8 children and 9 grandchildren.
Kaluhiokalani died on November 2, 2013, due to complications from lung cancer. He was 55 years old.{{cite web|last=Coen |first=Jon |url=http://xgames.espn.go.com/surfing/article/9925837/surf-legend-buttons-kaluhiokalani-dies-54 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131105122016/http://xgames.espn.go.com/surfing/article/9925837/surf-legend-buttons-kaluhiokalani-dies-54 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |title=Surf legend Buttons Kaluhiokalani dies at 54 - X Games |publisher=ESPN |date= |access-date=2013-11-05}}
A memorial service was held at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki on November 29, 2013. This was followed by a 'paddle out' of more than 100 surfers and their boards, from the adjacent beach to the waters where Buttons had practiced his craft.[Hawaii News Now|http://www.k5thehometeam.com/story/24100089/memorial-paddle-out-for-revolutionary-hawaii-surfer?clienttype=mobile]
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaluhiokalani, Montgomery}}
Category:Sportspeople from Honolulu
Category:Surfers from Honolulu County, Hawaii