Surf culture

Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle that grew around the sport of surfing. The history of surfing began with the ancient Polynesians, and it later flourished in the early 20th century, becoming especially popular during the 1950s and 1960s in places like Hawaii, Australia, and California. This culture has had a big influence on music, fashion, books, movies, art, and the way young people talk.

Surfers depend on good waves for their surfboards, which means they watch the weather and ocean conditions closely. Because surfing needs beaches near the ocean, the idea of beach life became a big part of surf culture. Surfer magazine started in the 1960s and became a voice for this culture, often talking about taking care of the environment. Sometimes surfers would claim certain favorite spots as their own.

In Southern California during the 1960s, surf culture included popular items like the woodie car, bikinis, boardshorts, and surf music. Surfers even created skateboards so they could "surf" on land, leading to many other kinds of board sports.

History

Surfing began a long time ago in the South Pacific islands. For hundreds of years, people there enjoyed sliding on waves, a practice called heʻe nalu. In Hawaiʻi, surfing has been important for over 1,500 years.

In the past, Hawaiian society had special rules called kapu that guided many parts of life, including surfing. These rules divided people into two groups: royalty and commoners. Royalty used longer surfboards and had the best spots, while commoners used shorter boards and surfed in less ideal places.

In the early 1900s, some visitors tried to take control of surfing away from Native Hawaiians. In response, Hawaiian surfers like George Freeth and Duke Kahanamoku started their own club to keep surfing as part of their culture. They also shared surfing with people in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, helping the sport grow around the world.

Spirituality

Surfing was very important to the ancient Hawaiians. They studied waves and remembered great surfing moments in chants and songs passed down for centuries. Many Hawaiian leaders had special chants to celebrate their surfing skills.

After a big change in Hawaiian rules around the year 1819, many old traditions changed. Today, some surfers mix their love for surfing with their own beliefs. For example, in Huntington Beach, California, some people meet on the beach for early-morning services before surfing.

Surfers also hold special gatherings called "paddle outs" to honor surfers who have passed away. These services often happen at sunrise or sunset, where surfers paddle out together, hold hands, and quietly pray before tossing flowers into the water. After this, they return to the beach to surf.

Women in surfing

Women have been surfing for a very long time, just like men. In ancient times in Polynesia, both boys and girls, as well as women and men, enjoyed surfing. In Hawaii, an important queen named Queen Kaʻahumanu loved to surf at a special spot called Castles. She was very strong and skilled at catching big waves.

For a while, after new people arrived in Hawaii, women were not allowed to surf. But later, in the late 1800s, women started surfing again. After World War II, surfing became very popular, and important people like Duke Kahanamoku and Tom Blake encouraged women to surf too.

Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, women began to take part in surfing competitions. By the 1970s and 1980s, women started joining professional surfing contests. This helped change how women surfed, focusing more on their strength and speed. Even today, female surfers work hard to be seen as real athletes and face challenges in being treated fairly.

Some groups are working to make surfing more welcoming for everyone, including women of different backgrounds. One such group is "Textured Waves," which supports women of color in surfing.

Beach bunnies

In North American culture, a "beach bunny" is a fun term for a young woman who loves spending time at the beach. In surf culture, it can also mean a female surfer. These women are often shown enjoying the sun and wearing bikinis in movies and TV shows like Beach Party and Gidget. The term for men who love the beach is "beach bum."

Diversity

In recent years, people have started talking more about making surfing open to everyone. Top surfers like Italo Ferreira and Gabriel Medina from Brazil show that surfing can include people from many backgrounds. There are also efforts to help young people from different communities, like black and Latino youth in the United States, get involved in surfing. Groups such as the City Surf Project in San Francisco work to make sure everyone has a chance to enjoy the sport.

Surfing is also growing in places many people didn’t know about before. For example, in Africa, surfing is becoming more popular locally, not just for tourists. Books like AfroSurf by Selema Masekela show how African cultures are adding their own flavors to surfing. There are also online spaces, like GaySurfers.net, created to help people of all identities feel welcome in the surfing world.

Big wave culture

Riding the biggest waves possible is a thrilling activity for some surfers. In the 1990s, surfers began using special watercraft to help them catch faster waves that were previously too quick to ride. These waves can move over 60 km/h, but the watercraft let surfers match the wave's speed, making it possible to ride them. The watercraft also help surfers stay safe during falls.

Surfers come from many different backgrounds, but sometimes they are known for loving their sport deeply. The sea’s tides can change how good the waves are at different spots. Some places have big tide changes, while others have small ones.

