John Shimooka (born 9 November 1969) was a professional surfer, commentator, entrepreneur, social media influencer, and Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt holder from Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. He is famously known in the country for his best records in the various international surfing championships.
Apart from a surfer, he was also worked as a commentator. In his career, he also won the Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt. He has also worked with many popular surfers including Kelly Slater.
Since the year 2018, he served in the position of General Manager of Partnerships at Surfing NSW. Unfortunately, the professional surfer died at the age of 51 in Australia on Monday, 16 November 2020[1]Surfing NSW.
The news of his death was confirmed by Surfing NSW’s official website. However, the cause of John’s death is not revealed yet. Professional surfer and his best buddy, Kelly Slater also shared an Instagram post and paid tribute to him. Scroll down to know more about the surfer’s life story.

Kelly Slater’s IG Post
Wiki/Bio | |
---|---|
Real Full Birth Name | John Shimooka.![]() |
Known For | Professional Surfer at Surfing NSW. |
Age at the time of death | 51 years old. |
Cause of Death | Not Revealed. |
Birth Date | 9 November 1969 (Sunday). |
Date of Death | 16 November 2020 (Monday). |
Birthplace | Hawaii, United States. |
Place of Death | Sydney, Australia. |
Personal Information | |
Marriage Details | Married. |
Wife/Partner | Lisa Shimooka. |
Children | Son: Brandon Shimooka. Daughter: Carrlily Shimooka. ![]() |
Social Media Handles | Facebook: @john.shimooka Instagram: @johnshimooka |
Girlfriend | Not Known. |
Gender | Male. |
Religion | Christian. |
Nationality | Australian. |
Ethnicity | White. |
Sexual Orientation | Straight. |
Sun Sign | Scorpio. |
Family | |
Parents | Father: Name Not Known. Mother: Homemaker. |
Siblings | Sister: 1 (name not available). |
Body Appearance | |
Height | Meters: 1.77 m. Centimeters: 177 cm. Feet & Inches: 5' 10". |
Color of Eyes | Brown. |
Color of Hair | Brown. |
Weight | Pounds: 143 lbs. Kilograms: 65 Kg. |
Earnings and Profession | |
Net worth (As in 2020) | $1 million USD (approx.). |
Occupation | Professional Surfer, Commentator, Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Social Media Influencer, and Entrepreneur. |
Education | |
Qualification | Graduate. |
School | Roosevelt High School. |
Alma mater | Will Update Soon. |
Early Life, Parents & Siblings
John Shimooka took birth to his parents on Sunday, November 9, 1969, in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States[2]Facebook. He was born into a sports family. According to the media reports, Shimooka was 51 years old at the time of his death in November 2020.

Childhood picture of John Shimooka
He died 7 days after his 51st birthday. Talking about his family then, John’s dad also belonged to the sports and his mother is a homemaker. According to his Instagram post, he has a sister in the family (name not known).

John Shimooka with his father
According to his Facebook profile, he completed his education at Roosevelt High School. After that, he moved to Sydney, Australia to fulfill his dream of becoming a surfer.

John Shimooka’s childhood photo with his mom and sister
As per the sources, he also joined a training center for learning extra surfing skills. Due to his talent and skills, he became a famous surfer in the country.
Marriage, Wife & Children
According to the reports, John Shimooka was survived by his kids and family. Talking about his love life then, John got married to his wife named “Lisa Shimooka”. According to the sources, Lisa was an entrepreneur.

John Shimooka with his wife Lisa Shimooka, son Brandon Shimooka, and daughter Carrlily Shimooka
From his relationship with Lisa, John has two kids, one son named “Brandon Shimooka”, and one daughter “Carrlily Shimooka”.

John Shimooka with his son Brandon Shimooka
His son also stepped into sports to became like his father and his daughter currently pursuing her graduation.

John Shimooka with his friends
As per the media reports, John’s wife, Lisa Shimooka passed away in the year 2019. According to the media sources, his wife died due to cancer.

John Shimooka with his best friend Tanya Ho
Both of them spent so many sweet memories with each other. John loved to spend most of his time with his kids.
Some Lesser Known Facts About John Shimooka
- John began practicing surfing during his high school days.
- He also suffered a lot of injuries while learning surfing.
- After a lot of practice, he started participating in junior championships.
- In his professional career, he worked along with many professional surfers such as Martin Potter, Sunny Garcia, Matt Hoy, etc.

An old photo of John Shimooka during surfing
- As per the sources, he left surfing in the year 1992 for some time during his California Tour.
- After some time, John Shimooka took retirement from surfing and started giving time to his family.

John Shimooka with Jiu Jitsu’s friend
- After retiring from surfing, he started working as a surf commentator.

John Shimooka as a commentator
- Apart from this, he also worked at Surfing NSW as general manager.
- In his past career, he also fought many championships of Jiu-Jitsu.
- Once, he also participated in Abu Dhabi’s Jiu-Jitsu fighting competition.

John Shimooka at Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu championship
- He lost his long-time best friend, after some time of his spouse’s demise.
- His friends also call him Shmoo.
- Being a sportsperson, he was kept his body fit and active.
- He also did a regular workout in his home and a fitness center.
- According to an estimate, the height of John Shimooka was 5 feet 8 inches (1.72 meters) and his body weight was 65 kilograms (approx.).
- He also inked various tattoos on his body.
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