Nat Young’s Complete History of Surfing
Legendary surfer, Nat Young, explores the development of the sport from the Hawaiian kings to the modern greats to the up-and-coming stars of the day in this deluxe new edition of his classic book on surfing.
To celebrate the release of the latest edition of Nat Young's classic book The Complete History of Surfing there will be a launch held in conjunction with the Hyundai Malfunction Surf Festival, at the Sand Bar & Grill Domain Casuarina Beach Resort 1 Barclay Drive Casuarina Beach, Friday, 25 April at 5 pm during which Nat will give a presentation about the most significant photos included in his book. Entry open to all.
This is the bible of surfing. Nat Young started writing The Complete History of Surfing in the late 1970s, simply because it had to be done. Somebody had to do it, not an outsider, someone who was involved 100%. Nothing like this had ever been attempted before, and Nat felt compelled to make it happen before all the stories and pictures disappeared.
● Surfing is an art form, a cultural statement on the state of our society as it is right now. With so many thousands of kids and older people turning on to surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding this ‘flow’ form of recreations is the number one growth activity around the world.
● The Complete History of Surfing is an exploration of the development of the sport from the Hawaiian kings to the modern greats and up-and-coming stars. It includes interviews with the likes of Duke Kahanamoku, Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning (current World Champion) and Layne Beachley.
● Packed with stunning photographs that provide a pictorial history of surfing, this is a factual account as it has developed over the past 100 years. Many of the people written about in these pages have passed away, many of the original photographs have been lost and now this book is the only record. A lot of the unique principals and values that are inherent to the surfing tribe have been preserved as a result of this book’s publication.
● The inclusion of the history of Snowboarding in the chapter From Water to Snow is an accurate portrayal of how surfers took to the mountains and the rode the snow in the same way that they rode waves. It took a surfer to invent the snowboard. No one has ever documented this linage before.
● There is a constant changing attitude in surfing and as surfing gains more and more converts, intense overcrowding in wave line-ups create a fresh set of problems. Nat believes that the only attitude to have is ‘give respect to gain respect’, so everybody can enjoy catching a wave.
● Recent history has seen an increase in hardcore alternatives such as Big Wave surfing. There has also been a phenomenal increase in numbers of women beginning to surf, and on most beaches around the world the number of girls equal the boys.
With every significant change in surfing culture that has occurred over the past 25 years, Nat Young has updated this classic book - first publishing in 1983. It continues to be a valuable contribution to surfing history.
The launch will be followed by the Domain Casuarina Beach Resort Luau Dinner, starting at 6.15 pm. Tickets are $55 per person and can be purchased from the Casuarina Office by phoning (02) 6674 9999 or 0414 569 208. The dinner will be held in the resort Courtyard next to the Conference Centre.
The Luau Dinner will be followed by Von Weirdos Surf Memorabilia Auction.
For more information about the Malfunction Surf Contest and the Luau Dinner/Von Weirdos Surf Memorabilia Auction, please contact event organiser Sean McKeown on 07 5536 9208, email sean@theislandstyle.com
NAT YOUNG IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW AND REVIEW COPIES OF THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF SURFING CAN BE OBTAINED FROM Renee Senogles at Allen & Unwin Book Publishers ph (02) 8425 0143, email renees@allenandunwin.com
The Complete History of Surfing by Nat Young is published by Allen & Unwin 4 April 2008, RRP $49.95 Hb. A media release about the book is attached.
The Hyundai Malfunction Surf Festival will celebrate all the unique facets of surfing life including the beach, music, food, art and transport.
Now in its 25th year, the 2008 Hyundai Malfunction will attract more than 300 competitors from around the world as well as a large contingent of spectators who can join in a host of events to be held out of the water. These events include the Domain Casuarina Beach Resort Art Exhibition, a Laua dinner, the Von Weirdos Surf Memorabilia Auction and the Salt Village Surf Vehicle Rally.
In the water surfers will have the chance to compete for a number of open amateur and aged divisions for traditional surfers, a leg of the ASP World Longboard Qualifying Series the Surftech Pro for Men & Women, the Golden Breed Retro day for boards constructed prior to 1981 and the Honolua Stand Up Paddle Surfing.
For registration and further event details please visit www.malfunction.com.au