In surfing, what does a “goofy-foot” stance mean?

In surfing, a goofy-foot stance means riding with the right foot forward.

A surfer’s stance describes which foot is placed toward the nose of the board. Goofy-foot surfers put the right foot near the front and the left foot near the tail, while regular-foot surfers use the opposite arrangement. Both stances are normal and neither provides an inherent advantage.

The term’s origin is commonly associated with Disney’s 1937 animated short Hawaiian Holiday, which showed the character Goofy surfing with his right foot forward. However, the exact route by which the expression entered surfing vocabulary is not completely documented.

Stance is different from wave direction. A surfer can ride either left-breaking or right-breaking waves in a goofy or regular stance, although the positioning changes whether the surfer faces toward or away from the wave face.