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ST. LUCIE COUNTY — The surfing photograph is vintage and timeless, a freeze-frame of a seemingly perfect moment captured in the Atlantic Ocean.

The image, taken in the mid-1990s, depicts local surf legend Allen Margolis standing against a head-high wave at the Sebastian Inlet.

A clear sky greets a blue sea, met in the middle by a man alone among the elements. 

Margolis, 76, died Oct. 31 while surfing the north side of Fort Piece Inlet State Park, witnesses said.

A 2014 inductee of the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame, Margolis made a name for himself through his iconic surf photography. He was known along Florida’s east coast for his “razor-sharp” still-frame shots of surfers carving across ocean waves. 

Margolis’ knack for surf photography makes the vintage 1990’s image, taken by another renowned surf photographer Thomas Dugan, even more historic:

Surf photographers rarely, if ever, get in front of the camera lens. 

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“When I die,” Margolis often told his lifelong friend and fellow surfer Mike Mann, “I want to die surfing.” 

Mann knew Margolis since they toddled around in kindergarten together, he said. The two neighbors were only a month apart in age, and would spend most of their time out in the ocean.

Mann was the first person to push Margolis on a wave in 1959, he said.

Two decades later, the pair would form “Surf,” a quarterly color surf magazine that spanned 18 countries and grew into one of the largest surf publications in the world. 

Together, Margolis and Mann took adventurous trips to Mexico and entered dance competitions. Margolis would almost always win, Mann said. 

“Nobody spent more time with Al than I did,” Mann said. “He was one of the kindest men you’d ever meet. It’s a real loss to the surfing world.” 

‘We’re kids again’ 

It was just after 8 a.m. Oct. 31, and Jeff Hawkins was checking the surf conditions at Fort Pierce Inlet State Park like he always does. The waves were chest-high, about 4-feet tall with a light wind. About 20 people were out surfing. 

Hawkins, a well-known local Fort Pierce surfer, was getting ready to jump in the water for a morning surf when he noticed a commotion down by the shoreline, he said. 

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A group of surfers, some of them familiar with each other, had gathered around a man laying on the beach, Hawkins said. Someone was administering CPR. 

“At first, everyone thought it was a shark attack,” Hawkins said. “But we think he had a heart attack out on the lineup.” 

The medical examiner’s office in Fort Pierce has not completed an autopsy report.

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Off-duty St. Lucie County firefighter Justin Baker witnessed the incident as he was heading out to surf, he said. Watching the group of surfers come to Margolis’ aid without hesitation was an inspirational sight to see, he said. 

“It was amazing to see the love and support that our Fort Pierce North Jetty surf community has,” Baker said. “Al was a staple at the jetty, surfing made him happy.” 

Margolis spent the last moments of his life exactly where he wanted to be: out in the sea, surrounded by surfers. 

Thomas Dugan, the man who snapped the photograph of Margolis surfing at the Sebastian Inlet, said he often saw him out surfing or taking photographs of other surfers. The two knew each other since the mid-1970’s, Dugan said. 

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At 76, Margolis would lay down on the board and ride waves straight to shore instead of standing, Dugan said. 

Margolis was often quiet and “lived to the beat of his own drum,” Dugan said. But as soon as you got to know him, he started to really open up. 

“He was always a good guy,” Dugan added. 

In his 2014 East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Margolis described how surfing kept him young his entire life. 

“Today, all we have to do is paddle out in a crisp early morning, 3- to 5-foot swells rolling, the sky blazing colors,” he told the crowd of surfers. “And for a moment in time, we’re kids again.” 

More: Wild waves from Hurricane Humberto attracts surfers to Fort Pierce Inlet State Park

‘Always the first guy in the water’

Sharing what must have been hundreds of sunrises together, Margolis and Mann surfed together for 13 years, Mann said. 

“Al was not the best talent in the water,” Mann joked, “But nobody loved surfing more than Al did.” 

Before the sun was poking through the horizon, Mann said Margolis would already be out at sea taking photos or riding waves. 

“He was always the first guy in the water,” Mann reminisced. 

Life celebration

What: Visitation service and celebration of life gathering for Al Margolis open to all

When: Visitation is Sunday Nov. 10 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Celebration starts at 2:30

Where: Genesis Church, 186 27th Ave., Vero Beach 

Guests are invited to bring a memory of Margolis to be shared with those in attendance.  

Max Chesnes is a TCPalm breaking news reporter for Indian River County. You can keep up with Max on Twitter @MaxChesnes and give him a call at 772-978-2224.

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