subject: A History Of Surfing [print this page] A History Of Surfing A History Of Surfing
Surfing in recent years has made major advancements in popularity and growth. Although it has only become popular in the last fifty years, surfing has been around for a very long time now. Research has shown us that surfing dates back to Tahiti all the way back to 1767. Cave drawings have depicted Polynesian cultures riding waves on long boards in addition to other drawings. It has also been that the chief of these villages was actually the one that could surf the best and biggest waves.
A long time later in 1912, surfing caught on in the United States and was brought over by James Matthias. He was influenced from the Polynesians that were participating in this strange sport and he brought it to the East Coast. In Virginia Beach, he brought a famous redwood board that he rode and taught people. From that point forward, Virginia Beach has remained a very popular surf location due to its history.
At around the same time, the West Coast began catching on thanks to new surfing innovations and board designs. This led to more public exposure and led to an explosion of surfing culture. Mainstream society and also Hollywood began to eye the sport and start to embrace it. Left and right, surf shops began to appear in beach towns and promoting the surf clothes that the culture loved.
With the help of the Beach Boys and other large music groups and also a movie called "Gidget" about a young surfing girl, surfing became a huge scene that everyone wanted to be part of. This is when surfing style was born. To accompany the popularity of the sport, the fashion industry started to boom with clothing to go along with it. One thing that has helped boost its mainstream appeal is that surf clothing promotes self expression and individualism.
Fifty years ago, surfing was not popular and was fairly uncommon. Now, thanks to the people that helped bring it mainstream, surfing is here to stay. Surf competitions and contests frequent California beaches, and surf clothing is always viewed as being cool among young kids. Surfing now is able to be shared for generations to come not only as a great sport, but also for its image and individualistic mindest.
