If you’re ever having a bad day, or something’s not going your way, or you're feeling upset or angry or anxious, or anything, a dunk in the ocean is so medicinal and I’m sure it works for everyone. You always feel better when you come out of salt water. I think it’s very beneficial.
Taj Burrow is a World Champion Surfer, hailing from Australia's South West. Twenty years on the tour took him all over the world, he won numerous ASP events including The Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, beating Kelly Slater at the 2009 Billabong Pipeline Pro Master in Hawaii and the 2007 The Billabong Pro in South Africa.
Recently retired and living a semi-rural life, raising a young family, growing fruit and veggies, chickens and sheep, he chats with us about career highlights, the importance of a good dunk in the ocean for mental health, the upcoming 20th anniversary of Taj's Small Fries and keeping kids away from screens.
What kind of Australian environment do you live in?
I live in Yallingup, the south west corner of Australia. It’s quite raw, quite wild, especially in Winter, like right now. It’s a rugged coastline but it’s beautiful. Summer is hot, dry, and harsh in a way, the elements are pretty intense. People who visit here are quite shocked at how intense the elements are, but still find it beautiful obviously. And in Winter it’s wild and woolly, strong winds, heavy rain. It’s kind of like you're on the end of the earth down here sometimes. That’s why I like it. We get exposed to monstrous swells which is what is happening right now. It’s got the best of everything in my opinion, pretty raw coastline. In summer the colour of the water is pretty magical.
How and when did you find surfing, or did surfing find you?
Both my parents surfed so there was a pretty good chance I’d end up surfing. Where I grew up down here in the south west and the time period I grew up in, there wasn’t that much to do, well there was lots to do, but it mainly focussed on water and coastal activities because of where we are positioned.
A few of my friends started surfing at the same time. I started surfing when I was 7, which is considered quite old now, but that was when I was fully standing up and surfing and was completely hooked.
I was drawn to the ocean I suppose because I spent my life playing on the beach as a tiny toddler while my parents argued over who had to watch me and who got to go surfing. So I spent a lot of time playing on the beach and watching them and then progressed to surfing myself. It happened naturally and because of the elements I was surrounded in, it just made sense to get involved in the ocean. Which I love so much, I rely on it so much. These days the ocean is just everything to me, I need to be in it at least once a day .
Do your parents still surf?
Oh they love it. My Dad still surfs as much as he can, he’s mad about surfing. My mum surfed her whole life but recently now she opts for swimming. She is just a complete ocean woman. I kind of follow in her footsteps in that I have to be in the ocean every day. Mum’s the same, she gets up every morning before anyone, like four in the morning and she starts getting ready for her little beach trot and swim.
You spend a lot of time in the ocean, what is the pull for you towards water and the waves?
I’m so drawn to the ocean, maybe because I’ve been in it since I can remember. It’s just such a special place. That’s why surfing is so incredible I think, because you’re in an ever changing environment. It’s not like a skate park or basketball court or something that’s kind of fixed. Every surf is different, every wave you catch is different, there are never two waves the same.
The ocean is always unpredictable and changing and that’s what makes it special when you get a good wave, you're in sync with nature and you were just in the right place at the right time and you might get the wave of your life.
Not only that, but you know, a lot of people are talking about mental health these days and I just think it’s one of the most important things, especially for me. If you’re ever having a bad day, or something’s not going your way, or you're feeling upset or angry or anxious, or anything, a dunk in the ocean is so medicinal and I’m sure it works for everyone. You always feel better when you come out of salt water. I think it’s very beneficial. I just make sure I’m in the ocean everyday whether it’s a surf or a swim, just for a rinse.
What motivated you to compete professionally as a surfer?
Kind of funny, it kind of felt like it was paved for me and it happened naturally. Just surfing everyday as a young kid, it was just the normal thing to progress into competing in the local little contests, like board riders clubs. When you’re a grom (editor’s note: grom, short for grommet, slang for a surfer under 16 years of age) and your excited about surfing you might start in the local little surf contests and if you have fun and you enjoy throwing on the jersey, then you might progress to the state level.
