Beginner surfers on Reddit told me they don’t care about surf history. So naturally… I made an episode about it anyway. 😇

This week, we dive into the wild theory that surfing didn’t originate in Hawaii—but in Peru, 3,000 years ago, with ancient fishermen riding “caballitos de totora” (little reed horses) through the waves.

We’ll talk about Felipe Pomar, the Peruvian surf legend who tried to convince the world surfing started in South America. We’ll revisit Thor Heyerdahl’s totally bonkers 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition. And we’ll ask the big question: does riding waves for utility count as surfing?

Also: I get nerdy about Matt Warshaw’s History of Surfing, confess my teenage love of Kon-Tiki, and share how my British Museum aunt shattered all my surf conspiracy dreams.

Spoiler alert: surfing was born in Hawaii. But this story? Fun!