The legacy Barton Lynch has built for himself within the professional surfing world over the last three decades is testament to a strong work ethic, sharp intellect and irrepressible social conscience.
Emerging from the famous breaks of Manly in Sydney’s Northern beaches his presence as a competitive force in the surfing community began with an impressive junior career. Breaking out from dominating Australian waves, Lynch flourished victory after victory across the Pro Junior, JJJ Junior and Australian Professional Surfing Association tour. With 15 years on the ASP tour and 17 WCT victories to his name, Lynch retired from competition at the end of 1997. His greatest competitive moment could not have been more perfectly scripted, as he surfed the perfect tubes of Hawaii’s famed Pipeline, to take out the 1988 Billabong Pro and the World Title. The next chapter of his life by the board and in public was just set to take off.
Lynch’s accolades bolster the range of his achievements on the surfboard and off. Receiving the Association of Surfing Professionals’ Sportsman Award (1995) and the ASP Service to the Sport Award (1997); as well as being inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame (1998), the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame (2000) and the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame (2017), Lynch is the epitome of Australian sporting success on the global stage.
A champion for disabled sportspeople and a variety of charities, Lynch’s philanthropic work has seen him establish strong partnerships with both the Surfrider Foundation and the Disabled Surfers Association for over 30 years, the latter of which Lynch is a Patron. Dedicating years to raising money and awareness of both organisations throughout the global surf community, Lynch’s work in championing such causes has been a highlight of his career. As well as his work with Surfrider and the DSA, Lynch has also been involved with projects run by the Variety Club, Waves 4 Water, SurfAid, the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern and the Humpty Dumpty Foundation. He spent 10 years on the ASP board as a surfers’ representative and a passionate advocate for surfers rights in the marketplace.
Having earned a reputation as a tactical competitor as well as a forthright and articulate spokesman for the sport, Lynch also enjoys his role as a WSL commentator regarded as ‘the voice of surfing’, he brings his wealth of knowledge to the sport for new and longtime audiences around the world.
He is also a published writer, with credits including Inside Sport, Surfing World, Japan Surfing World, Tracks Magazine and Australian Snowboarder.Founding The Surfers Group (TSG) in 1997, Lynch developed a community within the surf space that offers services specialising in high performance consultancy & coaching, Media and Event Production (BL’s Blast Off), experiential travel and more.