I get asked a ton of questions about what surfing was like back when I was growing up in the thick of it during the 1960s.
It was the “Golden Era” for surfing in California and let me give a little background how that came to be.
Leading up to the late 1950s, surfing was mostly known to be going on in Hawaii and in California. I am sure it was happening other places, too. Australia for sure, but those were the two main hotbeds of surfing. When boards went from wood to foam, it opened the door for anybody and everybody to surf.
Right at that time, 1959, the movie “Gidget” came out, and surfing boomed as a result. Especially here in California.
During that period, surfboard shops opened all over the place, surfing movies were being shown all the time, surf clubs were forming in every town, surfing magazines were starting up, “surf music” hit the airways and Hollywood was pumping out one “beach” movie after another. And, along with all that, surf contests started happening all the time. There was one every weekend.
So, here was the big focusing factor on how California surfing became the leader in the surf world. It was because all the attention was on based on it. The contests here got tons of publicity. The guys that made the surf movies were from here and they featured local surfers. The surf magazines were based here and promoted local talent. It was no wonder that California surfers were the most famous.
The bulk of the big competitions where here, and mostly won by surfers from here. They got the most media coverage. If you were a competitive surfer, this was the place to be. If you wanted to be a pro surfer, this was the place to be. If you wanted to be in the surf industry, this was the place to be.
Now, if you want my personal opinion, this did not really mean that the best surfing was going on here. If you read the magazines, you might think that, but in my eyes the best surfing was being done in Hawaii, and probably there were…
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