Mark Cunningham

Mark Cunningham, aka The Human Fish, is hailed as one of the greatest bodysurfers of all time. He grew up in Hawaii, became a lifeguard in the mid-’70s, and for nearly 30 years guarded primarily at Ehukai Beach Park, with a view straight into Pipeline’s barrel. Through the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, Cunningham won nearly every bodysurfing event he entered. But, as Cunningham would be the first to tell you, bodysurfing is not about winning or losing. Cunningham retired from lifeguarding in 2005, at age 49. In recent years, he’s become an obsessive reefcomber, finding fins, sunglasses, watches, and other valuables on the ocean floor. He’s also become a visual artist, using his findings in sculptures and assemblages. In this episode of Soundings, Cunningham talks with Jamie Brisick about the multifarious duties of a lifeguard, scanning the impact zone, brushes with fate at Backdoor, playing in the shorebreak, the joys of retirement, Puerto Escondido, and the virtue of leading a simple life.