George Douglas Freeth Jr. was an American life guard and swimming instructor. Freeth was referred to in his day as the first white person to become expert at wave surfing, although he was of part Native Hawaiian descent. He and fellow Hawaiian surfer Duke Kahanamoku introduced the sport to the United States.

Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer, uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores, but can also be found in standing waves in the open ocean, in lakes, in rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or in wave pools.