Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Robert Harold "Nat" Young
Source:
Robert Harold "Nat" Young (born November 17, 1947) is an Australian surfer and author.
Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Young grew up in the small coastal suburb of Collaroy. In 1964, he was runner-up in the Australian junior championship at Manly, and two years later was named world surfing champion in 1966. He won the title again (then called the Smirnoff World Pro/Am) in 1970. Young won three Australian titles in 1966, 1967 and 1969, and won the Bells Beach Surf Classic a record four times. Since retiring from professional surfing, Young has written several books about surfing and sailboarding in Australia. His son Beau has also seen some success in the sport, winning the World Longboard title in 2000.
In 2000, Young was a victim of 'surf rage' when he was severely bashed on his home break of Angourie after a long-running feud and heated altercation with another local surfer. During his recovery he wrote a book titled Surf Rage, calling for greater tolerance and mutual respect in the surfing community, although Young admitted he had acted aggressively during his career (where he had earned the nickname "The Animal"), and had acted provocatively towards his attacker, who he met and forgave several months after the incident.
Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Young grew up in the small coastal suburb of Collaroy. In 1964, he was runner-up in the Australian junior championship at Manly, and two years later was named world surfing champion in 1966. He won the title again (then called the Smirnoff World Pro/Am) in 1970. Young won three Australian titles in 1966, 1967 and 1969, and won the Bells Beach Surf Classic a record four times. Since retiring from professional surfing, Young has written several books about surfing and sailboarding in Australia. His son Beau has also seen some success in the sport, winning the World Longboard title in 2000.
In 2000, Young was a victim of 'surf rage' when he was severely bashed on his home break of Angourie after a long-running feud and heated altercation with another local surfer. During his recovery he wrote a book titled Surf Rage, calling for greater tolerance and mutual respect in the surfing community, although Young admitted he had acted aggressively during his career (where he had earned the nickname "The Animal"), and had acted provocatively towards his attacker, who he met and forgave several months after the incident.
Fausto Intilla
Joel Tudor
Source:
Joel Tudor is a world famous longboard surfer from San Diego, California.
He started out in skateboarding and, while in his early teens, gained both recognition and sponsorship for this. On the water, his apparently effortless skill saw him win his first professional ASP competition at age 14. Unlike the vast majority of his contemporaries who were riding only modern short surfboards, he also rode the out-of-fashion longboard, and it was the longboard that catapulted him to worldwide fame in his mid-teens. His reputation was such that, when he was on a break, other surfers would sometimes leave the water to watch his silky mastery of such skills as nose-riding ("hanging five" and "hanging ten" - riding with the toes of one or both feet hanging over the nose of the board[1]). Admiration of Tudor was a major factor in the longboard revival of the 1990s.
Despite wide recognition as the doyen of modern longboard riders, and regularly competing in the longboard world championships, it took seven attempts before he finally won this event in the Canary Islands in 1998.
Joel now has his own surfboard manufacturing company, as well as selling wetsuits in Japan.
Due to his skill on both longboards and shortboards, on big waves and small, Tudor is widely considered to be one of the best surfers alive, and is also known for being unusually open-minded with regard to the diverse equipment that can be used for wave riding.
Fausto Intilla
www.oloscience.com
Shaun Tomson
Source:Shaun Tomson was born on August 21, 1955 in Durban, South Africa. He is considered one of the world's most significant surfers and was the 1977 world champion. He first gained notoriety while surfing at Jeffery's Bay.
He currently lives in Montecito, CA and is active with the The Surfrider Foundation. He is involved with his family clothing venture, Solitude.
Son Mathew died on April 24th, 2006 in Durban, South Africa from an accidental death caused by playing the "choking game."
He currently lives in Montecito, CA and is active with the The Surfrider Foundation. He is involved with his family clothing venture, Solitude.
Son Mathew died on April 24th, 2006 in Durban, South Africa from an accidental death caused by playing the "choking game."
Fausto Intilla
Rell Kapolioka'ehukai Sunn
Source:Rell Kapolioka'ehukai Sunn (1950 – January 2, 1998 in Mākaha, Hawai'i) was an American world surfing champion. Known as "Queen of Makaha" and "Aunty Rell," she was a pioneer in the world of women's surfing.