I just took those stepping stones and then found myself in the WA state surf team and competing in the Australian national titles competing against the other states and the other kids.
It was exciting and fun and the next thing you know you’ve got people approaching you to wear their product and sponsor you and put stickers on your board - and putting stickers on your board as a kid is probably the best and the biggest thing you can achieve!
It’s so cool as a kid to have a company supporting you, it’s one of the greatest feelings, as well as catching a good wave with a contest jersey on. It’s an amazing feeling if you get a good score and you start beating the other kids your age! Basically I just progressed naturally, I was having success and I just kept going and the next thing I know I'm competing in the world qualifying series. In my first year, I made the world tour at 17 so it was a big moment for a 17 year old from Yallingup.
I declined my place on the tour in the first year. I thought, I’m only 17, I’m not quite ready to travel the world with the big dogs and compete against the world's best. I wanted to take one more year to kind of find my feet and then do the tour. I matured, found my feet and I qualified the following year and took my position when I was 18. Then I travelled to heaps of places, the schedule is pretty jam packed with events, 12 or more a year. There was lots of travelling as early as I can remember, I covered some ground for a lot of years.
Did surfing professionally take the joy out of surfing?
I mean yeah, if you lose, there’s not much joy involved! Competing is difficult in surfing. You’re getting judged on your surfing and surfing is a subjective sport as far as what scores well, it’s basically someone's opinion on what they want to see. Surfing is a really tricky one to judge. Sometimes you find yourself on the side of what you think is the wrong call or you feel like you might have gotten ripped off in a heat. It’s kind of like an emotional roller coaster.
It’s amazing when you win, and it’s quite difficult to deal with when you lose. So when things weren’t really going my way, or when I found myself on a losing streak, or something like that, I would be furious and frustrated but then I would have to remind myself why I got into this sport and why I love it so much. I would take some time by myself to just go surfing because that’s what I just love to do, and remind myself why I’m here and try to not get so upset about someone's opinion on the last wave I caught.
There’s so much luck involved, you’re in a moving environment, and an ever changing ocean, not like a fixed court. They often seem to judge the best wave not the best surfing. Wave selection is really important, and obviously you have to be in the right place at the right time and try to find the best waves that are on offer. So yeah, there's’ a huge amount of luck factor.
Any tour highlights or fond memories from being on tour?
Of course winning events is a huge highlight.
I had success at some really big ones, like Bells Beach is one of the biggest ones. It’s one that has a lot of prestige and history behind it and ringing that bell was one of my highlights.
Other highlights, The Pipe Masters in Hawaii, that’s one of the biggest ones you can win. I had a lot of success on the Gold Coast where I won three times. They're all amazing. South Africa at Jeffreys Bay that’s a really good one.
There’s certain moments on tour where you take a look at your surroundings and think, wow, I’m so grateful to be here at this moment. So many exciting things happen because you are surfing the world’s best waves, with the world’s best surfers, and some crazy things happen.
I witnessed some of the most amazing waves ridden, some of the most amazing surfing and the progression of surfing. I was on the world tour for 20 years, there’s just certain moments that were so jaw dropping and I felt so grateful to be there.
One I remember in particular, we had a one off event at this place in Mexico and no one knew anything about it and we went down there and all the elements aligned perfectly. These waves started peeling down this perfect sand point break and it was really warm and they were the best waves I’d seen in my life. It was absolute perfection and we were there for a contest at the perfect time. We got to ride these waves with no one out obviously because they clear the line up, and it was the most incredible event. I ended up placing third in that one and Andy Irons was the winner of that one. It was a really special one, I think it was 2006. It’s moments like that I’m so grateful to have been there and experienced it.
Since retiring from the tour in 2016, how has the transition been? Has the pace of your life changed much?
Yeah absolutely! Well anything from the world tour is going to be a big change of pace. I had my first child in 2015 and that certainly changed my mindset about travelling, it’s quite difficult with children. I have a hard enough time looking after myself on a long flight, let alone a baby as well!
