Surfboards on Parade Ride the Culture. Celebrate the Stoke.

Surfboards on Parade

Ride the Culture. Celebrate the Stoke.

Latest Articles

Small Contests, Big Dreams: Inside the Regional Surf Circuit Shaping America's Next Wave of Competitors
Community & Scene

Small Contests, Big Dreams: Inside the Regional Surf Circuit Shaping America's Next Wave of Competitors

Long before a surfer ever sees a WSL jersey, they're cutting their teeth at a local contest with a hand-painted banner and a folding table full of trophies. America's regional surf competition scene is thriving — and it's doing something the pro tour never could: making competitive surfing feel like it actually belongs to everyone.
Living on Salt Time: How Surfers Are Crafting Careers That Keep Them Close to the Water
Community & Scene

Living on Salt Time: How Surfers Are Crafting Careers That Keep Them Close to the Water

For a growing number of wave riders, the nine-to-five grind was never really an option — not when the swell is pumping and the office is an hour from the beach. Meet the surfers who've figured out how to build real, sustainable livelihoods without ever straying far from the coast.
Beyond the Beach Bum: How Elite Surfers Are Training Like Serious Athletes
Craft & Culture

Beyond the Beach Bum: How Elite Surfers Are Training Like Serious Athletes

The days of paddling out on a hangover and hoping for the best are long gone at the top levels of competitive surfing. America's best surfers are now working with strength coaches, sports psychologists, and nutritionists to build bodies and minds built for performance. But don't worry — the soul of the sport is still very much intact.
Asphalt Lineups: How Skate Parks and Pump Tracks Are Keeping Surf Culture Alive Inland
Community & Scene

Asphalt Lineups: How Skate Parks and Pump Tracks Are Keeping Surf Culture Alive Inland

You don't need saltwater to surf. Ask the crews gathering at DIY skate parks in Ohio, pump tracks in Colorado, and backyard concrete bowls in Tennessee — they'll tell you the stoke is just as real on four wheels. A growing movement of landlocked surfers and coastal transplants are transforming asphalt into their version of a lineup, and they're building tight-knit communities in the process.
Paddling Through the Dark: How Surfing Became a Lifeline for People Who Need It Most
Craft & Culture

Paddling Through the Dark: How Surfing Became a Lifeline for People Who Need It Most

Across the country, a quiet revolution is happening at the water's edge. Surf therapy programs are giving veterans, trauma survivors, and people navigating serious mental health challenges something that no prescription can fully replicate: the ocean, a board, and a community that shows up. We spent time with the organizations and the people they serve to understand why it works.
Community & Scene

Drop In, Press Play: The Songs That Define Where You Surf

From lo-fi playlists bumping out of truck speakers at dawn patrol to Gen Z surfers rediscovering Dick Dale on vinyl, music and surfing have always been tangled up together. We talked to musicians, DJs, and everyday wave riders about how a single track can set the tone for an entire session — or an entire coastal community.
Suit Up: How Smarter Wetsuit Tech Is Opening Cold Water to Every Surfer
Craft & Culture

Suit Up: How Smarter Wetsuit Tech Is Opening Cold Water to Every Surfer

A new generation of wetsuit materials is quietly dismantling the idea that cold water surfing is only for the hardcore or the well-funded. From limestone neoprene to graphene-laced liners, the gear is getting warmer, more flexible, and — critically — more affordable. Here's how that shift is changing who shows up in the lineup.
From the Shore to the Lineup: The Mentors Making Surfing Belong to Everyone
Community & Scene

From the Shore to the Lineup: The Mentors Making Surfing Belong to Everyone

Across the country, a growing network of mentorship programs is doing something quietly radical — handing a surfboard to someone who never imagined they'd be in the water and staying right beside them until they catch their first wave. These grassroots efforts are rewriting the story of who surfs in America, one session at a time.
Paddle In: The Surfers Who Are Showing Up So Everyone Gets a Wave
Community & Scene

Paddle In: The Surfers Who Are Showing Up So Everyone Gets a Wave

Across the US, a growing network of surfers is doing something quietly radical: showing up for people who've historically been told — sometimes explicitly, sometimes just through the vibe — that the lineup isn't for them. From Rockaway Beach to the Gulf Coast, mentors are building communities that look different than surfing's traditional image, one session at a time.
Wax, Wood, and Watercolor: The Surfers Turning Boards Into Museum-Worthy Art
Craft & Culture

Wax, Wood, and Watercolor: The Surfers Turning Boards Into Museum-Worthy Art

What started as functional deck graphics has quietly evolved into a full-blown fine art movement, with custom surfboards landing in galleries from Venice Beach to Brooklyn. Collectors are paying serious money for limited-edition shapes, and artists who once painted boards just for fun are now getting museum calls. Here's how the surf world's most tactile canvas is rewriting the rules of contemporary art.
Wheels to Waves: How Skateboarding Is Quietly Transforming American Surf Culture
Community & Scene

Wheels to Waves: How Skateboarding Is Quietly Transforming American Surf Culture

Across the country, skate parks are becoming unlikely training grounds for the next generation of surfers. The two subcultures have always shared a rebellious DNA, but something deeper is happening now — a full-on merger of community, creativity, and stoke that's reshaping grassroots action sports from coast to coast.
Old Shapes, New Obsession: Why Younger Surfers Are Going Crazy for Vintage Boards
Craft & Culture

Old Shapes, New Obsession: Why Younger Surfers Are Going Crazy for Vintage Boards

Something unexpected is happening in American surf shops and shaping bays: the kids who grew up on performance thrusters are trading them in for wide-tailed single fins and egg shapes straight out of the 1970s. It's not just nostalgia — it's a full-blown cultural shift, and the boards themselves are only part of the story.
No Ocean? No Problem: The Inland Towns Turning Wave Pools Into Surf Meccas
Community & Scene

No Ocean? No Problem: The Inland Towns Turning Wave Pools Into Surf Meccas

You don't need a coastline to build a surf culture. From suburban Texas to the mountains of Colorado, wave pools and artificial surf facilities are sparking genuine communities of dedicated riders who've never lived within 500 miles of a beach. The stoke, it turns out, travels just fine.
Shaping the Future: Meet the Backyard Board Builders Rewriting American Surf Culture
Craft & Culture

Shaping the Future: Meet the Backyard Board Builders Rewriting American Surf Culture

Across the country, a new generation of independent shapers is pushing back against cookie-cutter boards — one hand-planed blank at a time. From Pacific Northwest garages to Gulf Coast workshops, these craftspeople are putting soul back into surfing. We profiled four of them, and what we found was nothing short of a revolution.