Sixth-grader Michael Jekins, 11, spins seven hula hoops around his waist at Clover Park during the 17th Annual Santa Monica Festival on Saturday, May 10, 2008. The hula hoop is an ancient invention - no modern company and no single inventor can claim that they invented the first hula hoop. The Greeks used hooping as a form of exercise. Older hoops have been made from metal, bamboo, wood, grasses, and even vines.