Robert Staunton Naish (born April 23, 1963 in

La Jolla, San Diego, California LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

) is an American athlete and entrepreneur who has won 24 World Championship

Windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

titles. He is also considered a pioneer of

kiteboarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

and

standup paddleboarding Standup paddleboarding (SUP) is a water sport born from surfing with modern roots in Hawaii. Standup paddleboarders stand on boards that are floating on the water and use a paddle to propel themselves through the water. The sport was documen ...

. In 1976, Naish won his first world championship in windsurfing at age 13 in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

. Since then, he has been featured in films, videos, news reports, and articles. In 1996, Naish founded Naish Sails Hawaii, which manufactures and sells

sailboards Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

, sails, kitesurfing equipment, stand up paddle boards and paddles, hydrofoils,

foilboard A foilboard, also known as a hydrofoil board or foil surfboard, is a type of board used in water sports; it is distinct from surfboards in that it has a hydrofoil rather than fins mounted underneath. This hydrofoil design allows the surfboard and ...

s, and wing-surfers. In 2023 the Naish board business was sold to Kubus Sports.

Awards

* 1976 Windsurf World Champion * 24-times Windsurfing World Champion * 1998 Kiteboarding Slalom World Champion * 1999 Kiteboarding Slalom and Jumping World Champion * 2000 “Lifetime Achievement Award” and “Kiteboarder of the Year” at NEA International Sports Awards Munich, Germany * 2000 “Boarder of the Millennium” at the French Boarder Awards * 2002 PWA Hall of Fame Induction * 2012 “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the Nuit de la Glisse * 2017 National Sailing Hall of Fame * 2019 Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame Induction * 2021 Windsurfing Hall of Fame Induction * Founding Member of the Laureus World Sports Academy * 6-time Surfer of the Year (German SURF Magazine)

References

External links

Naish
Naish kites, windsurf and surfboard site
Robby Naish – The Windsurfing Podcast
windsurfing.tv, 16. September 2020
International Windsurfing Association biographyRobby Naish Red Bull
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naish, Robert 1963 births Living people American windsurfers American kitesurfers Sportspeople from Hawaii Male kitesurfers American sportsmen Windsurfing Hydrofoils Kites Surfing Laureus World Sports Awards winners 20th-century American sportsmen

Sponsors

Awards

References

External links