Rell Sunn was born in Makaha on Oahu in 1950, the fourth of Elbert and Roen Sunn's five children. Her father Elbert is Chinese, and her mother Roen is Hawaiian-Irish. Her Hawaiian middle name, Ka-polioka'ehukai, means Heart of the Sea.
Sunn started surfing at age 4 at Makaha, and was entering competitive surf meets by the age of 14. At the time, not all surfing competitions has women's divisions, in which case she would enter the contest and compete successfully against her male counterparts.[1]
Sunn was a pioneer in women's competitive surfing and water sports. She became Hawaii's first female lifeguard in 1977. In 1975, Sunn was one of the original members of the first women's professional surfing tour. Faced with what they saw as frustrating inequities between male and female surfers, Sunn, along with other female surfers, founded the Women's Professional Surfing Association in 1979.[2] She also founded the Women's Surfing Hui (organization) in Hawaii. In 1982, she ranked first in the international professional surfing ratings.
In 1982, during a pro surf meet in Huntington Beach, California, Sunn felt a lump in her breast which turned out to be breast cancer. When she was diagnosed in 1983, her prognosis was for one year. Sunn continued to surf everyday after her diagnosis, despite the pain and chemotherapy associated with the disease.
Following her diagnosis, Sunn became a radio disc jockey and surf reporter, a physical therapist at a Waianae care home, and a counselor at a cancer research center[1]. She helped pilot a program for breast cancer awareness at the Wai’anae Cancer Research Center that involved educating local women about the causes and prevention of breast cancer.
During the next 14 years, her cancer went into remission three times, and she underwent a mastectomy and a bone marrow transplant.
Sunn died on January 3, 1998. Over 3,000 people attended her memorial service, where her ashes were scattered in the ocean off Makaha.
Sunn was married three times, most recently to Dave Parmenter in 1995. She has one daughter, Jan (who is married to Tony Kaumana), and two grandchildren, Kamalani and Caiden Kaumana.
In August 1996, Sunn was honored with a granite stone on the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame.
In 1997, an award-winning documentary about her life titled Heart of the Sea was filmed by filmmakers Charlotte Lagarde and Lisa Denker.
Fausto Intilla
www.oloscience.com
Mike Stewart
Source:
Mike Stewart (1963 - ) is a nine time World Champion bodyboarder, one of the early pioneers of the bodyboarding sport, a pioneer of big-wave tow-in surfing and also a champion bodysurfer.
He was the former undisputed number one bodyboarder in the world, prior to the establishment of the World Tour. Having ridden bodyboards since the inception of the sport he is one of the most experienced bodyboarders currently in the tour.
He has won the annual Banzai Pipeline line event a record 11 times, from which 8 earned him the world title, and has been crowned the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic champion a record 10 times. He is the only bodyboarder to have been competing in the Banzai Pipeline event since 1982.
He has received the title Mister Pipeline for being the best wave rider of any kind, the only non stand-up surfer to achieve this title.
He is father to two kids and lives in Oahu with his family.
Fausto Intilla
www.oloscience.com
Mark Richards
Source:
Mark Richards (born 7 March 1957), known as MR, is an Australian surfer, four times world champion (1979-1982), and highly respected by his peers.
Richards was born and grew up in Newcastle, son of Ray and Val Richards, both keen beachgoers. They worked at the Wire Rope Works, Ray Richards as an account, but he wanted more than that career could offer and started a business selling second-hand cars, at a time when new cars were too expensive for most people. Together they setup a showroom at the end of Hunter St and lived in an apartment above it.
In the late 1950s Ray saw the new balsa and fibreglass mailbu surfboards, which Greg Noll and other visiting Californians had brought with them in 1956. The new boards were shorter and more manoeuvrable than the solid timber boards used until then. He bought himself one, and when he saw how much it impressed people he made a decision to branch into selling them too, buying from early manufacturers in Sydney. So the business came a combination car yard and surf shop, and in time the cars gave way to the surfboards and it became a dedicated surf shop, one of the first in Australia.
So when Mark was born in 1957 he was always around surfboards, growing up with surf-o-planes and pint-sized longboards. He learnt to surf in gentle waves at Blacksmiths Beach, about 15 minutes south of Newcastle, a beach partly sheltered by the breakwater on the northern side of the entrance to Lake Macquarie. The family also went to Rainbow Bay on Queensland's Gold Coast for holidays, where he surfed Snapper Rocks. He was also very keen on cricket when young.
