The surfing lifestyle really lends itself to the very fringe of society – it’s such a free-and-easy lifestyle, and it has so much to do with individual freedom – an almost irresponsible kind of freedom. Surfers are edge-riders. We’ve made a decision to live on the fringe of society and not be active citizens and participants in society, unless we want to. The act of going surfing is a very selfish endeavour. It’s an experience that has nothing to do with anything except you and the ocean, period.[1]
From centuries-old paintings depicting royal Polynesian watermen riding waves, to the multi-million pound clothing and accessories market and Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour today, surfing has been an influential element of many people’s lives for generations. Surfing as a leisure activity derived from the ancient Polynesian royalty who would spend time by the sea and surf waves for fun. It became popular throughout the western world in the 20th century when spending time by the sea became fashionable, particularly during the 1940s and 50s.
There are many important aspects of surfing that are heavily documented that will not be described in detail in this essay. The following elements of surfing – Polynesian roots and artefacts; Hawaiian dominance; Professionalism in surfing; Life Saving Clubs; Journalism; Movies; Music; Photography; Female Participation – will not be covered in depth despite their massive cultural impacts on surfing. This essay will briefly examine them and their history in order to appreciate and discuss their effects. To maintain focus, this essay will look at the early progression of the culture of surfing in the USA (Hawaii and California), and especially Australia, where particular attention will be paid to that surrounding the evolution of the surfboard in the late 1960s and its impact on the culture and emergence of subcultures, forming what we can call ‘modern surfing’.
Culture is defined by Raymond Williams as ‘a particular way of life which expresses meanings and values not only in art and learning, but also in institutions and ordinary behaviour.’[2] As within many youth cultures, the subcultures of surfing can be represented by not simply a style of dressing, but also in the mind-set of the participants, building a lifestyle which is based on and around the beach. Hebidge describes subculture as ‘a reaction of subordinated groups that challenge the hegemony of the dominant culture.’[3]
To sustain their lifestyle / culture, people who surf have generally leant towards production of surfing-related commodities (sometimes as a necessity – you can’t surf without a surfboard), and, of course, retail, to buy and sell those commodities. There is also a huge culture of surfing art, as well as surf journalism. This commoditisation of surfing cannot take place without the mass consumer.
This essay aims to analyse the relation between the culture of the surfing lifestyle and surfers’ consumption of products designed for the ‘surf market’.
A Brief History of Surf Culture
To try to understand a culture, it is necessary to look closely at its history. This first section aims to cover important milestones in the history of surfing’s culture, from the late 18th to early 20th centuries, up to the 1970s and beyond, which have played a large part in the formation and emergence of subcultures. Focussing on the 50s and 60s, this essay will look at the emergence of the subcultures of surfing during these periods.
Polynesian Influence and Western Discovery
The activity of surfing was first reported to the western world via diary entries following the Pacific voyages of Captain Cook and his crews on the Resolution and Discovery. Surfing’s popularity in Hawaii decreased and almost disappeared as an activity over the next 150 years because of the way the activity was looked down upon by western religious missionaries and colonists. It must be noted that, in this era, most western cultures forbade swimming in the sea, due to its public nature and prudent citizens.
In the early 1900s, whilst almost all surfing in Hawaii had disappeared, three ‘Haoles’[4]: Jack London, George Freeth, and Alexander Hume Ford, helped to revive the activity through the formation of surf life saving clubs and literature. In 1907, George Freeth visited California and became the first lifeguard in California. At a similar time, US writer Jack London, enamoured by surfing, was inspired to write A Royal Sport: Surfing in Waikiki.
The Duke
In the early 1900s, the popularity of surfing had increased with both locals and visitors in Hawaii. Between 1915 and 1930, a Hawaiian Waterman and Olympian named Duke Kahanamoku, who had been part of the rejuvenation of surfing in Hawaii, conducted a World tour visiting beachside resorts to put on a spectacle of waterman prowess – including exhibitions in swimming and surfing. Following this world tour, certain countries embraced what they had seen - in particular Australia and the USA (especially the west coast).
