That First Glide

The sport of stand-up paddle seems to have popped up out of nowhere.

The truth is, the sport has deep roots in both early Polynesian and Hawaiian history as it is truly a combination of outrigger paddling and surfing.

The first regular stand-up paddle enthusiasts were playing around in Waikiki as early as 1939 when Duke Kahanamoku used to stand up on an Australian surf ski.

Later, in the 1960s and 1970s, guys like John Ah Choy and John Zapotocky used to do the sport regularly up into the late 1990s until they finally were getting too old to keep surfing.

Around that same time, Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama played around with paddles on Maui and, although at first no one seemed to take notice, it wasn't long before the sport was attracting all sorts of users from all over the world.

Now, stand-up paddling is done almost everywhere there is water, and the sport has gone in multiple directions.

Some people like the exercise and weight-loss aspects in flat water, others like to race, and the most extreme are taking the boards out into the waves.

Filmed in Hawaii, Fiji, and Tahiti, "That First Glide" is a must-see movie for everyone and features most of the premier athletes that got the sport off the ground.