Crystal Thornburg

Crystal is an accomplished longboarder, but she is also an all-around ocean athlete who races outrigger canoes, competes in long-distance swims and paddleboard races, kayaks, bodysurfs and free-dives.

Biography

Born and raised in Hawaii, Crystal’s earliest memory is hanging out at the beach with her parents. Suffice it to say, Crystal was raised surfing: her dad used to push her into waves at Waikiki and by elementary school her mother was taking her to the beach to surf after school.

Crystal is an accomplished longboarder, but she is also an all-around ocean athlete who races outrigger canoes, competes in long-distance swims and paddleboard races, kayaks, bodysurfs and freedives. She cites her top three proudest moments as being one of two female competitors to bodysurf Pipeline on an eight– to ten-foot day, and being nationally ranked in Olympic flat water K1 kayaking; as well as coming in second for the women’s division in the Molokai-to-Oahu Paddleboard race.

Crystal has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Art from Chaminade University in Honolulu. She volunteers with the Audubon Society at Waimea Valley and has recently worked with other nonprofit environmental groups including Conservacion Patagonica, Save Our Seas, Kokua Hawai’i Foundation and The North Shore Community Land Trust.

Being raised by artistic parents, art has been a major part of her life. Her art – which includes ceramics, sandblasting, acrylics, watercolours, mixed-media, and photography – has been shown in art galleries and magazines around the islands. She also works closely with the Bali-based batik clothing company “Indah,” creating t-shirt designs.

Two years ago Crystal and her boyfriend, Dave Homcy, started an organic garden with the desire to bring fresh organic produce to the tables of friends and family. From then on the business of greens took off. Now called “Crave Greens” – the name was inspired by the combination of Crystal and Dave – it has become an institution on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii.

This past year and a half, she’s travelled to 15 countries to test Patagonia products. She has also been teaching English and sharing information on environmental issues to Buddhist Monks in Thailand, building a community organic garden in Laos, discovering new surf breaks and civil unrest in Liberia, and propagating and air-layering endangered plant species in Waimea Valley on Oahu.

Crystal has been featured in a variety of media, including surf feature film Sliding Liberia; Outrigger Canoe Club Magazine; Surfers Journal; Surfing Magazine; Free Surf Magazine; BBC Radio; Grind TV; Jeff Johnson’s book, Bend To Baja; Chouinard’s, Let My People Go Surfing, “Surfers For Cetaceans” El Mar Mi Alma project in Chile, Smart Magazine, Foam Magazine, and Surfline, among others.

Favourite Patagonia Products

“Women’s Serenity Tights – I wear these from the garden to dinner. The are comfy, organic, and they come in wonderful colours.

Women’s R1® Back-Zip Vest – I wear my top in Hawaii year round. I never get a rash from it. It is flexible, warm, and eco-friendly.”

Background Photo: by Scott Winer. Kohl Christensen locks into another one in a seemingly endless week of A-plus surf in Fiji.