USA
With the Duke’s exhibitions in the twenties, Freeth, London and Hume’s influence on surf life saving, and formation of Surf Life Saving Clubs, Californians were slowly becoming involved in surfing. People who surfed were from a wide range of backgrounds, but the individuals who made a difference, were those who embraced surfing as a part of their lives. Two Southern Californians, Doc Ball, and slightly later, Leroy Grannis, made surfing a visual reality for people, playing on its aesthetic nature by photographing the activity and publishing it in magazines and galleries.
Owing to the 2nd World War, although there were many active surfers, it was not until the fifties that surfing really became popular in California. In 1959, a film starring Sandra Dee, called ‘Gidget’ was released. It depicted a girl surfer and her gang of surfers in Malibu, California. This portrayed a style which stereotyped the ‘surfer’, a stereotype which in essence has not changed much in the past 50 years: Laid-back, scruffy-haired, clad in Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops. The film spawned spin-off surf films which played on the popularity of the image of surfing.
Picked up on by teenagers throughout coastal USA, especially in California, kids were buying surfboards and nailing them to their cars, just to be seen as surfers. Their image was more important than the activity itself. The trend or fad for the time and place was to look like a surfer, if it did not involve being able to surf or even trying to surf, it did not matter.
Hawaiian shirts, ‘baggies’ (shorts) and flip flops became the fashion, and this is where the first link to a mass consumer-driven market began. For others, however, the activity of surfing created a pastime that was not only fun, but healthy and social too. Alongside the stalwart, ‘real’ surfers on the coast, the activity was taken up by many more people ‘to the chagrin of [real] surfers suddenly having to share waves with the hordes, and to the delight of those who would create business out of surfing, ‘Gidget’ lured inland America to the beach.’[5]
The popularity of surfing reached a peak in the sixties, with mass production of surfboards, clothing, as well as the many feature length movies being made about surfing or surfers. Surf journalist Drew Kampion states: ‘None of these films captured anything remotely real about the people and the sport. But because of their success, every year there were thousands of new surfers buying boards and wetsuits.’[6]
Music also played a big part in the culture of surfing with bands such as Dick Dale and the Beach Boys having huge success and surprising longevity. This period of surfing was seen by some as a golden age, but by others as the beginning of the end of surf culture: the ‘sell-out’ to a mass commodity market.
Australia
In Australia, owing to the location of the cities on the powerful Pacific Ocean, the Duke’s exhibitions had also helped to inspire the Australian people who were soon to embrace what they had seen. Much like in California, the Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) movement took hold and soon a large number of SLSCs opened at nearly every populated beach. Children were encouraged to join these clubs to learn to swim and compete at an early age. The SLSCs would put on exhibitions of rescues (much like those of the Duke) to demonstrate their skills. Their culture bred competitive and structured individuals: responsibility to conduct rescues and competing in lifesaving competitions with local clubs. This culture was very popular, but obviously not for everyone.
In the sixties, as the SLSC movement continued its popularity (eventually leading to professional beach lifeguarding which is a huge component of Australian beach culture today), individuals began to break away from the structure of the SLSC movement and used surfing as an activity simply for having fun.
Reporting a trip the USA lifesaving team took to Australia, Thoms states, ‘the Americans’ performances on the Malibu boards...inspired many young Australians to ignore the SLSA’s[7] demand for duty in the surf, and pursue surf for pleasure.’[8] The introduction of the ‘Malibu’ board to Australia was a turning point for the activity of surfing.
Surfboard Design
The evolution of the surfboard has had a large impact on surf culture throughout history. Surfers have always experimented with the craft that they are riding. The type of board ridden strongly influenced the style of surfing which in turn indirectly influenced the emergence of subcultures in the future. ‘Owing to its [America’s] links to aerodynamics and design, Americans Bob Simmons and Tom Blake were among a number of hugely influential people who pushed the boundaries of the shape and design of the surfboard and more importantly its fins.’[9] The fin plays an integral part in the way a surfboard functions, and its introduction gave rise to a new breed of surfboard, which was ridden in a different way, and for which the skills required changed.
