According to the 1983 book on male models titled "Not Just Another Pretty Face," Buzzy was born in Indiana but moved with his family to Hawaii when he was 9 years old. He quickly took to surfing and in 1978 won the World Cup surfing title. A photographer spotted his picture in a surfing magazine and invited him to come to New York for a Vogue Magazine fashion shoot. Soon Ralph Lauren signed him to an exclusive contract to model Lauren's clothes but Buzzy continued to travel the world to follow his interest in surfing.