John 'The Oom' Whitmore (b. 1929), also known as the 'Doyen’, transformed several ocean-based water sports in South Africa from the 1950s to the 1980s. The first person to ride a surfboard on the Cape Atlantic coast, he created South’s Africa's first surfboard brand, discovered many iconic local surf breaks, including Elands Bay and Jeffreys Bay, founded Springbok surfing, and introduced the Hobie Cat and the Morey Boogie bodyboard. He began Cape Town’s first daily surf and weather report on Radio Good Hope, and starred in Bruce Brown’s 1966 documentary, The Endless Summer.