Surf
From Duke Kahanamoku spreading the sport beyond Hawaii, through Mavericks and big-wave era, Pipeline Masters, the Wave-of-the-Day record at Nazaré, and Kelly Slater's 11 world titles.
Part of Extreme Sports
24 moments in this segment.
- - Gidget novel - surf hits pop culture. Frederick Kohner publishes Gidget; the 1959 film triggers the Californian surf boom and a generation of teenagers buying boards.
- - The Endless Summer. Bruce Brown's surf-documentary follows two surfers chasing summer around the world. The film codifies surf cinema and the search-for-the-perfect-wave mythology.
- - Duke Kahanamoku exports surfing. Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku begins giving public surf demonstrations on the US East Coast and Australia, spreading surfing beyond Hawaii.
- - Kelly Slater wins first world title. At 20, Kelly Slater wins his first ASP world title. He will go on to 11 world titles, more than any surfer in history, across four decades.
- - Mark Foo dies at Mavericks. Big-wave surfer Mark Foo drowns at Mavericks, California. The first death at a major big-wave spot puts the discipline's risk profile on the global radar.
- - Laird Hamilton - Millennium Wave at Teahupo'o. Laird Hamilton rides the "Millennium Wave" at Teahupo'o, Tahiti, declared one of the heaviest waves ever ridden. The shot becomes the most-circulated surf image of the decade.
- - Andy Irons era at Pipeline. Andy Irons wins his first world title and three Pipe Masters, sparking the Slater-Irons rivalry that defines surf in the 2000s.
- - Garrett McNamara - Nazaré record. Garrett McNamara surfs a reported 78-foot wave at Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal. The town becomes the global big-wave capital almost overnight.
- - Gabriel Medina - first Brazilian world champion. Gabriel Medina wins the WSL title, the first Brazilian world champion. Kicks off the "Brazilian Storm" era, Medina, Filipe Toledo, Italo Ferreira.
- - Pipeline Masters founded. The Pipeline Masters launches on Oahu's North Shore, surfing's most prestigious wave-by-wave contest. Won repeatedly by Gerry Lopez, Kelly Slater, John John Florence.
- - Rodrigo Koxa - 80ft Nazaré record. Rodrigo Koxa rides an 80-foot wave at Nazaré, set as the Guinness world record for the largest wave ever surfed.
- - Shortboard revolution. Bob McTavish and Nat Young pioneer the shortboard, replacing 10-foot longboards with manoeuvrable sub-7-foot boards. The performance ceiling jumps overnight.
- - Laird Hamilton tow-in at Jaws. Laird Hamilton, Buzzy Kerbox, Darrick Doerner pioneer tow-in surfing at Pe'ahi (Jaws), Maui, using jet-skis to catch waves too big to paddle. Opens the modern big-wave era.
- - Surfing in the Olympics - Tokyo 2020. Surfing debuts at the Tokyo Olympics at Tsurigasaki Beach. Italo Ferreira (BRA) and Carissa Moore (USA) take the first gold medals.
- - Olympic surf at Teahupo'o. The 2024 Paris Olympics holds its surfing at Teahupo'o, Tahiti, 15,000 km from the host city. The decision puts the world's heaviest wave at the centre of the games.
- - Surfer Big Wave Challenge - the 2023/24 entries. SURFER's own reel of every ride and wipeout submitted to the 2023/24 Big Wave Challenge, the magazine's annual big-wave award. It is the clearest single record of what the paddle and tow seasons produced that winter.
- - Nazaré Big Wave Challenge - the 2025 edition. Reporting on the 2025 Nazaré Big Wave Challenge, run by the WSL at Praia do Norte in difficult wind and chop. Teams worked in tow pairs on the largest faces of the day.
- - Uluwatu - a long-period swell on the Bukit. Raw filming of a heavy long-period swell at Uluwatu in Bali, with Rio Waida among the surfers out. Sessions like this are the everyday counterpart to the contest record in this archive.
- - Nazaré - opening the 2025/26 big-wave window. The World Surf League's heat replay from the opening of the 2025/2026 TUDOR Nazaré Big Wave Challenge at Praia do Norte, with a window running into March 2026. Nazaré remains the archive's reference point for competitive big-wave surfing.
- - World Surf League - the waves of the 2025 tour. The WSL's own selection of the standout rides from the 2025 Championship Tour season, across both the men's and women's fields. A compact record of where competitive surfing stood at the close of the year.
- - Pipeline - a giant January morning. Footage from the North Shore on 11 January 2026, when Pipeline ran too big and disorganised for the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout to be called on. Pipeline's winter season is a fixed point in this archive.
- - Thriller at Killers - the women's final. The women's final of the 2026 Thriller at Killers at Isla Todos Santos in Baja California, held in waves of 25 feet and over. The event is one of the few big-wave contests running a full women's division.
- - Nias - the biggest swell of the year at Lagundri Bay. Raw files from several windless days of south-west swell at Nias, the Indonesian right-hander that has drawn travelling surfers since the 1970s. Filmed at the point in Lagundri Bay.
- - Tahiti Pro - Teahupo'o tests the field. World Surf League coverage from the Outerknown Tahiti Pro at Teahupo'o, where heavy conditions eliminated the reigning world champion. Teahupo'o is the most consequential wave on the competitive calendar.
