Surfing has long been tied to Polynesian culture and was popular all around the Pacific islands such as Tahiti, Tonga, and Hawaii. It wasn't until 1907 that a land baron named Henry Huntington brought surfing to California. While in Hawaii on vacation, he saw Hawaiian boys surfing and decided it would be a great way to attract people to his land in the Redondo Beach area. Huntington hired a Hawaiian surfer named George Freeth to teach the locals how to surf. From there, surfing made its way along Southern California's coast and became popular and recognizable amongst Californians.
The Malibu Surf Assocation was founded in 1961 and solidified surfing's spot in Malibu's culture. Though not all surfers are members of MSA, it has helped grow the sport and continues to move forward today.
This video describes a bit about the history of surfing in Southern California:
As an aside, thank you for reading my blog and I hope you have found it informative and will look at Malibu a little deeper next time you pass through.
Ethan West
It's a nice vintage video about surfing in California. Knowing to surf or just being a total beach person is quite a stereotype for Californians. Obviously, not all Californians live along the coastal areas. Anyway, these types of vintage videos are usually used by hipsters for their obscure music ha ha!
ReplyDeleteSurfing became a very popular in Southern California because of the relaxing environment. Surfing became the sport of the coast and it kept improving as the time went on. Surfing led the skateboards being popularized and both helped each other draw attention to each other.
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