Jack Beresford Profile
Posted onby Ty Kramer & Michael Schoaff
Jack Beresford is a kneeboarder. Is your knee-jerk reaction to judge him and read no further?
Perhaps it’s this same judgment that makes kneeboarders who they are. Like Johnny Cash’s fabled “Boy Named Sue”, they need superior strength, cunning, and capabilities in the mud, the blood and the beer – or in this case, a crowded day or a deep blue canyon set at North Peak.
Fact is, Jack is an eight-time US kneeboarding champ and a standout in a group of Blacks Beach kneeboarders who surf better than most do on their feet, with a few who are in the top ten percent in terms of overall ability in the water.
Jack grew up riding inflatable surf mats and body boards at La Jolla Shores in the late 1970’s and credits his mom for getting him started. She’d driven Jack and his brother Chris to Ocean Beach and while they were in the water, she saw a board on display in a window on Newport Avenue. She collected the boys and suggested they come to the shop and check it out.
And that was the beginning of a lifelong journey of surf stoke. That very first board, a 5’4” Sunset Surfboards fish kneeboard with big keel fins, is currently in his parent’s garage rafters. “It’s a beautiful board and worth keeping,” says Jack.
When asked about his lifelong propensity for riding red kneeboards, Jack says, “The first board I ever got was red and I rode that board to death, I must have rode it for four or five years, all through my UCSD years for the most part. So when I got a chance to order my first custom board, I made it red, and they’ve been mostly red ever since.”
His first foray into custom boards would come decades later when he met James Mangano of K58 Surfboards. Jack and James became fast friends while surfing Blacks Beach, and James became very interested in shaping a kneeboard. Jack recalls that from the very beginning, he knew he’d found a unique shaper and personality. “James sat on the beach and watched me surf it the first session. What surfboard shaper in this world does that anymore?”
James and Jack also become close friends, albeit a bit of an odd couple. Jack is clean-cut and corporate, James lives in Tecate, Mexico, and could be mistaken for an energetic Father Time. He’s the antithesis of a corporate workstyle. “You know the best shapers are obviously known to be a bit eccentric and James is definitely a character for sure,” Jack adds. “When he delivers my boards, he pulls up on his Honda Africa Twin motorcycle. The boards are lashed to the side and he’s in leathers with a long white beard. Pretty amazing to see.”
Once James’ hyper-personalized, custom service was secured, the two worked closely to fine-tune the approach and created kneeboards worthy of allowing Jack to compete with the world’s best. Jack credits James with pushing him to explore different types of equipment. They build boards considering both the rider and the conditions. Jack feels that when he goes to a contest his K58 is his secret weapon. “I ride boards that will do things, other boards and other people can’t do, especially in small surf. That really gives me the confidence to go out and do my best. I don’t have to think about having the right board.”
In addition to James, Jack befriended Blacks’ other local kneeboarders: Steve Yamamoto, a physicist who braves pre-dawn darkness on stormy out of control mornings; “Super” Dave Margulies, a concert-worthy pianist (note that Dave and Steve were surfing Teahupo’o, Tahiti, before it became widely known); Brad Colwell, a retired pharmacist; Randy Morris, a financial analyst; Joe Coyne, a retired IT manager; Matt Cunningham, a retired school teacher; contractor Bob Gove; Dave Weinbaum, a water and wastewater expert; and Jack’s brother, Chris, a Southwest Airlines captain who once saved Jack from drowning. More on that later.
“If I had to kneeboard in San Diego without having this amazing place with these amazing people, I probably would have been a stand up surfer and maybe got into longboarding like a lot of people. But the fact that we have this community and we can all surf Blacks, a world class wave, that really keeps me going and it makes kneeboarding super viable.”
Jack began competing as a freshman at USCD in the fall of 1983. Billy Lerner was a kneeboarder on the surf team and was a huge inspiration for Jack, his younger brother (by one year), Chris and many others on the UCSD Surf Team.
The first contest was an NSSA Team Event at Oceanside Harbor, South Jetty in the Spring of 1984. Jack recalls it was a pretty big deal back then and both Billy and Jack made the finals. “Billy was a big deal in the NSSA, he was the USCD athlete of the year in 1983, and that really says a lot about what he did competitively.”
“In the final of that first contest, there’s me, Billy and two guys from one of the community colleges in Orange County. These two guys sat on Billy the entire heat, parking themselves on either side of him and wherever he went for a wave, so did they. Billy really had a rough time of it, but I didn’t – they were so busy crowding Billy they forgot about me. I got every wave I wanted and ended up winning that contest.”
Jack has been successfully competing at a very high level ever since, both locally and in international meets. Jack’s surf travel has been mostly for contests.
One special trip was Jack’s first world title event in 1988 at Aguadilla on the northwest coast of Puerto Rico. It was in February with Jack representing the United States. It was his senior year at UCSD and the opportunity to go to Puerto Rico for three weeks in the middle of the quarter and just surf was too much to pass up. He’d have a chance at winning the world title. Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well in the hunt for the world title. Jack had low scores in the middle rounds and began to feel depressed. Then in round three he had an epiphany. He realized that he put too much pressure on himself to win and to be world champion, he was forgetting how well that he performs when he’s enjoying the competition and camaraderie.
Jack reminded himself the most important things to him, like family and friends. He began to channel thoughts of being home with loved ones and his beloved Blacks Beach. This took the weight of competition off his shoulders and he ended up winning his remaining heats, but it was not enough to clinch a spot in the grand final. He missed it by one spot.
