A History of Surfing
( the definitive book on
Surfing )
Disclaimer: Personalized Signed copies are dependent on Nat's location
This is the bible of surfing. I
started writing this book in the late 70’s, it was
written simply because it had to be done, somebody had to
do it, not an outsider, someone who was involved 100%. In
many ways I felt like the book was out of my control,
material just appeared, nothing like this had ever been
attempted before; I was compelled to make it happen before
all the stories and pictures dissapeared. There was another
book published in the 60’s called The Pictorial
History of Surfing that was really the history of surf
clubs in Australia. That author treated contempory surfing
as a sport. My book goes beyond the sporting aspect of the
activity; to me surfing is an art form, a cultural
statement on the state of our society as it is right now.
With so many thousands of kids and older people turning on
to surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding this
“flow” form of recreations is the number one
growth activity around the world. I wanted to create, with
words and picture a factual account of the activity as it
has developed over the past 100 years. Many of the people
written about in these pages have passed away, many of the
original photographs have been lost and now this book is
the only record. A lot of the unique principals and values
that are inherent to the surfing tribe had to be preserved.
I wanted both surfers, young and old and also the general
public to not think of surfing as another competitive sport
but a lifestyle. The inclusion of the history of
Snowboarding is a good example of this “
From
Water to Snow “ is an accurate portrayal of
how surfers took to the mountains and the rode the snow in
the same way that they rode waves, the snowboard is
testament to this linage and gives solid evidence to riding
this new medium.
From Water to Snow is the most important chapter in
the modern history as it gives understanding as to why
skiing was on the wane until snowboarding came along. As
skis became wider and more user friendly more and more
riders were turned on to skiing, snowboarding and surfing.
No one has ever documented this lineage
before; the fact is that surfers invented the
snowboard. Except for one inventor named Sherman Poppen who
put a rope on the front of a board for the snow the line is
complete. Sherman worked for the Brunswick Bowling Company;
they sold a million boards between 66 and 77 for $10 each.
Sherman's “Snurfer” handled like a water-ski
where the direction was controlled by leaning back and
pulling on the rope, this is almost the complete opposite
of how a surfboard or skis are controlled. A champion
surfer from the 60’s named
Mike
Doyle built a mono or single ski in 69/70, he was
restricted by how to attach his feet to the board,
traditional ski bindings were his only option, however this
forced him to stand with his feet parrel like a normal
skier. Another surfer named
Wayne Stoveken
from the east coast of America was very vocal about Doyle
getting it all wrong. He worked with another surfer named
Dimitriije Milovich to overcome the
problem of standing like a surfer, either in Goffy or
Natural foot stance. The Winterstick was born in the early
70’s.
Tom Sims was a very talented
skateboarder and surfer who also hailed from New Jersey, he
has pictures of boards that he used in the snow back to
1963.
Jake Burton is the most successful
snowboard manufacturer in the world today, his dedication
to following the snowboard / surfing dream is apparent is
all his companies products.
Attitude and hardcore Alternatives
is the final chapter in the latest edition. As surfing
gains more and more converts, the sheer numbers of extra
people in the line-up are creating a fresh set of problems.
With intense overcrowding it is all about giving respect to
gain resect, so everybody can get a wave. Naturally the
amount of rideable waves cannot change to accommodate these
swelling crowds. With over 85 Waveloch wave pools around
the world and numerous artificial reefs, the problem is
being addressed. Windsurfing developed into Kite surfing
and is a fantastic alternative.
Every time there has been a significant change I have
included it in the latest update. We have had three updates
since first publishing in 1983. In recent history the
advent of surfing bigger and bigger waves by both towing in
with the aid of a Jet Ski and traditional paddling has been
thoroughly documented in words and pictures. The number of
women starting to surf in the last 10 years is phenomenal,
on most beaches around the world the number of girls equal
the boys. This book is dedicated to Tom Blake; he is the
man responsible for putting the first fin on a surfboard
back in the early 30’s. This book is an ongoing
project that will be updated till the day I die and
hopefully added to by my children long after I have gone.
Nat Young. Sun Valley, January 2008.
