nudity and surfing
Surfing developed across Polynesia as a nude activity, and remained so until top-coated 19th-century missionaries shamed the natives into covering themselves, even while at play in the ocean. The dress code was often ignored; a British engraving from 1874 shows a set of waves being ridden by nearly a dozen Hawaiian surfers, male and female, all of them naked. No other sport lends itself to nudity...
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Unknown surfer, Salt Creek, 1975. Photo: Larry MooreSubscribe to view
Kelly Slater, for ESPN, 2010Subscribe to view
Mike Purpus from Surfing magazine's 1974 Comedy AnnualSubscribe to view
Hawaii; 19th century engravingSubscribe to view
Courtney Conlogue, 2016, for ESPN. Photo: Steven LippmanSubscribe to view
Wayne Bartholomew, Tracks, 1975Subscribe to view
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/0cf3e6ab483fb2508236da0ebf4a693ada4dd48c-900x675.jpg?rect=0,104,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Unknown surfer, Salt Creek, 1975. Photo: Larry Moore
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/dd5411d0b23f6e59f3d4712f0c5d21f9d0187670-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Kelly Slater, for ESPN, 2010
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/522bc78f7d9065dde79ea7608bd0979339c0e014-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Mike Purpus from Surfing magazine's 1974 Comedy Annual
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/ac0092973eb7a35eabc8bb97b2dd3180327e2a1f-700x475.jpg?rect=0,17,700,394&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Hawaii; 19th century engraving
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/f3edbf753e7bb9df81c37c5a824c6df6927b741c-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Courtney Conlogue, 2016, for ESPN. Photo: Steven Lippman
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/2e3bc7fbcff105af72d3f23dbeae27dbaa6c6d59-636x900.jpg?rect=0,447,636,358&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Wayne Bartholomew, Tracks, 1975