The Americans had led the way until the sixties with regard to the shape of the surfboard. When the US surf lifesaving team visited in the early 50s, they rode boards,
...eight feet six inches to eleven feet [in length], [which were] constructed of balsa wood, covered in fibreglass, and had a fin centrally located at the rear of the board on the bottom underside. These surfboards were commonly known as ‘Malibus’.[10]
In contrast to the Americans, ‘...Australian surfers had mostly used the finless redwood surfboard known as the ‘Australian Racing Sixteen’, [or] ‘toothpick’. The board ranged in size from approximately fourteen to sixteen feet.’[11] These boards were designed specifically for surf lifesaving. The self-extraction of certain individuals from the SLSC culture led to them paying more of their attention to the activity of surfing, especially the design of the boards and hydrodynamics.
Following the Americans’ developments in the length of boards in the 50s, towards the late 60s, Australian board makers and surfers radically changed the length of their surfboards. Boards were chopped down to eight feet, and later even six feet in length, and fins went from large keel to raked, dorsal-like fins.
A travelling American surfer named George Greenough was instrumental in what became known as the ‘shortboard revolution’. With east coast Australian surfers and surfboard shapers such as Bob McTavish and Nat Young (1966 world surfing champion), experimentation with much shorter boards with foiled fins followed. Greenough’s input was tremendous with regard to the fin design, having spent years studying dolphins and their movements in the water / waves (see films Crystal Voyager, 1969; Dolphin Glide, 2007).
The change in design played a huge part in the style of surfing, announced by Nat Young as ‘a ‘new era’ of surfing style, with blatant changes of direction and radical manoeuvres, riding the most intense areas of the wave and chasing the curl without too much thought for aesthetics.’[12]
Alongside the change in surfing style, came different ideologies which helped form some notable subcultures within surfing. ‘Soul Surfing’ emerged during the late 60s, and many key people involved in the shortboard movement were involved in ‘communal living, country farms, vegetarianism, ritualistic inhalation of the herb [marijuana], yoga, meditation and the majestic poetry of uncrowded light and space.’[13]
The documentation of this period by photographers and film makers alike – namely George Greenough (who created a waterproof camera which he attached to himself whilst surfing), Albe Falzon (Morning of the Earth, 1972), Paul Witzig (Evolution, 1969) and many others – was instrumental in helping to develop this particular subculture. It was important because it gave the general surfing public a view of how the best surfers and innovators in the surfing world lived and introduced the art and feel of surfing to a wider public.
Surfing Subculture
Subcultures such as these are generally born out of youth dissatisfaction with the times and are embodied as a collective who take on a certain uniform / style in order to create a sense of camaraderie and membership, ‘Style is now worn for its look, not for any underlying message; or rather, the look is now the message.’[14]
Polhemus states that ‘...the surfer took a sport and transformed it into a way of life. In one sense this was a very mainstream, leisure age thing to do in the 1950’s. But in another sense it was dropping out.’[15] Kids were ditching school to go surfing and their behaviour became anti-establishment. One Australian school principal warned that ‘surfing could adversely affect boys.’[16]
Australian youth (under 21) made up ‘40% of the unemployed in 1963’[17] and much like in the UK and US, subcultures formed - ‘rocker gangs offered working-class youth solidarity against the individualism and diffuse styles of consumer capitalism adopted by the middle classes, including ‘bleached hair and fancy shorts’ worn by ‘pansy’ surfers.’ [18]
There were many confrontations between Rockers and Surfers in the early sixties, and in some extreme cases, Australian local governments were forced to close beaches and ordered screenings of surf films to be banned to avoid the territorial conflicts.
