Economie
The commercialization of surfing in Huntington Beach : How ‘Surf City USA’ brands downtown at the expense of the Aloha spirit
Three hundred years ago, surfing legitimated political power in Hawaii. The best surfers rode long boards and were erected to the highest social position. Today in Huntington Beach, California, wave riding does not ensure royal authority but stimulate capitalism and city branding through commercialization of its subculture. This article points out the lifestyle and professional sport of surfing as political and territorial resource nourishing economic growth. In opposition, it provides alternatives to the popularization of the “Aloha spirit.”
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