How the fin "saved" surfing—thanks to Clark Gable's stunt double

No wax, no grip, no fins—and still riding big Hawaiian waves? Ancient surfers were built different. But thankfully for the rest of us, Tom Blake came along in 1935 and tore a keel off a speedboat to give us one of surfing’s greatest inventions: the fin. In this episode, we dive into how and why surfboard fins became essential, what they actually do (hint: it's about control, not chaos), and how Blake’s tinkering helped birth California surf culture. From Alaia to thrusters, we’re covering the physics, the history, and the fact that "skeg" is just an awful word. Plus, could finless surfing make you age in reverse? Asking for a friend.