Robby Naish

Who is Robby Naish?

Robert Staunton Naish is one of the first athletes to have gained long-lasting international fame in the sport of windsurfing. At a young age, his father, competitive surfer and surfboard shaper Rick Naish, moved the family from California to Kailua, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It was there, at the age of 11, that Robby took up the fledgling new sport of windsurfing. Shortly thereafter, in 1976, he won his first overall World Championship title, at the age of 13.

Competing as an amateur, he went on to win successive World Championship titles from 1977 to 1979. After the emergence of the Professional Boardsailors' Association — later to become the Professional Windsurfing Association — Naish won the Overall World Champion title from 1983 to 1987, and the PWA World Champion title in 1988, 1989, and 1991. He was renowned for his 'Table Top' and 'Forward Loop' moves. Adding to his fame was his 'Longboard Loop', where he forward looped the 3.72m long Mistral Equipe.

In the nineties, branching out into new pursuits, Naish became a noted competitor in the emerging sport of kitesurfing. In 1998, he won the kiteboarding slalom world title. In 1999, he won kiteboarding world titles in both slalom and jumping.