Peter Townend

Peter Townend (born 1953), also known as PT, is an Australian surfer and first IPS/ASP World Surfing Champion.

Early surfing years Townend, born in Coolangatta, Queensland (Australia), was considered to be one of the best surfers in the world throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Townend had an extensive résumé apart from surfing, including movie stuntman, contest organizer, writer, publisher, marketer, and coach to future champions.

Townend began surfing in 1967 and attended his first competition in 1969. By this time he was already shaping boards as well as doing promotional work for Gordon and Smith Australia and working as a UPI journalist for the Sydney Daily Mirror. He finally took a much deserved first-place victory at the Hang Ten contest in Durban, South Africa in 1979.