John Severson

John Severson (SEA-ver-son, 1933–2017) was an American editor, author, filmmaker and artist, widely known as the founder of Surfer, a magazine focused on the sport and culture of surfing. Severson also created a diverse body of artwork dedicated to the sport.

Severson won the 1961 Peru International Surf Contest. In 1991, he was inducted into the International Surfing Hall of Fame. In 2011, he won the Surfer Poll Lifetime Achievement Award. His artwork and photography have been published globally, in Surfer, Sports Illustrated, L'Equipe, The New York Times, The Guardian, BBC, 032c, and Nowness. In 2008, Fender released two special edition guitars featuring Severson's artwork, the Surf Fever and Woody.

Drew Kampion, editor of Surfer 1968-1972, said Severson was "the first to treat surfing as a worthy subject matter for fine art." Sam George, editor of Surfer (1999) said "before John Severson, there was no 'surf media,' no 'surf industry' and no 'surf culture' — at least not in the way we understand it today."

The New York Times called Severson "a pioneer of modern surf culture;" who created "the surf art genre; joined the earliest ranks of surf filmmakers; developed the "Surf Fever" writing font now synonymous with surfing; and started the first major magazine dedicated to wave riding, Surfer, a holy book of the sport.