Thorne explores the subculture of surfing as a way of expressing dissatisfaction with the times: ‘The folklore of youthful surfers of this period [1960s] reflects their rebelliousness; with time and maturity, it grew to incorporate the pervasive themes of political protest, drug-use, and Thoreauian naturalism.’[19]
In Australia, when the ‘shortboard revolution’ took hold, groups of surfers went to live in the hills by the coast, sometimes in communes or farms, and lived off the land with little need for money and therefore jobs: ‘Soul surfers rejected high consumption, materialism and competition; and they expounded a form of ‘fraternal’ individualism that extolled creativity and self-expression within a co-operative environment.’[20]
The identity of a surfer is further examined in Hull’s paper:
...Surfing provides its members and the larger community [with a] well-defined identity associated with the sport. The dominance of the Protestant work ethic has meant that to date, work or occupation has been the major role through which rewards and social identity have been derived.[21]
The association with the word ‘Surfer’ for the majority of the surfing population is most definitely used as an identifier of who they are and how they live their lives, even though it is not their profession, and they do not aspire to be professionals.
Of the surfers throughout the world today (approximately 17-23 million[22]), only a handful are professionals. The professionalism of surfing began in the early 60s, and has created a subculture in itself. But not only that, it is the main route to market for surf companies to advertise and promote their products. From the semi-professional, rough-and-ready surfers of the 70s to today’s highly paid and/or sponsored, bronzed professionals endorsing a certain brand of shorts, surfboard or flip flops, the method has remained the same. This is highlighted by looking at specialist surfing magazines: there are pages and pages of advertising for Surfwear brands.
Much like the feeling towards the SLSC movement, competitions created a structure, rules and parameters in surfing. For most people, surfing was a way of expressing themselves, and who could tell them what was right or wrong? A number of surfers have, over the years, gone against the grain, challenging the norm by riding boards that are not the same as ones ridden in competitions, or not aspiring to the style of competition surfing. There are a lucky few who are paid to promote the latter lifestyle, e.g. Dave Rastovich, known as ‘freesurfers’.
Consumerism
Style as an identity
Ever since the early days of modern surfing, fashion has played a large part in the development of the subculture of surfing, giving a distinct style to individuals who are members of the fraternity:
The definition of a surfer (in a fashion sense): Used since the 1950s...refers to the distinctive dress of surfers, which has always differed from mainstream. The early surfer style incorporated Hawaiian shirts, shorts and quiff haircuts, whereas in the 90s surfers prefer the baggy style of labels such as Quiksilver, worn with Vans trainers and long messy hair.[23]
McAlexander and Schouten define a subculture of consumption as:
A distinctive subgroup of society that self-selects on the basis of a shared commitment to a particular product class, brand or consumption activity. Other characteristics of a subculture of consumption include an identifiable, hierarchical social structure; a unique ethos, or set of shared beliefs and values; and unique jargons, rituals and modes of symbolic expression.[24]
Surfers fall well within these parameters, having a common product, i.e. surf equipment and clothing, a fundamentally common philosophy (although there are a number of subcultures in surfing, with different outlooks), a strange language that only members can understand, and a familiar way of expressing themselves – through their surfing and dressing style.
Stephen Hull reiterates this,
The identity producing potential of the surfing subculture is very substantial. It provides a homogeneous population segment, a clearly recognizable culture, easily identifiable roles, a stratified status system based on moral character traits similar to those pervasive among the middle and upper-middle classes in the larger community, and it is an activity that provides immediate gratification of physiological, emotional, and social needs.[25]
Style, when looked at in terms of the activity, is derived from the equipment ridden, and the style of the clothing of surfing draws on individual innovations that have popularised particular styles or brands that promote or represent the lifestyle of surfing.
Ormrod suggests that surfing is ‘...predicated on consumerism. It is the romantic aspect of consumerism that is crucial here: consumerism is based upon desire and the possibility of achieving the perfect life through buying and consuming objects or experiences.’[26] What is not brought into question here is the issue of disposable income. To purchase branded clothing that may suggest membership of a subculture, one needs money. Those surfers who do not have much disposable income, or consciously choose not to spend what they do have, on such clothing, are obviously not ‘buying into’ the lifestyle.
