Nude Dude - Naked Surfer Statue

Huntington Beach, California

Known as "Nude Dude" to the locals, the unclothed surfer rides above the beach parking lot and cars along the Pacific Coast Highway. Sculpted by Edmond Shumpert in 1976, its official name is "Ultimate Challenge," although that probably refers to the epic wave being ridden, not to the potentially painful challenge of surfing naked. Shumpert said that the reason his surfer is nude is because he imagined the artwork as a "classical" bronze.

Nude Dude has always had detractors, even though his frontal nakedness isn't evident unless you assume an awkward viewing position. At one point it was suggested that the statue be outfitted with a pair of pants. Huntington Beach rejected that proposal, but in 2006 it did outlaw public nudity, leaving Nude Dude as its last vestige, if you ignore live surfer dudes furtively changing next to their parked cars.