Surf Scene in the 1980s

The beach scene in the 80s in California was so awesome. I grew up near the Valley in Southern California and there were tons of mountains surrounding where I grew up. I remember the first time I went to the beach as a teenager and thinking, “Wow, this is amazing!” It was like another land outside of everything of what I knew. I fell in love with the ocean immediately. I started going to the beach often with my friend Giselle. She called us, “Beach Buddies.” We both wanted to escape our boring hometown and try new adventures near the water. When we weren’t at the beach, we rode our bikes to get ice cream and that was the highlight of our day. Going to the beach was something exciting and different for us. We’d catch a ride from my mom to the beach and her mom would pick us up. As soon as we were dropped off, we walked barefoot through the sand to find the perfect spot to soak up some rays. There were tons of guys and girls everywhere with the same purpose—catch a tan and meet someone. We wanted to tan our supple, young bodies, but we usually met guys and would get invited to tons of parties.

We were meeting guys outside of our hometown and getting to experience something more than what we knew. It helped that we wore tiny bikinis and lathered ourselves in Hawaiian tropic oil or baby oil. I remember that Hawaiian Tropic scent to this day. It had the most amazing coconut and Hawaii scented flower smell that lingered on you. My skin was always oiled up and my bikini was bright and bold. Giselle and I laid out most of the day and then we’d take a break and get some snacks at the Food stand. We’d wait in line and then get something cool to drink. We were in relaxation mode and things were pretty awesome.

I remember making another friend and she and I would cruise to Huntington beach to check out the surf scene and the guys of course. She had bleached out, big teased hair, and I had my wild curly teased hair, with big bangs hair sprayed. We were totally 80s and we’d cruise the beaches looking for guys, parties and fun. Huntington Beach is one of the best surf places and when we showed up, it was practically a huge party. There were so many surfers in one place. It was sunny, nice weather, good waves and just a total beach, party vibe. Guys wore lots of surfer brand clothes to show they’d been sponsored –or if someone made their surfboard. Non surfer guys wore surf clothes too, because it was the surf scene. Girls wore surfer brand clothes too, even if they didn’t surf. It was this Southern California vibe. The brands that were most often seen were the big surf companies of the 80s.

O.P. or Ocean Pacific

Gotcha

Stussy

Jimmy’z

Pac Sun

Hang Ten

O’Neill

Mr. Zogs Original Sex Wax

Quiksilver

Those were some of the popular ones that were often sported. I had many quiksilver and other surfer brand tops. Cruising the beach in the 80s was fun and something unlike anything I had experienced prior to going as a teenager. Growing up in the 80s in Southern California and enjoying the surf scene was really totally awesome—like for sure.