The first time Nat Greene caught a wave, he was just 12 years old, on a family vacation in Canada. When he returned home to Somerville, Massachusetts, he pestered his parents for his own surfboard. Summers were soon spent surfing the shores of Rhode Island, while winters had him competing as a snowboarder in New Hampshire.
However, knee injuries eventually sidelined his athletic pursuits, and his older brother's struggle with drug addiction added to his uncertainty about his future. Seeking a new direction, Nat enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2009. He served as a legal clerk and deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, frequently flying aboard Ospreys between Camp Leatherneck and Camp Bastion to draft legal documents for captured detainees.
On September 14, 2012, Nat survived a life-altering Taliban attack on Camp Bastion that killed two Marines and destroyed eight Harrier jets. A rocket-propelled grenade hit a nearby jet fuel bladder, igniting a fire that raged throughout the night. As a result of the attack, Nat was diagnosed with chronic sinusitis, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression.
After his service, Nat returned to Camp Pendleton in San Diego, where he
rediscovered his love for surfing, finding the ocean to be a sanctuary.
"Surfing is a lot like snowboarding because it demands total concentration," Nat explained.
"Riding lines of consequence on a snowboard is similar to surfing six-to-eight-foot waves. Out there in the ocean, your mind has nowhere else to be. Everything else falls away, and you're one with the water."
Nat now surfs on a custom board from One More Wave, tailored to his needs.
Beyond helping him catch more waves, the board's design makes him smile. "I showed it to someone, and they said it looked like the Guy Fieri special," Nat laughed. "It's got blue rails like the Marines' dress blue pants, a scarlet red top inlay, and gold flames down the middle."
Today, Nat can often be found surfing in San Diego, where he's a proud
member of the Camp Pendleton Surf Club. Surfing remains his therapy,
offering him peace and healing from his past.