Brilliant in the Breeze

Every sport has its heroes, those who dominate a certain time period. But in some cases, there is one name that transcends every era, every discipline, every detail. In windsurfing, that name is Robby Naish. Not only is Naish the best-known name in windsurfing – he was also a pioneer of kiteboarding and continues to be a leading innovator, having set a world speed record in 2003.

Surf seems to be in the Naish genes. Rick, the Naish patriarch, was featured in the very first issue of Surfer Magazine, and when he and his family moved from California to Hawaii in 1968, the kids thrived on the wind and waves. In 1974, young Robby teamed with his brother Randy to win the state catamaran championship. By 1975, Robby switched focus to windsurfing – a sport that was just beginning to catch on in Oahu. Just one year later, he took the world title. At 13, Robby Naish was windsurfing’s youngest World Champion, but his career hadn’t begun to peak.

A legend of sport

For six more years, Naish dominated amateur windsurfing, winning the World Championships again in 1977, 1978 and 1979 before he even turned pro. In 1979, his family launched Naish Hawaii, which would become the leading windsurfing outfit in the world. At the height of his competitive career, Naish appeared in more than 30 countries each year. In 1983 and again in 1984, he swept all four Pro World Tour titles, (waveriding, slalom, overall, and championships) and won the overall every year through 1987. A total of 23 world windsurfing crowns put him into the Laureus World Sports Academy’s Global Legends of Sport.

Kiteboarding between Oahu and Maui

Naish has been a true watersports ambassador. He has a powerful style that galvanized the world audience. In the 1990s, he translated his dedication and charisma to the newly developing discipline of kiteboarding. “In 1998, kiteboarding just started to develop. The gear barely worked. The first year was intense equipment development. We kind of made it legit,” he recalls. That was an exciting period for Naish, traveling back and forth between Oahu’s perfect conditions and Maui, where Naish Hawaii was established. “It was something different. It was an extension of windsurfing and surfing, which are what my life is about. Kiteboarding extended your time on the water when conditions weren’t perfect. If there wasn’t enough wind or crappy surf, you could still go ride,” he explains.

Naish immediately won the kiteboarding world slalom title in 1998 and the world titles in both slalom and jumping in 1999. But more importantly, he was intrigued by the kite’s possibilities. A kiteboarding sail lofts 100 feet above the board, catching wind that can tow the rider to huge waves with incredible velocity. Naish had always been on the cutting edge of windsurfing, and he applied the same innovation to kiteboarding: challenging himself and others to take the sport from local novelty to global popularity. He melded Naish Hawaii into Naish Sails to develop kites, revolutionizing the technology and materials to bring kiteboarding to the forefront.

Limits of speed

Naish also spearheaded Naish Speed Parties – a series of events designed to engage amateur sailors in GPS speed sailing – and www.naish.tv.

“Naish.tv is a site designed to provide constantly updated short action films of Naish team riders,” he reports, “windsurfing and kiteboarding footage – everything from killer sessions at unique spots to profiles, how to’s, and more.”

In addition, he has been developing equipment that tests the limits of speed, often conducting tests himself. Having set a kiteboard speed record in Arinaga, Gran Canaria, in 2003, Naish would love to see a kite surpass the current world sailing speed record and break the 50-knot (nearly 60mph) barrier in the process. “The kite speed record is slowly creeping up, and will soon be right up there with the outright sailing record,” he predicts.

Another major project is a film that Naish and fellow waveriders Levi Siver, Jason Polakow, and Kai Lenny have been shooting in Hawaii, Fiji, and other locations. “It’s called ‘The Windsurfing Movie’, and it’ll showcase where the sport of windsurfing wave sailing is today,” Naish explains. Poor Boyz Productions expects to premier the film in France this May.

New direction, same speed

Naish and his crew have been getting back to a grassroots approach, showing up at beaches unannounced to promote kiteboarding and windsurfing. He’s stepped back from speed and competition. This year, he’s been very focused on waveriding and development of gear.

His schedule has been hectic and he just had a daughter, Christina Katherine Kaiulani Naish. “Having a new baby has been awesome. I try not to let it change things too much. I’m one of these guys who are perpetually trying not to grow up. As people get older, their priorities change. You let other things into your life, but you never let them consume you. This will keep me young,” he says. While Naish’s life may be changing, neither it, nor he, is slowing down.