As one of the most enigmatic, iconic, and potentially problematic surfers to ever ride waves, Miki Dora, and the stories about him, are the stuff of legend.
He was one of the best surfers in the ‘50s and ‘60s surf scene at Malibu. He was also notorious for playing pranks, like pulling his pants down and mooning the judges during a contest, a vulgar attitude, spray-painting swastikas on his surfboards, running from the law due to charges of credit card and check fraud, and more.
And a new podcast focuses on that latter part of the Dora legend; listen below.
The latest season of Dana Goodyear’s podcast, “Lost Hills,” tells the story of Miki Dora, a Hungarian-born surf star who came to Malibu during the golden years, the Gidget and Beach Blanket Bingo years, of surfing’s development in California, yet also spotlights the dark side of Dora, nicknamed “The Dark Prince” of surfing.
Specifically, regarding the Nazi iconography adopted by Dora and others during this time period, Goodyear told Steve Chiotakis of KCRW:
“There was something broader happening in surf culture in the mid-century that he was part of. It was this use of basically like iron crosses, swastikas, and it was widely accepted. In a way that really, really is bizarre when you think about how close in time that period was to the Holocaust, and to how many survivors of the Holocaust were in LA.”
She continued:
“As a storyteller, my job is to follow a fascinating story that allows me to understand a culture better, and how he shaped some of the attitudes and ideas that became really baked into mainland surf culture and California surf culture … and it’s a multibillion dollar industry now.”
Check out “Lost Hills: The Dark Prince” wherever podcasts are available.
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