Anybody that has surfed Malibu over the last 20+ years knew Johnny Medici. His recent passing after a brutal bout with lung cancer has left many Malibu surfers in a funk. Tomorrow(2-26) at 11:am there will be a special paddleout to celebrate his life and spirit.
If you are not sure if you knew him, he was the thin guy with the old rusty VW. He usually had long hair and a beard and always had a smile and a good word for everyone. He had a unique totally parrallel stance and sat at the top of First Point. He had a bunch of boards but his favorites were his old Yater, a couple of Liddles, a Lance Carson and a couple by Paul Gross. He never dropped in on anyone and gave away many waves.
There is an article written by Ken Seino about Johnny on allaboutsurf.com under the surfs up category.
People we dont know die everyday, but when it’s a surfer it’s like we lose one of our own… and always seems to bother me. I picture the guy who I dont even know what he looks like smiling and having a hoot surfing malibu getting that high we are all so addicted to. Hope there’s a good right point up there he’s surfing now.
Well, we had the paddleout for Johnny yesterday at Malibu. It was threatening to be a cloudy, crappy day, but true to form, it was sunny and 70 degrees, just like Johnny would have liked it. It was cloudy in both directions but right at Malibu it stayed sunny all day. About 150 folks showed up including the Malibu regulars, his coworkers at the Postal Service, and family, and had many nice words to say. His brother gave a little speech about how supportive the folks at Malibu had been and how the only place Johnny was able to find happiness after Johnny’s wife passed a few years ago was at Malibu. We were all lucky to have known Johnny. He was an inspiration on how to act in the surf and in life. I just received an email from a surfer buddy who visited Malibu a few years ago and met Johnny just once. His sentiments are a perfect comment on Johnny:
" I’ll always remember that last time I was out there (1st pt. Malibu)…it got crowded, but
all of a sudden I realized I was in a real good wave and Johnny had let
the outsider go…it was a real cruiser ! All the way in to the cove
