Surf Culture In The 1920s

Surfing has been around for hundreds of years in many different cultures from the Polynesians to the Hawaiians. However, when most people think of surfing nowadays California comes to mind. Surfing has come a long way from when it first started and most of these changes happened in the 1900s. America has been super influential in the growth and development of surfing, but what caused such an increase in popularity towards surf culture? Surf culture increased in the US during the 1960s due to Hollywood catching the attention of American people and a growing desire for a more laid-back lifestyle. Movies have a special way of impacting people and the way they view things. Hollywood started drawing the attention of American people with movies like The Endless Summer, Evolution, and Gidget Goes Hawaiin. These movies caught the eyes of Americans and showed them how exciting and unique surf culture was. Everyone wanted to be like Mike and Rob from The Endless Summer, finding their own “perfect wave” or surf with such elegant style like the riders in Evolution. It is safe to say that Hollywood was responsible for lighting the spark of surf culture in America but you can’t forget The Beach Boys, who were icons in the surf community.

Surfboards were originally made out of wood and were upwards of 20 feet long. As surfing moved to America, the boards started getting smaller and made differently. Interestingly, WW2 helped with this process. During the war there were advances in foam constructions that would eventually be used to make lighter surfboards. There was also the invention of neoprene, a material used in wetsuits to this day. The first wetsuit was made in 1969 by Jack O’Neil which allowed surfers to go out in even the coldest conditions. These innovations led to companies such as Bilibong, Quicksilver, Bilabong, and Sex Wax, which showed up in the late 60s and early