Echo Beach

In the 1980s 'Newport Beach' spawned a new era of high performance surfing and entrepreneurship, establishing 'Orange County' as the focal point of the surf industry and a worldwide influencer of youth culture. This group of surfers came from different backgrounds and interests, bonded in their surfing and exploded on the scene, creating a unique look and revolutionary style that paralleled changes in music, culture and the innovation of young surf companies such as 'Quiksilver', 'Stussy', 'Schroff', 'Rip Curl', 'McCoy' and 'Wave Tools'. Flashy wetsuits, colorful surfboards, and a new wave attitude created a surfing mecca that was to impact the surfing community around the world and give rise to a global industry. Photographers, surfers, surfboard shapers, magazines and clothing companies all came together to create this movement, which was focused on a one hundred yard stretch of sand known as 'Echo Beach'.