Rob Machado

Robert Edward Machado (born October 16, 1973) is an Australian born American professional surfer.^[1][2] Rob competed on the World Surf League Championship Tour from 1993-2001. Since then he has become a professional free surfer.^[3]

Rob Machado

Machado in 2009
Personal information
Birth name	Robert Edward Machado
Born	October 16, 1973 (1973-10-16) (age 51) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	150 lb (68 kg)
Sport
Sport	Surfing

Machado performing a cutback at Lower Trestles in Southern California

Early life

Machado attended San Dieguito High School. He describes himself in interviews, vlogs and social media as a "soul surfer," or freesurfer.^[4] He was largely active in the competitive surfing scene from 1993 to 2000, and was still competing in World Surf League events until 2012.^[5]

Career

Machado hosts and participates in an annual event held at his home reef called the Rob Machado Surf Classic and Beach Fair, which is an amateur competition for the locals of all ages, and it includes demo sessions with Machado and other pros.^{[citation needed]}

Machado portrayed "himself" in the 2007 animated picture, Surf's Up, as well as playing himself in the art film "Kingshighway - Rob Machado and Joel Tudor" by Paulo Carvalho (Kid Rio) and Danny Camp. Machado also starred in his own feature film released in the late 90s titled "Drifting". Additionally, Rob wrote and starred in the 2009 film, The Drifter.^[6]

Machado is a 2011 inductee into the Surfing Walk of Fame in Huntington Beach, California, in the surf champion category.^[7]

On December 31, 2019, Machado announced he would no longer be associated with Hurley International after having been sponsored by the surf company for nearly 20 years, due to the new ownership group's desire to cut spending.^[8] He is now sponsored by Vuori, Reef, Dragon and Firewire.^{[citation needed]} He regularly surfs in San Diego, where he has gained prominence.^[9][10][11]

Environmental activism

Machado formed the Rob Machado Foundation, an organization focused on environmental causes.^[12][13]

Career highlights

Machado has won the Hawaii's Pipeline Masters (Triple Crown of Surfing),^[14] and the U.S. Open of Surfing,^[15] the largest surfing event held on the U.S. mainland.