The 17-YO Dominating Cape Solander
Kash Brown Stars in 'Young Younger'

Who dared make Nate Florence scream?

If you can summon the memory of April, the last notable swell to hit the east coast of Australia, you’ll probably recall a certain paddle wave at Solander.

In a lineup that consisted of Nate Florence, Kipp Caddy, the Mad Hueys, and a flotilla of jet skis, all mingling with 30-odd underground lunatics from Cronulla to Maroubra, it was 16-year-old Kash Brown who managed to pluck the paddle wave of the swell.

“I was just in the flow, and I was feeling a bit cheeky,” says Kash. “And then that one came through, and I just put the head down. I remember air-dropping, and It felt like I was jumping off a cliff. I stuck it, then just pulled up into all this mist. I thought I was going to fall the whole wave. Then, somehow, I ended up getting blown out of it with jelly legs, right into Nate Florence. He was frothing, which was pretty sick. Definitely the wave of my life.”

The wave features in Young, Younger, the latest SEOTY entry to land on the site. But that’s just one chapter. Kash is building a full library of tricks, and his brother Zai has been taking notes on the alarming rate of his progression. 

“He was doing little snaps with me two years ago. Now he’s popping full rotes over my head.”

For context, Kash is 17 now. Former Cronulla Boardriders champ, ditched school a year or so ago, but not without a plan. He and his mate set up a gardening and lawn-mowing business, which he runs with highly intellectual precision, scheduling it around swells. 

“I pretty much just surf and fish. No waves, fish. Waves, surf. It’s very simple.”

“I just love chasing swells around home,” says Kash. “I’m doing comps on the side, but mostly, I just like getting barrelled with my mates.” 

It’s an interesting moment in time, to seek surfing as a profession. One one hand, there’s more paths than you can count — vlogging, comps, YouTube tutorials, hosting mid-morning matcha latte raves at your surf retreat. Each one a thrill, sure, but none of them dropping anything solid into your pockets. 

But Kash has the temperament to succeed — understated, self-aware, and with a natural humility that makes him easy to like.

“He’s such a good cunt,” says Stace Galbraith. “We just took him to G-Land with Hughie, and it was super interesting to see the dynamic. Hughie’s super young too, but he’s the king at the moment. But just watching Kash find his role in the team, and be the grom — he actually ended up with the better waves.” 

Stace reckons this is due to his “happy-go-lucky attitude” — grateful to be there, without expecting anything. The universe rewarded him accordingly. 

“Sometimes it works out like that,” says Stace. “Kash understood his role on the trip, and what he brought to the team. It’s funny, because Hughie’s still a grom too. Both of them are super cool, calm, and collected. I reckon we’re going to see a lot more of those two together in the future.”

When I called Kash last week, funnily enough, he was back on the rocks at Solander.

“How’s it looking?” I asked.

“Scary. No one’s paddling. Noa and Russel tried earlier, but didn’t catch a single one.”

“What you reckon? You gonna hit it?”

“It’s looking a bit deadly,” he says. “People are getting towed into death sentences. I just watched some dude take three wash-throughs to the head. Didn’t look too great.”

A slight pause.

“But I’m keen. I want to try and paddle one. If I get one wave today, I’ll be frothing.”

Watch Kash in Young, Younger above.