Beyond the conventional view of surfers as a bunch of chicks on beaches, Tracing the pastime's Roots shows how this pastime connected civilisations worldwide and transcended recreation. From the throbbing coastlines of Hawaii to the developing coastlines of West Africa, surfing is a timeless and ancient sport.
European adventurer Captain James Cook is thought to have first mentioned surfing in writing in 1778 when he noted Polynesians riding waves on long wooden planks.
Although the earliest reference was a bit of a fluke, wave riding has been recorded among aboriginal people all around for millennia. From before contact with Western civilisation, the indigenous people of South America have been developing canoes and paddles to ride waves.
Early in the 1900s, surfing grew and became well-known as Hawaiian Olympian Duke Kahanamoku helped bring it back to the rest of the globe. Although some might believe that commercialisation and money-making drove this, Duke was in charge of bringing the sport back to the public as something genuine, entertaining, and healthy. He will always be acknowledged for the resurgence of surfing and Hawaiian culture; he was really the Michael Phelps of his day.
Surfing was heavily influenced by World War II. Most fighting age surfers signed up for the military, which slowed down surfing. Surfing first became really popular only once the war was done.
Along with greater time off from work, the war afforded surfers more money to spend on their passion. This helped smaller surfboards and the wetsuit to develop as new tools. Hollywood films like Gidget that popularised surfing also sprang from this.
While some Americans utilised surfing to increase American influence in Hawaii, others considered it as a sinful practice that should be controlled. To attract white guests to the Hawaiian islands, the business entrepreneur Alexander Hume Ford saw the unmatched excitement of riding a wave. Hawaii would finally be helped to be secured as an American protectorate by this.
Thanks to Beach Boys and other surf rock groups as well as classic films like "Endless Summer," surfing had become rather popular on the American mainland by the 1960s. Embracing a counterculture lifestyle more relaxed and anti-establishment than most Americans at the time, surfers were starting to impact music, fashion, and art.
But as the sport evolved towards modernity, it also became increasingly into a business venture. To try to generate more money, professional surfers started adorning their boards with brands and magazines started bulking with adverts.
Unfortunately, these financial pursuits can distort the actual meaning and worth of surfing. This is what the commercialisation process does—take something enjoyable or pleasurable and frame it around money or labour. One could find it a vicious loop. As a result, surfers are concentrating more on environmental preservation and inclusivity as today's surf culture is continuously changing. Furthermore under development is new technology meant to lower pollution and waste and enable more environmentally friendly surfboard manufacture.
