Surfing culture is still very much alive. It's just that with growth, it's no longer only the beach bums. I work pretty close to Venice, and have polled the surfers there before, and it's definitely no-where close to 50+% "well-paid workers in corporate america." It's closer to 25% corporate workers, about half people who live/breathe/work surfing, and the remainder an odd mix of everyone else.