Boards of Infamy

Like a garishly colored board stuffed with 20 pounds of primo Afghan hash, the 1960s were packed with indelible cultural happenings.

The youthful and impossibly handsome John F. Kennedy replaced the stern-looking, military-trained Dwight D. Eisenhower. The hippie was born and the use of drugs, particularly hallucinogens, became more mainstream. Civil-rights movements swept across the country, culminating in the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. Woodstock and the Summer of Love provided fodder for subsequent generations of dreamers. The assassination of JFK and the moon landing consumed conspiracy theorists for decades to come.

Meanwhile, surfing was in the throes of its own cultural revolution. Overnight, the stability and trim of longboards were crudely excised in search of speed and new lines. Long hair replaced crew cuts in the lineup. Boards donned new and imaginative colorways. Far-flung waves previously deemed unrideable were quickly conquered. Headlines like “Conversations with Spirit Forms” permeated the newly minted magazines, and a fondness for marijuana and other drugs laid the groundwork for the birth of Jeff Spicoli.