California is arguably the birthplace of surfing culture, which has always been one of the chief engines of beach culture as a whole.
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In 1950, photographer Loomis Dean tracked a group of California’s newly emerging subculture of “beach bums” at San Onofre Beach for LIFE magazine, which later reported the following:
The beach bum subculture only grew from there. In 1961, 100 miles northeast of San Onofre, Malibu Point was renamed Surfrider Beach. And retail sales of surfing-related goods grew like a killer wave, slowly, from $70 million in 1960 to $200 million in 1970.
Meanwhile, the Beach Boys forged their sound under the heat of this scene, even though only one of the five founding members actually even surfed. And in 1966, Tom Wolfe wrote the following about surf culture in La Jolla, 150 miles south of the “surfriders” of Malibu:
The gallery above captures glimpses of California surf and beach culture from this time, photos of beach bums, athletes, celebrities, tourists, and natives not conceiving of living any other life.
Next, check out the world’s most beautiful beaches. Then, explore Hawaii’s hidden beaches.
