UP AHEAD

FIGHT THE POWER—TRACING THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF “SURFBOARD DIPLOMACY”.

The late ‘60s into the ‘70s was more than the shortboard revolution and Surfing was politically active, towards the progressive and away from the status quo—away from the so-called military industrial complex. Wayne Lynch stood for a generation who wanted no part of the Vietnam War. Ian Cohen—in the most famous surfer–activist image of all time—hitching a ride on the USS Oldendorf as it steamed up Sydney Harbour in 1986 to protest nuclear capable warships. A classic example of what he later called “surfboard diplomacy”. Cohen was subsequently elected to NSW parliament as a senator and spent 16 years as a Greens politician, whilst remaining a hard-core surfer.