Springboarding off his 1912 and 1920 Olympic swimming fame, this record-breaking champion brought his 10' redwood plank with him in his many travels and drew crowds to his performances. Hawaii's Duke Kahanamoku is singularly credited with popularizing surfing world-wide during the 1920s. At that time in Hawaii the missionaries had stamped out all native traditions, through fear of the unknown, surfing or wave-sliding as it was known at the time was one of these. Duke and his friends are credited with the rebirth of surfing in Hawaii. It was at Waikiki Beach where he developed his surfing and swimming skills. Duke along with his teenage surfer friends formed one of the first surf clubs known as Hui Nalu or 'Club Of The Waves'. They were also known as the 'Beach Boys of Waikiki. Growing up on the outskirts of Waikiki (near the present site of the Hilton Hawaiian Village), Kahanamoku spent his youth as a bronzed beach boy.