Big Sur resident Brent Bispo, a big wave surfer and surfboard shaper, tragically passed away at the age of 60 while in the process of working on his pickup truck just before 8am Monday, Dec. 2—somehow, the truck started moving and Bispo was ultimately crushed by it.
The California Highway Patrol put out a statement about the incident Monday evening, which describes the circumstances behind the incident as such: “[Bispo] was working under the hood his Ford F-350 pickup truck, which was parked on an incline. The pickup was equipped with a manual transmission and unexpectedly began to roll down the slope. As it gained momentum, the victim became entangled with the vehicle. The pickup overturned into a creek with the victim caught in its motion and came to rest on its roof.”
He was pronounced dead at the scene. (While Bispo was not named in the statement, his identity was confirmed by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.)
Bispo was a legend in the local surfing community, and had surfed the local coastline since 1976 and started shaping boards in 1988. In his career as a shaper, he was unique in that he was one of few locally, and he shaped his boards to meet the specific needs of his clients, depending on where they preferred to surf.
Bispo was a captain at the volunteer Mid Coast Fire Brigade in Palo Colorado, where he lived, and a Facebook post from Mid Coast’s page called Bispo, in the wake of his unexpected passing, “a natural leader and teacher to many,” adding he also saved a life in a fire response out of the county.
On the Beach Surf Shop’s Facebook post stated that “We are deeply saddened of losing such an incredible human being that we have known for the last 40 years. RIP Brent Bispo, you will be always with us in our hearts in and out of the water. Legends never die.”