In the early 1990s, after a century-long journey, modern surfing’s historical arc began to split in two. By the mid-2000s, wave-riding appeared almost schizophrenic. At one extreme, everything was fast, loud, and shape-shifting, with millionaire professionals, surf-themed PlayStation video games, and live-streamed event coverage. Surfboards were computer designed, machine-crafted, and mass produced. Engines were brought into the lineup—working in teams, and using jet skis, big-wave surfers ca...
Chapter 8:
The Ride of Your Life
- Is Surfing Hip? /
- Lisa Andersen Surfs Better Than You /
- Killer Cute /
- Kelly Slater is Just Warming Up /
- Rebel for Hire /
- I Believe I Can Fly /
- A Monster in Half Moon Bay /
- Mark Foo's Last Ride /
- Open Throttle /
- Laird Means Lord /
- Tahitian Scream /
- A Webcam for Every Wave /
- Last Call for Print Media /
- Taylor Steele Likes it Rough /
- Searching for the Perfect Phrase /
- Hollywood Tries Again /
- Thirty is the New Twenty /
- Andy Irons' Poetic Fury /
- The Beast and Beyond /
- A Dance with the Past /
- Foam is Dead, Long Live Foam /
- Nature Gets a Makeover /
- Surf in a Box /
- The End of History /
Is Surfing Hip?
The further surfing trimmed into the mainstream, the less wild it became. Costco had its own line of boards. Chevron and Allstate produced surf-themed ads. People ran shots of akimbo-armed Hollywood stars gamely riding shoreward on their huge beginner boards, while AARP Magazine profiled leathery but spry senior surfers.