INTERVIEW: Taj Burrow - WCT Superstar, New School Alumnus, Aerialist Supreme

SURFERMAG.COM: Sounds like it. Now it says here that this movie is a collection of short surfing films, so is there more than one film?
TAJ BURROW: No. Not really. It’s just a bunch of little sections that are all really different from each other, so it’s like they are all little films. From Ben Stiller, to Malaysia, to all sorts of other funky stuff. The ultimate is probably from the day we shot with the helicopter at home. It was one of the best days of my life. We towed for two days with really fun waves, and we had this absolute maniac of a helicopter pilot, this ex-Vietnam guy. He was just a cowboy, just the best thing in the world. He was flying the chopper so low and so close to the waves, and he was tracking with the waves and was flying sideways so the photographers could just nail the shit out of it. It was great; I think Jake Paterson and me got like 50 waves each during the shooting. Me and Jake just towed all day and we got a couple tubes and turns and everything you could ask for, and the chopper was just buzzing around getting all of it from all these different angles. And every time I nailed a good turn or a good air, I just felt like tens of thousands of people were watching. It felt like I was doing an air in one of the biggest events on the Tour ’cause I just knew the guys were up there getting it all from these unbelievable angles. No one has really shot high-performance small-wave stuff from a chopper like that, so I was just freaking out. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done. We surfed to death everyday. I was absolutely beat, but I just kept going ’cause I was so high on life. So yeah, it’s been a pretty amazing project.

SURFERMAG.COM: I’m gonna switch gears a little bit and do this word association thing. I’m gonna throw out a name and you just say the first thing that comes to mind.
TAJ BURROW: Yeah, all right.

SURFERMAG.COM: Here we go then, professional women surfers?
TAJ BURROW: Aggressive [Laughs]. They scrap more than the dudes.

SURFERMAG.COM: Your parents.
TAJ BURROW: As good as it gets. The best I could ever ask for.

SURFERMAG.COM: Pope John Paul II?
TAJ BURROW: I was just talking about this with someone before. They just laid him out dead and carried him around so everyone could check out the old dude’s dead body. That was a bit of a rattle. Give the old guy some peace [Laughs].

SURFERMAG.COM: [Laughing] What about the ASP judges?
TAJ BURROW: Uh, I’m gonna say, tough job.

SURFERMAG.COM: Groupie surf chicks?
TAJ BURROW: [Smiles] That’s a tough question ... "Almost Famous" is the first thing that comes to mind. The movie.

SURFERMAG.COM: Rap music?
TAJ BURROW: Escalade.

Pre-punt mug. Bass

SURFERMAG.COM: Tow-in surfing?
TAJ BURROW: I think big-wave adrenaline and small-wave fun.

SURFERMAG.COM: Americans?
TAJ BURROW: [Long pause] ...loud [Laughs].

SURFERMAG.COM: Longboarders?
TAJ BURROW: Lazy.

SURFERMAG.COM: Twiggy?
TAJ BURROW: Best mate. Still kicking around, and always with the boys, that’s for sure.

SURFERMAG.COM: Training? br>TAJ BURROW: Determination.

SURFERMAG.COM: Beer?
TAJ BURROW: Girth.

SURFERMAG.COM: One last question: What do you think of the USA vs. Aussie rivalry?
TAJ BURROW: Yeah, it’s there, but I think it is more of the fan base than the surfers.

SURFERMAG.COM: I think that’s true. In America, I know we really love a reason to root for somebody and a reason to not root for someone else. In the past ten years there has only been like one Aussie World Champ.
TAJ BURROW: Yeah, it’s weird. It seems to me like the Aussies make the Tour more than anybody, but yeah, for the Title, it’s been a long time. It’s been pretty much a decade of domination from the American guys. But you know, all the Australian guys are doing so well. They are always right there, but no one has grabbed the Title yet. But I think that’ll change pretty soon with the new guys that are on Tour now. With those guys I can guarantee a Title soon.

SURFERMAG.COM: How soon?
TAJ BURROW: I think this year something new will happen.

SURFERMAG.COM: You mean an Australian is going to win a World Title, or do you mean that Andy will be dethroned?
TAJ BURROW: Well this year, before the year started, I was thinking that a new guy would win. I thought it would be tough for him, but he’s already shown us two great results. But I don’t know, I think that same hunger that Andy has is starting to get recognized and taken over in the Australians too.