These Almost Vintage Photos Of Spring Breakers Will Make You Feel Drunk

If you spot your parents here, fun dinnertime conversation!

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In the 1990s, beach spots like Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach became hot spots for a specific type of college student — the spring breaker. Capitalizing on hot young college students in thong bikinis (style is cyclical!), the music video channel MTV set up temporary operations for a week in March 1986, broadcasting live coverage for up to eight hours a day. In a lot of ways, this coverage was a run-up to the reality shows we see now and turned into a massive production that drew throngs of students and young people looking for a good time every year. We looked back at some early photos of spring break in Florida as it turned into all-caps SPRING BREAK in the ’90s and into the 2000s.

the backsides of four women in heels and thong bikinis in front of a crowd
Nik Wheeler / Corbis via Getty Images

Competitors at a spring break bikini contest in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, circa 1985.

two men on podiums try to knock each other off with giant inflatable q tips
Pam Lockeby / AP

Jonathan Yates (left) of Daytona Beach, Florida, and Karl Rose, of Columbus, Ohio, play a jousting game during spring break activities on March 14, 2001, in Daytona Beach.

three people sitting on the back of a car with other beachgoers around them and the ocean in the background
Robert Alexander / Getty Images

College students enjoy spring break at Daytona Beach, Florida, where driving is allowed on the beach, circa April 1986.

A road with cars and people walking that is a main drag with buildings around it
Bill Kaczor / Shutterstock

Front Beach Road in Panama City Beach, Florida, with its wall-to-wall motels, condominiums, bars, arcades, restaurants, and shops, was the perfect atmosphere for college students on spring break, as photographed on March 13, 1998.

left, a woman with a beer bong surrounded by friends outside, right, one woman takes a picture of another on a beach
Bettmann / Getty Images; Robert Alexander / Getty Images

Left: College students drink beer through a funnel and tube near the pool during spring break in Palm Springs, California, circa 1985. Right: A college student photographs her friend as they enjoy spring break on the shore at Daytona Beach, Florida, in April 1986.

a young woman in a blue cutout bathing suit with a group of young men behind her taking photos next to a pool
Kevin Fleming / Corbis via Getty Images

A young woman poses for a spring break crowd during a swimsuit contest in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in an undated photo.

a man performs a strip tease on a colorful boardwalk in front of a large crowd
Steven D Starr / Corbis via Getty Images

A man lowers his underwear during a spring break competition in Daytona Beach in April 1991.

two people dance on stage in front of a huge crowd with a large inflatable MTV logo behind them
Acey Harper / Getty Images

MTV veejays Pauly Shore and Kari Wuhrer sport headscarves while dancing on an outdoor stage for a crowd of students during spring break in 1991.

two women lean back on towels photographed from behind with another group of beachgoers in the foreground
Jim Tiller / Associated Press

Le Anne Payne and Amanda Razee, both from Orlando, watch as a stream of spring breakers walk along Daytona Beach, Florida, on March 16, 1997, as thousands of college students hit the sand and surf on the world's most famous beach.

a group of shirtless young men pour beer all over each other on a beach with buildings behind them
Denver Post / Denver Post via Getty Images

Spring breakers on South Padre Island, Texas, on March 24, 1991.

a group of people walk in between rows of cars with people sitting on car roofs on a beach
Steven D Starr / Corbis via Getty Images

Crowds gather along Daytona Beach for the annual spring break festivities in spring 1991.

young men play volleyball on the beach with a row of cars behind them
Brian Myrick / Associated Press

Members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes play beach volleyball in Daytona Beach, Florida, on March 15, 1999.

a skimpily clad couple sit by a pool as the man holds the woman
Steven D Starr / Corbis via Getty Images

A couple in Daytona Beach in 1991

young people indoors wearing bathing suits handing sheets of paper to an older clothed woman
Roger Simms / Associated Press

AT&T recruiter Cherly Klein of Atlanta (right) takes résumés from college students in bathing attire during a career fair at a Radisson hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, on March 11, 1999.

A man hula hoops in the foreground while a group of shirtless young men in board shorts cheer him on with buildings in the background
Pam Lockeby / Associated Press

John Sterner, a junior from the California University of Pennsylvania, tries some moves with a hula hoop on the beach during spring break in Daytona Beach, Florida, on March 12, 2001.

three young men in sunglasses and with no shirts drink beer in front of a pool
Steven D Starr / Corbis via Getty Images

Students indulge in drinking during spring break in Daytona Beach, 1991.

two girls in bathing suits are pushed up against the window of a car as people crowd around
Eileen Marie Simoneau/KRT/ABACA, via Reuters

Megan King, 18, winces as she crams herself onto the dashboard of a Volkswagen Beetle to join 26 people in the car in a contest during spring break in Daytona Beach, Florida, on March 14, 2002.

three young men lie down and sunbathe with a pile of beach furniture behind them
Steven D Starr / Corbis via Getty Images

College students sunbathe during their spring break vacation in Daytona Beach, 1991.