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

If you spot your parents here, fun dinnertime conversation!

By
Pia Peterson
by Pia Peterson

BuzzFeed News Photo Editor

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.


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