Drew Kampion pens a retrospective tracking the life of one of surfing's most influential personas, from Southern California to the North Shore to Kauai.
The world of surfing lost one of its last living icons, legends, and visionaries. Tom Morey invented bodyboarding and inspired the lives of millions of people.
May 7, 2021 |
Surfing
The revival of surfing, which took place at the beginning of the 20th century, coincided with the revival of swimming.
Although swimming can be traced back to antiquity and numbers Caesar and Charlemagne among its more famous exponents, the sport had fallen into disrepute during the Middle Ages, as it was thought to be the cause of smallpox epidemics.
When taken up again in the last century, swimming out of doors had transgressed Victorian ideas of morality, and there were many complaints about mixed bathing and the flagrant exposure of naked flesh on the beaches (such as fingers, toes, and necks!)