The first Polynesian settlers that settled in Hawaii, were skilled in the basics of surfing, and after a while of riding Hawaii's waves, the well known Hawaiian activity evolved into what is called today, surfing.
Duke Kahanamoku, aka the "Father of Modern Surfing," was one of the many Hawaiians who really made the sport popular especially when Californians found out about Duke and this crazy new sport.
From the ancient 1700's till now, the evolution of the surfboard has been amazing. when they first started making them, they were 100 pound planks made of wood. Then in WWII, they started researching fiberglass, resin, and styrofoam. This made the boards much lighter, faster, and easier to turn. A guy named Tom Blake had another innovation to the surfboard, he decided to put on a fin, on the underside of the board making it easier to turn and cut through the water.
Nowadays, technology has made surfboards lighter, stronger, smaller, and more high performance than ever before. And instead of having one fin, they now have two, three, or more fins.
Thanks to the ancient Polynesians, because without them, who knows if there would even be a sport called surfing.