The Birthplace of Surfing

Ancient Hawaiians invented modern surfing. They called it he'e nalu, wave-sliding, and it was practiced by everyone from commoners to royalty, with the finest breaks reserved exclusively for chiefs. When Christian missionaries arrived in the early 1800s, they nearly extinguished the sport by discouraging it as idle and sinful. Surfing survived largely in secret until the early 20th century when Hawaiian Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku introduced it to the world during exhibitions in California and Australia, single-handedly sparking the global surf culture we know today.

Source: Wikipedia