Post Covid-19 surf culture is still an Australian birth right.

Australian’s possess a unique national culture and a huge part of that unique culture is to do with the ocean and all that comes with it; i.e. surfing.

The United States also has 'Surf Culture'; Some of it legitimate such as David Nuuhiwa’s Fish being stolen and hung in effigy at the ’72 World Contest in San Diego and/or the 1986 OP Pro riots in Huntington Beach. It is, for the most part, insincere and unattractive.

In the US, surf culture is created and marketed to lure 16-year-old’s into purchasing a $55 pair of boardshorts.

I’m not saying that is wrong, just unattractive.

Australian surf culture isn’t designed.

In Australia, buying surf trunks is a given (more than likely though you’ll get a pair of hand-me-downs).

Surf culture is a part of their national fabric and it is, for the most part, without pretence and ittends to lack the ‘Click here to see more’ mentality, and that is very refreshing.

Australia is perhaps the only continent where the waves are more legendary than the men who ride them.

Australian surf culture resides in the distinctly Australian coastal townships.

Most notably, each town’s surf club sits on prime real estate directly on the beach.

In America these areas would be golf courses, and surfers would be asked to leave.

And the heritage and lore of the local ‘clubbies’ — despite what the Aussie surfer might have you believe — possesses prime real estate in the soul of the Australian surfer.

Legend is measured through aquatics, and the surf club is where legend and lore are poured down with the vigor and regularity of a Black and Tan.

In the US they don’t have surf clubs, they have chambers of commerce.

Australian surf culture resonates in the Australian waves: Bells, Angourie, Lennox, Snapper, Kirra, Burliegh, Noosa and that’s just the east coast.

In America the waves are generally tied directly to a surf star. Malibu and Dora; Rincon and Curren; Pipe and Lopez.

Australia is perhaps the only continent where the waves are more legendary than the men who ride them.

For a country full of surfers that speaks volumes.

Australian surf culture permeates within the Australian surfers who ride these waves. Robust and weathered expressions, crows feet at the eyes from hours of peering out to the horizon.

The Aussie culture breeds a hardened surfer, but not a bitter one. They are optimistic despite the often surly vernacular.

A characteristic derived from thousands of miles of surfable coastline and dozens of Indo trips.

Australian surfers measure time by swells and cyclones not IPOs and acquisitions.

Granted, the US’s surf culture has these types: Mickey Munoz, Robert Waldemar, and Colin Smith come to mind.

But in Australia this archetype is the norm. They wear construction boots with boardshorts–to their own wedding.

Except for the accents and bleached hair, Australian surfers look and act as if they could be from south Boston; you know, hard around the edges.

A far cry from the US where nine out of ten surfers are digitized yuppies that drive an SUV du jour, paddle a leashed up longboard, and openly flaunt a venti Macchiato habit.

Australia's Surfing History:

Australia is one of the greatest surfing nations and by far the largest surf country of the Southern Hemisphere. The giant island gets swells from all directions, and it is no wonder that the sport of surfing has ancient roots Down Under.

To understand how surfing evolved around the world, we need to take a look at the timeline. There are key dates in Australian surfing history, and they all shaped what the sport is today.

In 1914, Duke Kahanamoku visited Australia and opened the first chapter in the history of surfing Down Under.

But the truth is that, back in the day, surfing was not entirely new to Australians. There were already people challenging the surf with their bodies, and using smaller paipo and belly boards to ride the waves.

The big island at the bottom of the world is crazy about surfing, at least since the 19th century. Knowing how to ride a wave is a common skill in Australia, and that is why, for many, it is the ultimate surfing destination.

Australia has between 2.5 and 3.5 million active surfers.

One in three wave riders is a woman, and the country offers thousands of above-average surf breaks, from Sydney and Margaret River to Darwin and Torquay.

But, what if the first Australian surfers were Indigenous? Could surf lifesavers be the first real surfers? Was bodysurfing the first wave riding activity in Australia?

Some of these questions may never get clear answers, but the Australian surfing timeline helps us understand why the sport is so popular Down Under.

1867: Charles Steedman publishes the book "Manual of Swimming," which features a chapter titled "Native Swimming, Wave Mechanics and Surfboards";

1903: The prohibition of ocean bathing in daylight hours is lifted;

1903: Manly Beach holds the first demonstration of surf lifesaving methods;

1906: The Bondi Surf Club is founded;

1907: Nine clubs form the Surf Bathing Association;

1909: "Surf Sports at Manly," the first documentary film on a surf demonstration is screened around the country;

1913: Henry Thomas McLaren creates a hollow plywood surf ski;

1914: Duke Kahanamoku visits Australia and rides waves in front of thousands of spectators;

1919: Claude West becomes Australia's first national surfing champion;

1927: The Duke and Duchess of York visit Manly and enjoy a display of surf lifesaving and beach sports;

1945: A group of Sydney surfers forms the Australian Surf Board Association;

1956: The International Surf Carnival introduces balsa Malibu boards in Australia;

1960: The first foam surfboards become available in Australia;

1962: George Greenough builds his first low-volume, spoon kneeboard;

1963: Midget Farrelly wins the 10th Annual Makaha International Surfing Championships;

1963: Surfing Australia is founded;

1966: Nat Young wins at Bells Beach, and conquers the Australian and the world titles;

1969: Doug Warbrick and Brian Singer launch Rip Curl;

1970: Alby Falzon, John Witzig, and David Elfick establish Tracks, Australia's first surf magazine;

1984: The first edition of the Malfunction Surf Festival celebrates the longboard revival;

1986: Tom Carroll signs an exclusive five-year deal with Quiksilver;

1996: "Litmus: A Surfing Odyssey," a movie by Andrew Kidman, marks a new era in modern surfing;

1998: Layne Beachley wins her first of five consecutive ASP World Tour titles;

And the rest is history ...