Sunstroke Magazine

Sunstroke was a Southern California men's magazine that ran for roughly two years in the early 1970s. Published by Rick Lozano out of Huntington Beach, it featured local SoCal girls—surfers, waitresses, record store clerks, beach bunnies—photographed in the settings they actually lived in: surf shacks, piers, canyon trails, and the endless beaches south of LAX.

Where the national magazines sold fantasy, Sunstroke sold familiarity. These were the girls you might actually see at Trestles or Bolsa Chica or the taco stand on PCH. The articles covered surf breaks, muscle cars, fish tacos, and the particular pleasures of living where it never rains. The advertising was all local: surf shops, taco joints, used car lots, Corona beer.

Sunstroke folded sometime in 1974, likely for the same reasons most small regional magazines fold: not enough advertising revenue to sustain the printing costs. Rick Lozano reportedly moved to Baja and was not heard from again. The surviving issues were found in a box at a Huntington Beach estate sale in 2025, mixed in with old surf magazines and Playboys. Read more in our blog.