Richards surfed many junior competitions around Australia, taking time off school to go in some cases. He also made trips to Hawaii for winter on the North Shore as a teenager. The highlight of his junior career was a win at Margaret River in 1973.
In mid 1973 Richards father allowed him to leave school mid-way through fifth form, to pursue surfing. Anyone could leave after fourth form, but that was usually to take up an apprenticeship. To leave for surfing was radical at a time when surfers were regarded as long-haired layabouts. The deal with his father was that if it didn't work out in a year then he had to get a trade.
In the late 1950s Ray saw the new balsa and fibreglass mailbu surfboards, which Greg Noll and other visiting Californians had brought with them in 1956. The new boards were shorter and more manoeuvrable than the solid timber boards used until then. He bought himself one, and when he saw how much it impressed people he made a decision to branch into selling them too, buying from early manufacturers in Sydney. So the business came a combination car yard and surf shop, and in time the cars gave way to the surfboards and it became a dedicated surf shop, one of the first in Australia.
So when Mark was born in 1957 he was always around surfboards, growing up with surf-o-planes and pint-sized longboards. He learnt to surf in gentle waves at Blacksmiths Beach, about 15 minutes south of Newcastle, a beach partly sheltered by the breakwater on the northern side of the entrance to Lake Macquarie. The family also went to Rainbow Bay on Queensland's Gold Coast for holidays, where he surfed Snapper Rocks. He was also very keen on cricket when young.
Richards surfed many junior competitions around Australia, taking time off school to go in some cases. He also made trips to Hawaii for winter on the North Shore as a teenager. The highlight of his junior career was a win at Margaret River in 1973.
In mid 1973 Richards father allowed him to leave school mid-way through fifth form, to pursue surfing. Anyone could leave after fourth form, but that was usually to take up an apprenticeship. To leave for surfing was radical at a time when surfers were regarded as long-haired layabouts. The deal with his father was that if it didn't work out in a year then he had to get a trade.
At the end of 1974 Richards returned to Hawaii for the North Shore winter. This was his fourth trip, and his first taste of really big waves. He got a late entry into a contest at Waimea Bay, and did well enough on the first day of competition to make the semi-finals the next day. That day the surf had jumped and 30 foot cleanup sets were closing out the Bay. Even local big wave riders were saying it was too big to compete. Organiser and 1968 world title holder Fred Hemmings had other ideas; with sunshine, offshore winds and television coverage he threatened to go out himself if nobody else wanted to.
Richards made a decision to go. At 17 years old and without Waimea experience nobody would have thought less of him if he didn't, but he felt to walk away would end his hopes of surfing professionally, and put him back in Newcastle at some unappealling apprenticeship. He went with survival uppermost in his mind, and reckoned his first wave twice as big as anything he'd surfed before. By the end of the heat he was game enough on the monsters to actually bottom turn, yet was glad not to reach the final and have to go back out. In time he came to enjoy big waves, without being regarded as a big-wave specialist.
Image was important for Richards, and in 1975 he had Hawaiian artist Albert Dove design a superman-style badge with "MR" inscribed in it. He used that logo on all his boards and wetsuits for most of his career.
Richards was interested in twin-fin surfboards and in shaping. At the Surfabout in 1976 he saw Reno Abellira on a highly manoeuvrable twin-fin fish and thought something like that would be better than a single-fin for small waves. Back in Hawaii again for the 1976/77 winter, aged 19, he took his father's suggestion to pay for shaping lessons from noted pioneer Dick Brewer. It meant Richards was able to put his thoughts about design into actual foam. He credits Brewer for the style of shaping he came to use.
Brewer made Richards a twin-fin, and Richards took aspects of that and Abellira's fish for his own designs. The result was boards faster and more manoeuvrable than the single-fins of the day.
Richards made a decision to go. At 17 years old and without Waimea experience nobody would have thought less of him if he didn't, but he felt to walk away would end his hopes of surfing professionally, and put him back in Newcastle at some unappealling apprenticeship. He went with survival uppermost in his mind, and reckoned his first wave twice as big as anything he'd surfed before. By the end of the heat he was game enough on the monsters to actually bottom turn, yet was glad not to reach the final and have to go back out. In time he came to enjoy big waves, without being regarded as a big-wave specialist.
