Christian Fletcher was born on October 20, 1970, on Oahu’s North Shore, and grew up in Capistrano Beach and San Clemente. He is the son of Herbie Fletcher and Dibi Fletcher, the grandson of big-wave pioneer Walter Hoffman, and the nephew of two-time world champion Joyce Hoffman. He won his first contest at five.

He brought a skateboarder’s approach to waves and was landing airs by about 12, at a time when most surfers saw them as a fluke. When he won the Body Glove Surfbout at Lower Trestles in 1989, he showed the air could be a real, controlled move, and by 1990 he was on the covers of both big surf magazines in the same month.

On Nalu TV he grows up on screen in his father’s Wave Warriors II and Wave Warriors III, then stars in Blistering Hot, Tweak Freaks, Savage Beast, Super Natural and Stickin It, often alongside his brother Nathan and Matt Archbold.

His son Greyson carries on the family’s aerial tradition on a skateboard.