Each place where surfers ride waves has its own unique shape under the water. Beach spots can change every week, so surfers need to work hard to find the best waves. Today, surfers use computers to predict where and when good waves will appear.

The search for perfect waves has created a kind of tourism. Surfers travel to remote, tropical places to find the best surfing conditions. For many surfers, surfing isn’t just a sport—it’s a way of life. Some surfers focus on feeling happy and in harmony with the ocean rather than on winning competitions.

Localism

Good places to surf are special and not easy to find. When a great spot is near a town with many surfers, some people who live there may not want visitors to surf there. This is called "localism." They believe that if fewer people surf, there will be more waves for everyone. This idea started a long time ago and is still seen in many beach towns.

Sometimes, groups of surfers called "surf gangs" form to protect their favorite spots. These groups can become very protective and sometimes act in ways that are not safe. For example, in places like Southern California and the North Shore of O'ahu, some surfers have been known to act aggressively toward visitors. This kind of behavior is not safe and can lead to problems. It's important for all surfers to respect each other and share the waves safely.

Surf terminology

Surfing has its own special words and phrases, especially in places like Southern California, Australia, and Northern California. Words like "grom", "dude", "tubular", and "gnarly" are popular among surfers. Another common word is "stoked", which means feeling really excited about the waves. Surfers might also shout "YEW!" when they see or ride a big wave.

One well-known sign in surf culture is the shaka sign, created by Hamana Kalili from Laie, Hawaii. It’s a friendly greeting often used by surfers.

Main article: Glossary of surfing

Issues affecting surfers

Surfing faces challenges from environmental damage and new buildings that can make it harder to enjoy the sport. Things like oil spills and toxic algae growth can harm places where people like to surf.

One way to help is by building artificial reefs for surfing. Some have already been made, like one at Cables in Western Australia, and many surfers around the world support building more. But, rules and concerns about nature in some places, such as the United States, make it difficult to create new reefs.

Surfing and environmentalism

Surfing needs clean water and healthy beaches to work well, so surfers care a lot about protecting the environment. Sometimes, surfers have to fight against things like factories dumping bad stuff into the water or building big walls that change where waves break. Surfers have won some important battles to keep their favorite spots safe.

For example, in 1991, surfers and government workers won a big lawsuit against two paper mills that were hurting the water near Eureka, California. The mills had to spend a lot of money to stop polluting the ocean. In 2008, surfers helped stop a big road project near San Clemente, California, that would have damaged a famous wave spot called Trestles. And in 2011, a place in Portugal called Ericeira was protected to keep its great waves safe for surfers everywhere.

Surf tourism

Surf tourism is a big business that has grown a lot in many coastal areas around the world in recent years. As more people learn about new places to surf through TV, movies, magazines, and the internet, many communities have felt both good and bad changes. Groups like the Surfrider Foundation, SurfAid, and the World Tourism Organization work with local people and governments to help make sure tourism helps communities and protects the environment.

Some problems that can happen include not enough good jobs for local people, pollution, and unsafe conditions. But there are also benefits, like new jobs, better technology, and improved services for everyone. These efforts aim to balance growth with care for the places people love to visit.

Surfing art

Surf visual art

Artists have created paintings, murals, and even a special mosaic called Surfing Madonna in Encinitas. This artwork shows a famous figure from history riding a surfboard.

Surf graphics

"Surf graphics" is an art style used in posters, flyers, T-shirts, and logos. It is inspired by skate art, Kustom Kulture, and tiki culture. Some well-known artists in this style are Drew Brophy, Damian Fulton, Rick Griffin, Bill Ogden, and Jim Phillips.

Surf music

Main article: Surf music

Surf culture also has its own type of music called surf music, which includes styles like surf rock and surf pop. Famous bands and musicians include Jan and Dean, The Beach Boys, The Surfaris with their hit “Wipe Out!” and others like Dick Dale, The Chantays, The Shadows, and The Ventures. This music even led to popular dances such as The Stomp, The Frug, and The Watusi. While many people loved surf music, some surfers back then preferred other types of music like R&B and blues. Today, newer surf music can be heard in the acoustic songs of artists like Jack Johnson and Donavon Frankenreiter, both of whom used to be professional surfers.

Fashion

Surfwear

Surfwear is a popular style of casual clothing inspired by surf culture. Many surf-related brand names started small, supplying local surfers with boardshorts, wetsuits, surfboards or leashes, along with other equipment.