Image was important for Richards, and in 1975 he had Hawaiian artist Albert Dove design a superman-style badge with "MR" inscribed in it. He used that logo on all his boards and wetsuits for most of his career.
Richards was interested in twin-fin surfboards and in shaping. At the Surfabout in 1976 he saw Reno Abellira on a highly manoeuvrable twin-fin fish and thought something like that would be better than a single-fin for small waves. Back in Hawaii again for the 1976/77 winter, aged 19, he took his father's suggestion to pay for shaping lessons from noted pioneer Dick Brewer. It meant Richards was able to put his thoughts about design into actual foam. He credits Brewer for the style of shaping he came to use.
Brewer made Richards a twin-fin, and Richards took aspects of that and Abellira's fish for his own designs. The result was boards faster and more manoeuvrable than the single-fins of the day.
By 1979 Richards reckoned his career as shaping primarily, and just competing at home in Australia and in Hawaii where he would go for the northern winter anyway.
In Australia that year he had a strong win at the Stubbies, and another strong win in small waves at Bells Beach, but couldn't make a clean sweep at the Surfabout (relocated to Bells that year). The tour went to Niijima in Japan, the first time tour events had been held in Japan. Richards was not focused on title ratings points and might not have gone except he had a Japanese sponsor. In four events there in small waves Richards got a 1st, a 2nd and two 5ths, which put him well in the ratings lead.
Richards didn't go to the two-event South African leg, instead returning to Australia to make boards. Past world title winners hadn't reaped any great financial reward, so he reckoned he was better off putting his shaping first. So going into the last two events in Hawaii his lead had evaporated.
Richards came 4th in the Pipeline Masters, which advanced him against Wayne Bartholomew and Cheyne Horan when they made early exits. Then at the World Cup at Haleiwa fortune smiled on him in good 6-8 foot swell. Bartholomew went out early, and another contender Dane Keoloha made a tactical error of waiting for big sets which didn't come and was out. It came down to the final, which was Peter Townend against Richards. If Townend won then Horan got the world title, and if Richards won then he got it.
In that final the two jostled for the inside position, both stubborn and wasting time out well past the break. His girlfriend (later wife) Jenny Jobson had arrived in Hawaii just in time for the final and thought he was going to be so stubborn that he'd give up the title rather than give up the inside. Finally Richards reckoned he was not in the lead and had to get some waves. He was so nervous he fell on a couple, but in the end did enough to take the win and take the title he hadn't even intended competing for.
The title presentation was in Haleiwa, and consisted only of a Rolex watch and a plaque with a Pan Am logo. But Surfing magazine gave him the honour of a head-shot on the cover instead of their normal action shot, commissioned from rock photographer Norman Seef in Los Angeles.
For 1980 Richards changed his strategy, and set out deliberately to get a second world title, doing the full tour. Although he'd won the ratings in 1979 he wasn't universally thought the best surfer, with Dane Kealoha reckoned the best by many. Richards was also competing against Wayne Bartholomew, Cheyne Horan and Peter Townend. In the end his results were very strong and took the 1980 title by a record number of points, and ended the season as the surfer against whom others were judged.
Richards won in 1981 and 1982 too, with his chief rival being Cheyne Horan.
In 1982 Richards' main sponsor, Lightning Bolt, suddenly dropped him. The reason was a mystery, he'd just won his fourth world title and was at the peak of his popularity, but they declined to renew for another year. The Lightning Bolt Australia division reckoned that treatment shabby and signed him up for several years. It turned out the parent company was in severe financial trouble, and it in fact folded, putting most of its Hawaiian staff out of work.
Right through Richards' career his parents went with him to see him compete, within Australia at least. They preferred sitting in among the crowd, no doubt a little out of place among the teenagers and surfie types, even though they would have been welcome in the VIP areas. Richards and his parents were close and he would celebrate a win by having a meal with them, a marked contrast to surf and party animals of the time.
In Australia that year he had a strong win at the Stubbies, and another strong win in small waves at Bells Beach, but couldn't make a clean sweep at the Surfabout (relocated to Bells that year). The tour went to Niijima in Japan, the first time tour events had been held in Japan. Richards was not focused on title ratings points and might not have gone except he had a Japanese sponsor. In four events there in small waves Richards got a 1st, a 2nd and two 5ths, which put him well in the ratings lead.
