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Rafaela Bassili

Nicolas Cage on a beach holding a surfboard.

Arts And Culture

‘The Surfer’ Mostly Sputters And Flails

<a href="http://www.ddavisla.com">David Davis </a>is the author of Wheels of Courage: How Paralyzed Veterans From World War II Invented Wheelchair Sports, Fought for Disability Rights, and Inspired a Nation and Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku. He lives in Los Angeles.
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David Davis

Photo of Gidget running through the Malibu Pier. Fifty years after Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, aka Gidget, learned to surf in Malibu, the surfing world has accepted her as surfing's early pioneers, mascots and avid promoters. April 27, 2006, (Photo by Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Gidget The Survivor

Dayna Evans is a baker and writer who got really into surfing recently. She runs Downtime Bakery in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia.

Dayna Evans

The Great Outdoors

East Coast Surfing’s Rich, Overlooked Legacy Gets Its Due

Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.

Heather Wei-Xi Chen

A surfer in a blue wetsuit carries a light blue surfboard with him as he walks into the ocean. He is holding a Palestinian flag in his right hand and wearing a keffiyeh around his head.

Surfers Show Solidarity At A Paddle-Out For Palestine

John Loeppky is a freelance writer and theatre artist currently based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His work has appeared for outlets such as FiveThirtyEight, CBC, and Maclean’s.

John Loeppky

PARIS, FRANCE - APRIL 04: "La Beaute et le Geste" exhibition by French Artist Laurent Perbos is displayed in front of the French National assembly ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on April 04, 2024 in Paris, France. On the occasion of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the National Assembly celebrates sport by welcoming the visual artist Laurent Perbos and his 6 metamorphosed Venus de Milo. A universally known work, the Venus here finds her arms and is endowed attributes of six sporting disciplines: tennis, surfing, para archery, basketball, boxing and javelin throwing. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)

Parasports

Why Is It So Hard To Add New Paralympic Sports?

Patrick Redford

Hawaiian surfer Mark Healy rides a wave during The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational surfing contest on January 22, 2023, at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by Brian Bielmann / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by BRIAN BIELMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

SPORTS

CULTURE

OTHER

surfing

‘The Surfer’ Mostly Sputters And Flails

Gidget The Survivor

East Coast Surfing’s Rich, Overlooked Legacy Gets Its Due

Surfers Show Solidarity At A Paddle-Out For Palestine

Why Is It So Hard To Add New Paralympic Sports?

Local Lifeguard Wins Big-Wave Surfing’s Most Prestigious Competition

I Will Explain This New Olympic Sport To You: Surfing

Greg Noll, The Surfer Who Became A Myth, Is Dead At 84

Maya Gabeira Conquered More Than Just The Biggest Wave Of All Time