Stuart Nettle May 21, 2009

“When China awakes the world will tremble”         - Napoleon Bonaparte In 1914 Duke Kahanamoku brought surfing to Australia. On our shores it flourished and became a popular pastime, and for this we hold the Duke in high regard. There is a statue of the Duke overlooking Freshwater Beach in Sydney, where he first surfed, that stands as testament to our reverence of the Duke. Peter Drouyn could well have become 'the Duke' of Chinese surfing; he followed a similar path and made a similar gesture. The results were vastly different though – surfing didn't become popular in China. And the fact that it didn't says much of the cultural differences between China and the west. However, the notoriously guarded country is undergoing a period of rapid change as western values slowly infiltrate the borders, and the conditions are becoming more favourable for surfing to take hold.

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In 1986 Peter Drouyn made a batch of surfboards in Australia, and then arranged with the Chinese government to travel to Hainan Island, off China's south-east coast, to teach the local groms surfing. He'd set himself lofty goals, such as when China would be fielding an ISA team. Drouyn was on Hainan Island for a few months and, upon leaving, was convinced the surf school he'd established would thrive. And why wouldn't it? After all surfing had taken hold just about everywhere else people were exposed to it. Yet the program he established didn't last. A crew of American surfers visited Hainan two years after Drouyn left, and rather than a booming surf industry all they found were beaten up boards being used in the shoredump. The boards were the leftovers from Drouyn's venture. And the kids who rode them – Drouyn's former pupils – were affectionately named the Thunderdome kids, in reference to 'Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome', where abandoned children await the return of a hero to rescue them. So while Drouyn may not have been lauded like the Duke he was at least remembered like Mad Max. Which is pretty bloody cool in it's own right. During his time in the surfing spotlight, Drouyn was always far ahead of the curve, churning out left-field ideas that were mostly spurned by the mainstream. Though some – such as man-on-man surfing - were accepted. No doubt it was this revolutionary drive that led him to China. However, in China he was too far ahead of the curve to have any impact. Drouyn wasn't just up against an establishment reluctant to listen to new ideas but a culture in which surfing couldn't find a foothold. Fifty years of communist rule had melded in the Chinese a collective sense of community and a deep-seated moral duty toward their country. These cultural features are far removed from the  personal freedoms of the countries where beach culture and surfing have flourished. By it's nature surfing is a solo pursuit, so cultures where individual rights are strong (such as Australia and America) are more favourable to surfing. Matt George was part of the American team that visited after Drouyn. In the June 1987 issue of Tracks he gave his explanation why surfing didn't prosper: “The Chinese treat sport as a type of training and the freedoms of surfing cannot adhere to the sporting programs of the Chinese. It'll be difficult for them to become surfers in such a regimented world.” ***** In the twenty three years since Drouyn went to China a lot has happened to affect the country. The most important is mass media and the internet. While YouTube and pornography may be censored by the 'great firewall of China' other more desirable and influential aspects of western culture make it through. There is, for the first time, a burgeoning youth culture in China and a large part of that is boarding culture - surf, skate and snow. To stimulate and supply the fledgling sub-cultures big surf companies have started expanding into China. Billabong currently have six stores in China. Quiksilver have an incredible sixty stores! Also, as China's economy grows they are undergoing similar phases of development as western countries – a rising middle-class, greater disposable income and more emphasis on lesiure pursuits. Surfing is sure to be amongst them. At present there aren't many local Chinese surfers. While there are boardriders clubs on Hainan, Taiwan and also in Hong Kong, they are mainly populated by ex-pats. However, when surfing does get a foothold in China there'll be no shortage of potential punters. Hainan Island has a population of 8 million people. Taiwan, which is to the south-west of Hainan and picks up more swell, has 23 million people. Then there are three mainland provinces that also have surfable coastline - their combined population is approximately 25 million. That makes over 50 million people with access to a surfable coastline. None of the coasts can boast quality waves, it's mainly windswell with the odd typhoon. The conditions could be compared to, say, Florida. If China were to produce a competitive surfer there's no doubt they'd get the support and backing of the large companies that would use them as a marketing vehicle into the most populous country on Earth. It would also help the ASP's credentials immensely. I venture that the ASP would champion their cause much like they have the Europeans and the quasi-German Marlon Lipke. But realistically, the chance of China producing competitive surfers is still a long way in the future. As I've said there's a whole unfurling of culture before surfing can take hold. But if surfing does achieve similar cultural acceptance as it does here I'd like to think the Chinese will build a big statue of Peter Drouyn overlooking the bay where he first surfed.

Postscript: In 2008 Peter Drouyn began gender reassignment therapy. If the Chinese want to build an anatomically correct version of that statue – and let's hope they do! - it will be a lady named Westerly Drouyn overlooking the surf at Hainan Island.

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