Surfing, in its most basic form, is a surface water sport in which the participant uses a board to ride along a moving wave towards the shore. In theory, this most basic action will have occurred for as long as there have been coastal populations ready to venture out for fishing and exploration. Yet, the development of professional surfing, which had initially been adopted by Australia and the US in the 1970s, and its documentation through surfing photography, has created a surfing culture that has been predominantly framed from a Western perspective.

The origins of surfing are commonly associated with Polynesian and Hawaiian culture, but historians like University of California history professor, Kevin Dawson, have collated documented evidence of the independent history of African wave-riding from as early as the 1640s. In his book, "Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora," Dawson explores how populations across the coastlines of Africa had developed sea-dwelling merchants who learned to navigate surf patterns, as a means to open up economic opportunities.