One early Australian surf fashion company was Kuta Lines, founded by Tony Brown after visiting Bali in 1973. Brown used Indonesian textiles and designs for his surfwear. From the 1980s, Kuta Lines used traditional ikat weaving and dyeing methods, making clothes from heavier, fleecy fabric for cooler weather surfing.

Other clothing brands include O'Neill, Rip Curl, Quiksilver, Town & Country, Ocean Pacific, Billabong, Oakley, DaKine, Reef, Roxy, Volcom, Element, Hurley, Von Zipper, Golden Breed and RVCA.

Bikini

The bikini is a famous type of swim clothing. It became popular in Europe and then in the United States after famous Hollywood stars wore it. Movies used the bikini to help promote their films. The bikini linked ideas about style and the unique culture of the Pacific Islands. For many years, women didn’t have many choices for surf clothing. This changed when more styles were made just for women, giving them options besides the bikini for surfing competitions.

Events

International Surfing Day is a special day on June 20 that celebrates surfing and the lifestyle that goes with it.

Surfing contests

Main article: World Surf League

Surfing contests are a way for surfers to show off their skills. Riders take turns riding waves for a set time, and judges decide who does the best job. They look at how well the surfer rides the wave, how hard the moves are, and how many tricks they do. Every year, there is a big championship where surfers from all over the world compete at different spots.

Even though surfing contests are very popular today, they didn’t start out as a competition. Some people still prefer what they call “soul surfing,” where the focus is just on enjoying the waves. There is a group called the Spirit of Surfing that chooses not to take money from big companies to keep the spirit of the sport pure.

Surfing organizations

Some groups help support and organize the sport of surfing. The Surfrider Foundation works to protect beaches and waters where people enjoy surfing. The World Surf League organizes big surfing competitions around the world. There are also local groups like the Pleasure Point Night Fighters and charities such as SurfAid International that help surfers and coastal communities.

Spin-offs & influences

Surfers created the skateboard so they could "surf" on land. After that, many other fun sports started, like windsurfing, bodyboarding, wakeboarding, wakesurfing, skimboarding, snowboarding, riverboarding, kiteboarding, sandboarding, mountainboarding, carveboarding, and skurfing. These sports are now popular competitions. Some, like pineboarding and sandboarding, are just for fun. Over time, many of these sports grew into their own special groups with their own rules and fans.

Surfing in multimedia

Films about surfing

Main article: Surf film

Surf culture has inspired many movies. Bruce Brown's classic The Endless Summer shows a journey around the world in search of the best waves. John Milius's Big Wednesday compares life to the changing waves. Movies like North Shore and Fast Times at Ridgemont High give a fun look at teenage surfers. The Gidget series and films like Beach Blanket Bingo show more playful takes on surf culture. Liquid Time (2002) focuses on the beauty of waves. Blue Crush (2002) tells the story of surfer girls on Hawaii's North Shore. Its sequel, Blue Crush 2 (2011), follows a girl from California as she travels to South Africa to learn more about her family. The film Point Break features surfers who are also bank robbers. Surf's Up is an animated movie from 2007 about penguin surfers, inspired by real surfing films. Soul Surfer is a film about Bethany Hamilton, a young surfer who faced a big challenge and kept surfing.

Some film events include the Sydney Fringe Festival, Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, the Surf Film Festival, Saint Jean de Luz Surf Film Festival, Wavescape Surf Film Festival in South Africa, and the New York Surfing Film Festival.

TV documentary series about surfing

• This Is Your Life features Duke Kahanamoku (1957)
• NRG (1997)
• "Surfing 50 States" (2006)
• "I'm a Big Wave Surfer" [MTV's True Life] (2004)
• Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water (2007)

Print media

Surfing has inspired many books, magazines, and stories. Some well-known surfing magazines include Surfer's Journal, The Surfer's Path, Tracks, Australia's Surfing Life, Pitpilot magazine, Wave Action Surf Magazine, Surfer Magazine, SurfGirl, Surfing Magazine, Zigzag, and White Horses.

One famous story about surfing is the novel Gidget, written by Frederick Kohner in 1957. It tells the tale of a young person’s adventures with surf culture in Malibu during the 1950s. The book was later turned into a movie in 1959. Another notable book is Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn, published in 1984. It was one of the first realistic novels about surf culture and started a style called “surf noir.”

Graphic art

Main article: Surf art

Surf art is a special kind of artwork that shows the excitement and beauty of surfing. It includes paintings, photos, and other creative pieces that capture the spirit of the waves and the people who love to ride them. This art helps tell the story of surf culture and makes the sport come alive for everyone to see.