Richards didn't go to the two-event South African leg, instead returning to Australia to make boards. Past world title winners hadn't reaped any great financial reward, so he reckoned he was better off putting his shaping first. So going into the last two events in Hawaii his lead had evaporated.
Richards came 4th in the Pipeline Masters, which advanced him against Wayne Bartholomew and Cheyne Horan when they made early exits. Then at the World Cup at Haleiwa fortune smiled on him in good 6-8 foot swell. Bartholomew went out early, and another contender Dane Keoloha made a tactical error of waiting for big sets which didn't come and was out. It came down to the final, which was Peter Townend against Richards. If Townend won then Horan got the world title, and if Richards won then he got it.
In that final the two jostled for the inside position, both stubborn and wasting time out well past the break. His girlfriend (later wife) Jenny Jobson had arrived in Hawaii just in time for the final and thought he was going to be so stubborn that he'd give up the title rather than give up the inside. Finally Richards reckoned he was not in the lead and had to get some waves. He was so nervous he fell on a couple, but in the end did enough to take the win and take the title he hadn't even intended competing for.
The title presentation was in Haleiwa, and consisted only of a Rolex watch and a plaque with a Pan Am logo. But Surfing magazine gave him the honour of a head-shot on the cover instead of their normal action shot, commissioned from rock photographer Norman Seef in Los Angeles.
For 1980 Richards changed his strategy, and set out deliberately to get a second world title, doing the full tour. Although he'd won the ratings in 1979 he wasn't universally thought the best surfer, with Dane Kealoha reckoned the best by many. Richards was also competing against Wayne Bartholomew, Cheyne Horan and Peter Townend. In the end his results were very strong and took the 1980 title by a record number of points, and ended the season as the surfer against whom others were judged.
Richards won in 1981 and 1982 too, with his chief rival being Cheyne Horan.
In 1982 Richards' main sponsor, Lightning Bolt, suddenly dropped him. The reason was a mystery, he'd just won his fourth world title and was at the peak of his popularity, but they declined to renew for another year. The Lightning Bolt Australia division reckoned that treatment shabby and signed him up for several years. It turned out the parent company was in severe financial trouble, and it in fact folded, putting most of its Hawaiian staff out of work.
Right through Richards' career his parents went with him to see him compete, within Australia at least. They preferred sitting in among the crowd, no doubt a little out of place among the teenagers and surfie types, even though they would have been welcome in the VIP areas. Richards and his parents were close and he would celebrate a win by having a meal with them, a marked contrast to surf and party animals of the time.
For 1983 and following years Richards chose not to defend his title, and to travel and compete less, due to back troubles and the pressure of being on top. It turned out he was unable to compete for 1982 anyway, an ankle injury on a big day at home at Dixon Park kept him on dry land for five months.
Richards had suffered back problems throughout his career. His legs were a little shorter and trunk a little longer than usual which meant that he tended to pivot not at the hips but a couple of vertebrae up, straining the ligaments surrounding them. He reckoned a poor diet and lack of stretching or exercise (apart from surfing) hadn't helped either.
His back had developed a reverse curvature, with the lower vertebrae sticking out noticeably. He required regular physiotherapy to keep it mobile, and in later years it worsened to the point of making him something of a weekend surfer, since too much would aggravate it, obviously a very frustrating situation for a surfer.
Today Richards still lives in Newcastle with his wife and three children and runs the Mark Richards Surf Shop in Hunter St, the same shop started by his parents.
Richards had suffered back problems throughout his career. His legs were a little shorter and trunk a little longer than usual which meant that he tended to pivot not at the hips but a couple of vertebrae up, straining the ligaments surrounding them. He reckoned a poor diet and lack of stretching or exercise (apart from surfing) hadn't helped either.
His back had developed a reverse curvature, with the lower vertebrae sticking out noticeably. He required regular physiotherapy to keep it mobile, and in later years it worsened to the point of making him something of a weekend surfer, since too much would aggravate it, obviously a very frustrating situation for a surfer.
Today Richards still lives in Newcastle with his wife and three children and runs the Mark Richards Surf Shop in Hunter St, the same shop started by his parents.
Fausto Intilla
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