Surfing today is a multi-million pound industry formed off the back of the rise of its popularity in the early days of what we can call modern surfing. Professionalism took a prominent place in surfing in the late 1960s. The media became heavily involved, initially pushing the need to document competitions, which led to a massive sponsorship-driven world championship tour (WCT). Sponsorship is provided by giant companies in the surf market who themselves started out as small businesses in the early days. This industry is driven by three main firms – Quiksilver, O’Neill, and Rip Curl – born in the early days of modern surfing, in Australia or America, in response to a need or demand from the founders themselves or fellow surfers.
In 1952, Jack O’Neill, an American surfer, came across neoprene in the carpeting of a passenger plane. It proved to be the perfect material for keeping the body warm in cold water. This discovery led to his invention of the neoprene wetsuit, one of the items guaranteed in a surfer’s garage. Jack O’Neill increased the scope of surfing globally with this invention: before the wetsuit, surfers experimented with wearing woolly jumpers or other impractical and restrictive items of clothing to keep warm in the water. Without wetsuits, surfing would be impossible during the winter in cold climates. Even during the summer, it is sometimes necessary to wear a wetsuit to stay in for an extended period of time.
Quiksilver was formed in 1970 by two Australian surfers, Alan Green and John Law, when they started ripping apart baggy shorts and putting in more flexible, lighter material. This was an innovation for the surf industry, not only because of the functionality of the shorts, but they became what all surfers wore; a fashion statement. Quiksilver soon conquered the market in Australia, creating other types of clothing and surf related gear, with products as diverse as golfing. Quiksilver now have a reach unrivalled by any other surf company, supporting over 500 shops worldwide[27].
Rip Curl began as a garage outfit selling surfboards in Torquay, Victoria, Australia. Operated by two surfers, Doug Warbrick and Brian Singer, they soon ‘branched out beyond the surf market to produce ‘lifestyle oriented apparel’’[28] that did not simply relate to surfing lifestyle, but clothing for the snow too.
The global reach of the surfwear market, goes further than coastal towns and cities. Parallels between the activities of surfing, snowboarding, skiing and skateboarding are apparent in the flow, feeling, and individualistic aspects of each. Nearly all Surfwear companies have a snow and skate range which extends their reach inland to the mountains and the cities to make up a large part of their sales.
Discussing subcultures of consumerism, McAlexander and Schouten state: ‘A subculture typically encounters in certain products or activities cultural meanings that ultimately become articulated as unique, homologous styles or ideologies of consumption.’[29]
Adcock et al supports this with two components of branding that the top competitors in the surf market have got right:
Brand Beliefs – qualities attributed to a brand as perceived by potential customers, perhaps concerning the reliability or the efficacy of the brand. Such beliefs can be developed through effective promotion as much through experience, use and knowledge; and Brand Associations – this is anything that is directly or indirectly linked to the brand in the mind of the customer. For instance, the type of people using an item could enhance its brand image.[30]
Conclusion
Surfing has always been accompanied by style. There are obvious links between the media, mass production and popularity that have formed what we know as surfing style today.
In the years when surfing’s popularity grew from 2000 participants in California in the early 50s, to 3 million in the mid-60s, consumption played a great part in the formation of some of the subcultures discussed within this essay. But it should be noted that during those times, consumption played a huge part in the formation of nearly all modern cultures and subcultures, because of the post-war wealth and introduction of mass-production to the USA, which permeated throughout the western world.
To say that the surfing subcultures are products of consumption does not do justice to the millions of surfers in the world that do not follow the trends, wear the same clothes, ride the same boards, or act as the stereotypical ‘surfer’ should act. Over the years, it can be said that there have always been many people who assume the ‘stereotype’ of a surfer – choosing to wear the large surfwear brands’ clothing, grow their hair, speak, or behave in a certain way – but to say that they all have a common belief in the essence of surfing culture is not true, because many may not partake in the activity of surfing, where a true surfer’s individualism is expressed.
The multi-million dollar surf industry may be ‘controlled’ by a small number of companies who seem to define what surfing culture is about, through proving that they are still connected to the roots of surfing. And in some ways they are: they sponsor the professional tournaments and competitors and promote healthy living, donate to charities to try to extend the life of our beaches, seas and wildlife, but in the end they are businesses, where the bottom line is money.
