Nat Young

Nat Young, born Robert Harold Young on 14 November 1947, is an Australian surfer and author. He was born in Sydney and grew up in the coastal suburb of Collaroy. In 1964 he was runner-up in the Australian junior championship at Manly, and in 1966 he was named world surfing champion. He won the Smirnoff World Pro/Am in 1970, the year Rolf Aurness took the actual world title, won Australian titles in 1966, 1967 and 1969, and took the Bells Beach Surf Classic three times. He appeared in surf films including Crystal Voyager and Ride a White Horse and had a featured role in the 1979 Australian drama film Palm Beach. He stood in the 1986 Pittwater by-election for the New South Wales Parliament and was narrowly defeated. Since retiring from professional surfing he has written several books about surfing and sailboarding in Australia, among them The History of Surfing and an autobiography. His son Beau won the World Longboard title in 2000 and 2003.