Fantastic Failures by Luke Reynolds

Author:Luke Reynolds
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

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DUKE KAHANAMOKU

The sport of surfing is an ancient one that stretches back as far as human activity has been recorded. It has been practiced along the coasts of most landmasses, and its demise was never a real possibility. Everybody loved to surf, as proven by the early presidents of America:

George Washington: I may once have cut down a cherry tree—to my great shame—but one thing regarding which I have felt no shame? My insatiable love of cutting across the biggest waves I can find, dude!

John Adams: Hear, hear! I forthwith agree with thee! Now let me remove this wig so I can ride the spray! Gnarly!

So, in the modern era, when the pop-music group the Beach Boys came along to sing about surfing safaris, they were merely extolling a glorious and extensive pastime. One of the greats of this pastime? Duke Kahanamoku, a Hawaiian native who was always accorded deep respect for his ethnicity and experience, and for being one cool dude who liked to surf. . . .

Actually . . . not so much.

In fact, not at all. If it weren’t for the likes of Duke Kahanamoku, a Hawaiian man born in 1890, the sport of surfing might have disappeared entirely. And Kahanamoku’s journey to give surfing worldwide exposure was not an easy path. Kahanamoku battled prejudice and obscurity and almost lost his life in his endless pursuit to share his love of the ocean and his sport. Fortunately, the tides turned just in time to save surfing, and Kahanamoku became both a hero and a Hollywood icon—someone who refused to give in to failure. Here’s how:

In the early 1900s, surfing was a dying sport. It didn’t have a huge appeal beyond Hawaii, but even in Hawaii, the sport was losing people’s interest. Only scattered surfers still attempted to ride the waves to shore.

However, Kahanamoku began surfing in a way that no one had fathomed possible. While water-inclined athletes tended to focus on swimming prowess alone, Kahanamoku focused on surfing too. His skill on the surfboard was matched by his power as a swimmer, so he became the world’s most expert surfer and, eventually, the sport’s best evangelist. He outswam anyone and everyone he met! In fact, his speed and power in the water eventually earned him a spot on the 1912 US men’s Olympic swim team. He also earned spots on the 1916 and 1920 American Olympic swim teams, and over the course of these three Olympic Games, Kahanamoku earned five Olympic medals. 1As he traveled with the team and won recognition as a swimmer, Kahanamoku also spread awareness about the sport of surfing.

Upon returning from the 1922 Olympics, Kahanamoku moved to Southern California for a while, surfing with friends and spreading his love of the sport. It was during one of these surfing outings that Kahanamoku became a sensation in newspapers for a daring rescue of twelve people. 2

On June 14, 1925, Kahanamoku and his friends saw a large yacht trying to enter Newport Harbor, but a fierce storm was pushing it back and forth.

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