Wright, Owen (1990 – )

Rangy, unflappable pro surfer from New South Wales, Australia; world-ranked #3 in 2011; “When it comes to competing he has balls like watermelons,” said surf blogger Steve Nug. “If he drew Jesus of Nazareth in a heat he’d probably shrug.”

Wright was born (1990) in Culburra, to a plumber father who was also a hardcore surfer, and began riding waves when he was seven. At age nine Wright took his first trip to Bali, and sampled the high-speed reef waves of Uluwatus. By 14, the elastic goofyfoot...