Paarman, Jonathan (1954 – )

Fearless wave-rider from Cape Town, South Africa; world-ranked #15 in 1976. "An awesome surfer," journalist Derek Hynd said of Paarman in 1989. "He is to the beastly waves of Cape Town what [Hawaii's] Barry Kanaiaupuni is to Sunset Beach."

Paarman was born (1954) and raised in Cape Town, one of five brothers and the son of a commercial fisherman, and began surfing at age 10. Older brother Donald Paarman was one of South Africa's original high-performance surfers and was elected to the Surfin...