“I didn’t get the title but I won that final heat. It was a Sunday and there must have been 10,000 people on the beach. It felt like the OP Pro. I didn’t realize people were standing in the water cheering for me, it was such a cool experience to do well in that moment.”
Another early kneeboarding title held at Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz underscored the dichotomy in the organization of some of those early contests: “I rode up there with one of my best friends, Greg Little. Greg made the final which was awesome. He is an amazing kneeboarder but he’s never been one that really shined in competitions and here he was in the final. Soon it was time for the competitors to stand on the podium. So, a lot of people thought (me included) that Greg might have won the contest. But he actually got 4th place. He accepts his trophy and goodie bag. I ended up winning and accepting my trophy and goodie bag. I open my bag and I see a wet suit, a leash, T-shirts and all this cool stuff. Then Greg opens his goodie bag and it’s a grocery bag with an oily shirt and some stickers. The shirt looked like somebody changed their oil using the shirt to wipe off their hands. So, we are up in Santa Cruz and we get in the car to drive home and I had to hear about that damn oily shirt the entire 8 hour drive back to San Diego. So, it’s a little inside story, but it’s just part of the lore. Sometimes you get the wetsuit and sometimes you get the oily shirt.”
When asked if Jack had any bucket list surf trips planned, Jack reveals he’s waiting for word on the 2024 kneeboard World Titles in South Africa. “We’re kind of waiting for the official announcement and they are hoping to have several of the final heats at J-Bay. So, there you go you got an amazing surf trip combined with a chance to surf and compete for the world title.”
When asked why he stayed with kneeboarding over other forms of surfing, Jack says he’s asked that all the time. “For me, surfing started with kneeboarding because there were about six or seven of us that all got into kneeboarding around that time. Back then, kneeboarding was bigger than it is now. I admired Rex Huffman, pushing the limits at Big Rock. There was Billy Lerner at Blacks, and you had these guys that were recognized as the best at their break. Some of these guys still are. They are all about pushing the limits, and they’re getting deeper than anybody else and there was press coverage back then too. There would be a couple photos in the magazine, and you go to a surf movie and see footage of kneeboarders. It was a legitimate alternative to stand up surfing. I’ll tell you though, if it wasn’t for Blacks, I probably wouldn’t be a kneeboarder.”
With a community like the one he’s a part of, there are sure to be some stories and folklore. Jack’s been affectionately given a few nicknames over the years, with the most apt probably being ‘Count Jackula’. When asked about this ominous moniker, Jack shares. “Well, I do like to catch a lot of waves and in recent years because of work, I don’t have a lot of time so I’m trying to make up for that.”
Jack experienced an aquatic near-death experience when he was three years old–which clearly did little to quell his lifelong love of the water. “We lived in an apartment building in the Mission Village area of San Diego and I fell in the pool. I wasn’t a great swimmer and pretty much going down for the count when my brother saw me and ran like hell to the neighbors for help. My neighbor and my dad came and pulled me out of the pool. I was pretty close to buying the farm. It would have certainly been different if my brother had not saved my life in that moment.”
By day, Jack is the Director of Communications for the San Diego Community College district which includes City College, Mesa College, Miramar College, and an adult education division called the College of Continuing Education. Jack has been in higher education marketing for 24 years–11 years at the district, and 13 years at San Diego State in the same role. He enjoys being a part of an institution that’s committed to helping people and communities. “I have a great job because I get to tell stories about our great institutions and really help people better understand what opportunities we provide. It’s a bit of marketing a bit of PR and a lot of governmental advocacy and governmental relations. When you’ve got a great institution with amazing stories it makes it a lot easier.”
In his early life, Jack’s dad was in the Navy, bringing his family to San Diego from Brooklyn NY in 1967. His dad was stationed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War. Kitty Hawk was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for exceptionally meritorious and heroic service which included the Tet Offensive.
Jack’s parents had a big decision to make around 1970 when his dad was getting out of the Navy, move back to New York or stay in San Diego. Jack’s parents bought a home in University City, and they still live in that house today. Both Jack and Chris live about a mile away. Jack has had the distinction of having never lived further than 15 minutes away from Blacks for pretty much his whole life. Steve Yamamoto once made the claim that there probably isn’t anyone in history to surf the break more than Jack.
Jack credits his amazing parents who balanced each other’s personalities and in a way are quite the opposite of each other. Jack’s dad brought that military background and he was all in on coaching the boys in Little League and being involved in everything around the house and outside. Jack’s mom was the one who stayed at home while Jack was younger. She would take the boys to the beach and the zoo and taught them how to enjoy life, making the most of each day. His parents go to the US Titles every year; they are a fixture at the events.
Today, when he’s not traveling the world, Jack is home in San Diego surfing, working, and cheering on his daughter, Jana, who sometimes competes in women’s kneeboarding. When the Beresfords show up for a contest, they are well known. There’s Jack, brother Chris, their parents, and Jack’s wife, Lucita, a veritable cheering section on the beach for any jersey-wearing Beresford. “It’s a super cool experience and puts a nice cap on my many years competing. When you have your kids there with you competing, they’re part of it too. It’s just the best.”
Having his family as that support system has been key to Jack’s success and happiness: “It’s been a great run. I’m still stoked and it’s nice to still be surfing Blacks after 43 years. I thank my family, especially my brother, who’s still surfing Blacks, and surfing at the level where he’s at is really special. I throw a huge thank you to my wife of 26 years. She’s been an amazing supporter for me and as we raise the family together. You need to have that strong support network. Otherwise what are we doing?”
“For me, even better than a surf trip, quite honestly is having fun with my family.”