Giovana Vitória Martins Dotta
A sport would change fashion and youth behavior. Surfing was still rarely practiced, but everything changed when Australian surfer Peter Troy arrived at Arpoador. Instead of the old wooden boards, Peter brought in his luggage the first fiberglass boards ever seen around here.
Little by little, fiberglass boards began taking over the beaches. Colored with pigment, they were still heavy, but, because they floated, they opened
new
Perspectives. Surfing sparked the interest of those who lived near the beaches.
Acrobatics and absolute mastery of movements made it a fascinating sport.
A new lifestyle ended up emerging from that, linked to ideals of youth, transgression, and fun. The beaches of the South Zone became places of intense concentration of sports activity. In an improvised way, passion and connection with the sea gave way to an elaborate pastime. At Praia de Ipanema, for example, dunes emerged with the installation of the pier, and, at sea, the result was an increase in the waves.
Perceived as adventurers, surfers positioned themselves politically with their boards and their way of life. They ended up resisting, as a movement, the conservative habits and behaviors of Rio's elite.
Image description: The image is a photograph of a surfer in action. The scene takes place at sea, with waves in the background. The surfer is balanced on a board, moving across the water. He has his back to the camera, with his arms outstretched to keep his balance. The water is blue and has white waves around the board.“Armando Serra mostra como se faz um bottomturn. Aparentemente o surf parece sem perigo. Mas, no ano passado, morreram três homens na ilha de Oahu, Havaí, onde as ondas atingem 10m”.
Rio de Janeiro, 29 de novembro de 1965. Revista O Cruzeiro/ Hemeroteca Digital - Biblioteca Nacional, página 6, Edição 0007