Nathan Fletcher is one of the most prominent and influential surfers in the world. His choice of equipment and pushing limits beyond boundaries in big waves is an inspiration to many surfers around the world. However, during his initial years as a pro surfer, Fletcher struggled on both professional and personal fronts. Let’s learn about those. 

Fletcher comes from a family of surfers. His older brother Christian, father Herbie, and aunt Joyce Hoffman have all individually earned laurels in the said discipline. Fletcher was born in San Clemente, California, but lived in Capistrano Beach. He had been frequenting Hawaii from when he was 8 years old. His interest in surfing started from there. 

The duality of Nathan Fletcher’s professional fame and personal struggles

Fletcher mainly became a household name in surfing after the 1998 Gotcha Pro competitions in Tahiti. The world became aware of this genius surfer, who not only innovated with board design but also through fin design. However, at the same time, Fletcher had to deal with problems in his personal life.

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Fletcher was going through a mid-life crisis, his first, right around the same time as the Gotcha Pro in 98’ in Tahiti. His decisions and the choices to make, between working on his personal life or building a professional life, started to consume his mind. This was the start of his pro career and it ended up costing him his most dear things. 

Fletcher was going through a divorce from his wife, and that ended up costing him a lot. He said, “I lost my wife, lost my house, lost everything, and moved into my van, started getting paid by Gotcha and this is how my first two years in Pro Surfing was”. 

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Nathan Fletcher started working for his dad, packing boxes for a living. The initial years of any career are hard to make a living off of, and pro surfing isn’t any different. The money he earned off the packing work really went a long way in supporting his original dream of being a Pro Surfer. 

As a young groom, Nathan Fletcher braved troubled waters in his personal and professional life

Fletcher was married at a young age and he made the decision to go to Tahiti Gotcha Pro very soon. The waves of Tahiti are as gnarly as they get. Hence, as a young married man, going through his personal troubles, Fletcher managed to chart those big waves and impress everyone with his performance.  

While packing boxes, one of his co-workers told Fletcher, “She is mistaking your kindness for weakness”, making a remark about his wife, having heard Fletcher’s ordeal. Fletcher believes he was in a dark, depressing place, and going surfing everywhere around gave him a much-required distraction whilst also providing him with comfort and solace. 

Nathan Fletcher suffered a life-threatening injury in 2009 and the lifeguards had to drag him out of the water. According to Fletcher, this was also the beginning of his healing process. It gave him time to look back and think about everything that went wrong. 

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Fletcher has definitely come a long way from his van-dwelling days. At 47 years old, he looks physically healthy and a calm person, ready to share details about his life. But personal struggles often leave behind mental scars. Do they ever go away?