--- title: International Surfing Day: Classic Photos of Surfers From Hawaii to Peru description: A series of surfing photos from back in the day, as well as quotes from those lucky souls who spend more time in the water than on land. canonical: https://time.com/3879962/international-surfing-day-classic-photos-of-surfers-from-hawaii-to-peru/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-26T09:07:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:41.475Z og:title: International Surfing Day: Classic Photos of Surfers From Hawaii to Peru og:description: A series of surfing photos from back in the day, as well as quotes from those lucky souls who spend more time in the water than on land. og:url: https://time.com/3879962/international-surfing-day-classic-photos-of-surfers-from-hawaii-to-peru/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt721e9cb57f8ce017/69884a4dcd1bba1a866fab8e/13_00859192.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Surfing, Malibu, Calif., 1961 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: International Surfing Day: Classic Photos of Surfers From Hawaii to Peru twitter:description: A series of surfing photos from back in the day, as well as quotes from those lucky souls who spend more time in the water than on land. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt721e9cb57f8ce017/69884a4dcd1bba1a866fab8e/13_00859192.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stoked! LIFE Goes Surfing by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove May 26, 2014 9:07 AM UTC  Malibu, Calif., 1961. Malibu, Calif., 1961.Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove May 26, 2014 9:07 AM UTC One can write a million words about surfing, about the ocean, about the myriad ways that waves break and the thousand and one ways that surfers wipe out, but in the end, what do you have? A bunch of words about a sport that transcends verbiage. And yet . . . some of the greatest surfers of all time have occasionally put into words their own thoughts and feelings about the sport. Here, LIFE.com offers a series of surfing photos from back in the day, as well as some quotes from those intrepid, amphibious, lucky souls who spend more time in the ocean, half-naked and living life to the fullest, than on the hard, unyielding ground. --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- [\[MORE: See the gallery, “Hawaii Before Statehood.”\]](http://life.time.com/culture/hawaii-on-the-verge-of-statehood-color-photos-1959/#1) _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Heading for the waves, Malibu, Calif., 1961. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  California, 1950. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Lima, Peru, 1959. Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Malibu, Calif., 1961. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Hawaii, 1959. Ralph Crane—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Manhattan Beach, Calif., 1965. Ralph Crane—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Australia, 1958. John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Australia, 1958. John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Hawaii, 1963. George Silk—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Lima, Peru, 1959. Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Malibu, Calif., 1961. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Hawaii, 1959. Ralph Crane—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Malibu, Calif., 1961. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Malibu, Calif., 1961. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Sixteen-year-old Kathy Kohner (the real-life inspiration for the character of Gidget) rides a wave, Malibu, Calif., 1957. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Malibu, Calif., 1961. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Malibu, Calif., 1961. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  San Onofre, Calif., 1950. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  San Onofre, Calif., 1950. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Lima, Peru, 1959. Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Lima, Peru, 1959. Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Malibu, Calif., 1957. Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  San Onofre, Calif., 1950. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  San Onofre, Calif., 1950. Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3879962/international-surfing-day-classic-photos-of-surfers-from-hawaii-to-peru/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3879962/international-surfing-day-classic-photos-of-surfers-from-hawaii-to-peru/"},"headline":"Stoked! 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