Dude! They say the surf is awesome in California

CALIFORNIANS really do live up to stereotypes about America’s most laid-back state - they are a bunch of tree- hugging, surfing "awesome dudes".

A new survey found that 67 per cent of Californians referred to friends as "dude", while 63 per cent said they had hugged a tree.

They were more likely than most Americans to attend wine tastings, go to barbecues and eat caviar.

Dennis Tootelian, a professor at California State University in Sacramento who conducted the survey, said: "The lifestyles of Californians have been the subject of debate and ridicule over the years, but surprisingly we do a lot of those things.

"I’ve never hugged a tree, but, come to think of it, I’ve done most of the things [in the survey questions]."

A fifth of Californians said they had taken a mudbath and 71 per cent of those said they had found the experience "awesome". A third of the residents of San Diego, commonly cited in the US as having the best climate on the globe, had been surfing.