The paradox of surfing style is much like any other fashion: initially created by individualistically motivated people, a fashion becomes popular, adopted by the masses, and any symbolism that was once embodied by clothing is lost to a market driven by economics.[31]
[1] Hamilton, B., in Kampion, D., ‘Up a Lazy River with Bill Hamilton’ The Surfers Journal, (Spring 2000), p.79-81
[2] Williams, R., The Long Revolution, London: Chatto and Windus, 1961
[3] Hebdige, D., Subculture in the meaning of style, Menthuen & Co, London, 1979
[4] “Haole” = non-indigenous Hawaiian
[5] Gabbard, A., Girl in the Curl: a century of women's surfing. Seattle, WA: Seal Press. (2000)
[6] Kampion, D., Stoked: a history of surf culture. Santa Monica, CA: General Publishing Group Inc. (1997)
[7] Surf Life Saving Association
[8] Thoms, A., Surfmovies: the history of the surf film in Australia. Noosa Heads: Shore Thing Publishing (2000)
[9] Scott, P., Australian Surfing Magazines: The First Wave (1961-1962), presented to the Journalism Education Conference, Griffith University, 29 November – 2 December 2005
[10] Scott, Australian Surfing Magazines: The First Wave (1961-1962)
[11] Scott, Australian Surfing Magazines: The First Wave (1961-1962)
[12] Booth, D., Australian Beach Culture – The History of Sun, Sand and Surf, Frank Cass: London (2001)
[13] Lovelock, D., ‘Cult History’, Tracks (April 1995), p.114
[14] Muggleton,D., (1998) ‘The post-subculturalist’, in S.Redhead, D. Wynne, and J. O’Connor (eds), The Clubcultures Reader: Readings in Popular Cultural Studies, Oxford: Blackwell:176
[15] Polhemus, T., Street Style, London, Thames and Hudson (1994) 48
[16] Booth, Australian Beach Culture – The History of Sun, Sand and Surf, (2001)
[17] Booth, Australian Beach Culture – The History of Sun, Sand and Surf, (2001)
[18] Booth, Australian Beach Culture – The History of Sun, Sand and Surf, (2001)
[19] Thorne, T, Legends of the Surfer Subculture: Part Two, Western Folklore, Western States Folklore Society, (1976)
[20] Booth, Australian Beach Culture – The History of Sun, Sand and Surf (2001)
[21] Hull, S.W., A Sociological Study of Surfing Subculture in the Santa Cruz Area: A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Sociology San Jose State University (1976)
[22] Frazier, B., Better Surfing Comes with Property Rights, The Future of Freedom Foundation, http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0607f.asp, posted November 1, 2007
[23] De la Haye, A., & Dingwall, C., Surfers, Soulies, Skinheads and Skaters – Subcultural style from the 40s to the 90s, London: Victoria & Albert Museum (1997)
[24] McAlexander, J.H., & Schouten, J.W., ‘Subcultures of Consumption: An Ethnography of the New Bikers’, The Journal of Consumer Research., University of Chicago Press (1995)
[25] Hull, S.W., A Sociological Study of the Surfing Subculture in the Santa Cruz Area (1976)
[26] Ormrod, J., Endless Summer (1964): Consuming Waves and Surfing the Frontier, Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies 35.1 (2005) 39-51
[27] Quiksilver Inc. Annual Report 2006 http://www.quiksilverinc.com/AnnualReports/Quiksilver_Annual_Report_2006.pdf
[28] Muldowney, S., Surf’s Up, Australian CPA, 72:9, p30 (2002)
[29] McAlexander & Schouten., ‘Subcultures of Consumption: An Ethnography of the New Bikers’ (1995)
[30] Adcock, D,, Halborg, D., & Ross, C., Marketing Principles and Practice (4th Ed.) Pearson Education: UK (2001)
[31] Crockett, D., Surf Author and Journalist, Private correspondence, November 2007
樹慶婚活ニュース出逢いメール
4 years ago
