Surfing

When you think of surfing what comes to mind? Is it “yo dude,'; or the beauty of a majestic wave breaking on the shore with the sun setting on the horizon? Surfers today receive very little respect for the sport, sometimes referred to as an art, that they participate in. Despite what most people think, the surfers are a rare breed let alone the soul surfer. However if you believe that surfers are just a bunch of beer drinking, marijuana smoking, partygoers then you have something coming your way.

Surfing first came about in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s at the time of the ancient Polynesian rule over the East Indies. To the Polynesians it was only a royal sport in which only the royal family can participate in. The boards they used were 10ft long planks made out of redwood trees. The peasants were told to make different shapes and styles of the board than the royal family. They also would not paddle out to the same waves as the royal family. For it wasn’t until the 1950’s that the surfing craze developed, and that’s when the “spicoli'; trait first came about. The “spicoli'; trait is the perfect example of stereotyping a surfer, the trait is classically defined as one who is ignorant and is involved with the usage of drugs, or most often referred to as the “beach bum';.

When people look at surfers all that comes to mind is ignorance, drugs, parties, so...