The phrase “Charlie don't surf” is a quote from the movie "Apocalypse Now", which technically means that Vietnamese don’t surf. Although, the deeper meaning is that is symbolizes the U.S. victory in the Vietnam War and that the victor can do whatever they want on the defeated enemies homeland, which in this case is to go surf their waves!

Understandably, this still might not make sense to you. That is because to fully understand this phrase, you need to know the context and back-story.

Continue reading below as we paint the whole picture behind this famous movie quote and it impact on the surf culture.