Bodysurfing

The Wedge, in Newport Beach, California, a ferocious sand-pounding peak wave aptly described by Sports Illustrated in 1971 as "a great big screaming shorebreak," has for decades been bodysurfing's most fearsome and famous break.

Distinguished bodysurfers include Buffalo Keaulana and Sean Enoka of Hawaii; Californians Bud Browne, Candy Calhoun, Larry Lunbeck, and Mickey Muñoz; Wedge riders Fred Simpson, Terry Wade, Kevin 'Mel' Thoman and Thomas VanMelum; and Australians Don McCredie, Tony Hubbard, Max Watt, and Michael Fay.

[2] Bodysurfing was first popularized in the United States during the mid-1920s by Olympic swimmer Wally O'Conner of Los Angeles, who visited local beaches and drew audiences by diving underwater while facing an incoming wave, do a push-turn off the sand, then burst out of the shore-bound white water.

California surfer Owen Churchill visited Hawaii the following year and noticed that locals were able to increase the power of their kick stroke—and therefore catch waves easier—after fixing palm fronds to their feet with tar.

In another breakthrough, around the same time, Santa Monica lifeguard Cal Porter taught himself how to ride at an angle across the wave face rather than straight to the beach.

Bodysurfing produces frequent spinal injuries and fatalities, as practitioners ride head-first, often in plunging near-shore waves breaking into shallow water.

[4][5][6] Included among the small number of bodysurfing video titles are Primal Surf (2000), Pure Blue (2001), and Come Hell or High Water (2011).