#49: TAJ BURROW
SURFER Celebrates the 50 Greatest Surfers of All Time
What makes Taj Burrow one of the greatest surfers of all time? Versatility. He’s got everything. His critics used to say he couldn’t surf big waves. But he charges in big waves. I know because I co-own a Jet Ski with him. I’ve seen him do it.
At the same time, he’s an electric small-wave surfer—easily the best in the world.
His career trajectory has surprised me a little bit. His videos were groundbreaking, but they may have cost him a world title or two. Anyone who has made a movie knows how taxing it is on you, personally and mentally. But both those films were so important to surfing’s evolution. In Montaj and Sabotaj, Taj really pushed it to the next level of consistent aerial maneuvers. He proved that he can do the most radical things we can imagine, on any wave he wants.
On Tour, Taj is an all-around performer. He was one of the first aerialists who could turn a 4-point ride into an 8-point ride with one big maneuver. And that was what he did, consistently. Taj was the Dane and Jordy before those guys came along. To this day, he is the only person to qualify for the World Tour and turn it down. So it’s obvious that Taj was really confident from a very early age, confident that he would be a World Title contender and that he would make a statement. He’s held true to both those assumptions.
You have to remember that when Mick Fanning won his world title in 2007, Taj came second and Kelly Slater came third. Kelly is obviously the greatest surfer of all time, and for anyone to beat Kelly in a title race says something about his ability as a competitor.
Taj is one of the most competitive people I know, he’s competitive in everything he does. But he’s so much more than a competitor; he’s just a great surfer. It’s impossible to pinpoint a “wow moment” with Taj, because there’s one every time I surf with him. Taj probably kept me on tour five years longer than I would have been. When your sparring partner is as talented as Taj is, it pushes you. I know it pushed me.
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READER COMMENTS
Fri Sep 4, 2009, 4:19 AM
49th! should be top 20
Mon Sep 7, 2009, 9:10 AM
"But he charges in big waves. I know because I co-own a Jet Ski with him. I’ve seen him do it"-that kind of says it all doesn't it? Not, "I saw him paddle out alone at 15ft Margaret's bombie or macking Boatramps" rather-he charges in big waves with a jet ski. Awesome.
Sun Sep13, 2009, 4:32 AM
Aloha Taj. I remember sharing this peak one time at Ehukai with him, solid local scale 4ft. We pretty had this peak to ourselves for like 1/2 hour. The rights just drained and Taj was busting not only the fastest and highest that day anywhere along the N. Shore, he did um with the most POWER. All his weight was exactly in the right place from his bottom turn to his landing, and his timing was flawless. His airs (and fins free snaps) are so DELIBERATE and PERFECT that they actually inadvertantly become POWERFUL, since no speed or weight was wasted. Frickin amazing!
Sat Sep19, 2009, 10:55 PM
with limited exposure, i can concur with Dave. i think video is a little deceptive and makes TB look a bit gimmicky. like Dave, i saw TB surfing live in a contest once. his surfing seemed faster and more committed than everyone else, using the whole plane shape of his board rather than depending on his rail or tail. it is difficult for me to explain but what Dave expressed I sensed also.
Wed Oct14, 2009, 5:43 PM
Taj should definitely be higher then 49 in my opinion.