From Radical Origins: Episode 1
Reef Madness
November 17, 2023
How a local response to a surfing ban became a classic contest and California icon.
Podcast
From Radical Origins: Podcast 1
Listen to the full story of how the world’s longest-running surf contest became a local legend that bonds a community with extended stories, bonus interviews, and more.
“Every Weekend, you were on call. You just showed up until the contest ran.”
The Visionary
When surfing was banned, Hobie Alter hatched a plan to recast feral surfers as locally grown athletes. In 1955 The Brooks Street Classic was born.
Legends are Born
Almost 70 years later, Laguna surfers now compete for prizes, money, and glory in what has become a local institution and world’s longest running surf contest.
From Radical Origins
As a totally voluntary affair, The Brooks Street Classic is still a mix of local passion and improvisation. Heat-sheets are still organized according to community knowledge, and winners still become town heroes. Far more than just an emblem of a lively surf culture, the contest is an example of how a savage subculture became core to the Laguna lifestyle.
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