Welcome to Bedtime History. Hello, this is Breck.

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Close your eyes and imagine you're standing on a long wooden surfboard, your bare feet gripping the smooth sun-warmed wood.

Beneath you, the ocean is a deep, shining blue, clear enough to see light dancing on the water.

The sea gently lifts and lowers you, like it's breathing.

The sun warms your shoulders and a soft breeze carries the salty smell of the water. The sea gently lifts and lowers you like its breathing. The sun warms your shoulders and a soft breeze carries the salty smell of the ocean across your face. You hear the quiet splash

of water against your board and the distant call of seabirds along the shore. Now a wave begins to

rise behind you. You lie down and paddle. Your arms dipping into the

cool water as the board starts to move faster. The sound of the wave grows, a steady rush, not loud

or scary, just full of energy. You stand up, balanced and calm, and suddenly you're gliding

forward, smooth and steady,

as the wave carries you toward the beach.

The world feels peaceful and alive all at once.

This is how Duke Kahanamoku felt when he surfed,

and it's a feeling he loved so much that he spent his life sharing it with the world.

Duke Kahanamoku was born on August 24th, 1890 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

His full name was Duke Pawa Kahinu Mokoehulakoha Kahanmoku.

He was named Duke after a Hawaiian prince, not because he was royalty himself.

Some people later called him Duke Kamehameha.

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