After having the first child we thought it could be time to settle down and establish at home and it started crossing my mind, maybe I’m done with the world tour.
I chose Fiji to be my last event because it’s one of my favourite events. It’s one of the best waves in the world and it’s just paradise out there. I chose that to be my last and it ended up being one of my best. I didn’t progress very far in the event but I had a really good heat with John John Florence who was a world champ from Hawaii, it was almost like the passing of the torch, changing of the guard and we had an incredible heat and both scored high 9s. He ended up beating me by point one or something. It still felt like a win to me because it was a really good heat and we were having good exchanges from wave to wave.
So that was my last event and ever since then we’ve been settled here in the south west and it’s a huge change of pace. I thought I might find it really difficult to go from so much travel to sitting still but I’ve actually enjoyed it so much. I really love the feeling of being settled here and getting to have a bit of routine, it’s been incredible. I still go on surf trips, but I get to pick where and when, but majority of the time I’m at home raising a young family which is absolutely perfect, I love it.
Do either of your kids surf?
They’re only four and eight, I’ve pushed them into a few little waves. I don‘t know if they’ll take up surfing. I don’t really mind if they do, I just want them to enjoy the beach, that’s all I care about. I’m not pushing them into surfing, I just want them to enjoy the outdoors.
Taj’s Small Fries, WA’s biggest and most prestigious junior surf event, just had its 19th instalment since you started it in 2006. What inspired you to start Taj’s Small Fries?
Well, I just remember the enjoyment of being a little kid and throwing a jersey on and surfing in a contest. It was just the greatest feeling and I wanted to create that for the kids down here in the south west. My sponsor Billabong at the time was 100% behind it and I had a few friends that kind of suggested that it would be a great idea and so we started it. It went really well and the kids loved it!
We try to create a really happy, healthy environment for all the kids to have fun. We try to not focus on competitiveness and we just encourage the kids to have fun, win or lose. We do a few other activities on the beach just to keep everyone entertained. We have soft boards and the kids basically just run amok for the two or three days we run the event.
It has progressed into one of the biggest junior events around and we’ve had so many amazing surfers come through the event, surfers who have moved on to successful careers, whether it’s on the world tour or surfing for fun. We’ve had a lot of talent come through there. The next one will be the 20th anniversary. It’s really cool and I’m really happy with, it has progressed nicely.
I love to see how much fun all the kids are having, it’s quite rewarding. Over the years we’ve had so many kids from over east get involved and we get international kids too, some came from Brazil, Bali, and Japan.
What advice do you give to upcoming, aspiring junior surfers eager to compete and make a living out of professional surfing?
It’s a tough one. The industry is not as strong as it used to be, it’s a little unreliable. I wouldn’t throw all your eggs in the basket of trying to be a professional surfer. I think the way to go about it is to just love what you’re doing. If you just love it so much you’ll probably find your feet into making a living from it. But, it is jam packed with so much talent, it’s really hard to make that select top 30 in the world, and that’s really the only place you can make money competitively.
The other avenue is what we call free surfing, where you can just surf for fun and film what you’re surfing and a lot of people are doing vlogs and YouTube channels and putting out videos of really amazing surfing. To be honest, the most important thing is to have fun, I think. As soon as you take it too seriously and you think, I have to make a job out of this, I think it might go against you. You’re going to be better off doing what you're doing, and hopefully someone else loves what you’re doing.
Sorry, that didn’t sound too encouraging!
I see a lot of kids and parents get way too serious and it makes me sad because it takes the joy out of it for the kid.
You spend a lot of time in nature, how does nature nourish you?
Absolutely. We live on a bit of a farm these days. We’re growing a bunch of fruit trees, veggie gardens, chooks, guinea pigs and some sheep now. I try to get the kids involved in planting things, feeding the chooks, collecting the eggs and getting them outdoors as much as I can.
It’s a difficult thing to get kids away from the screens and social media, it’s probably one of the worst things, I think. So I really try to encourage them to get outdoors and tell them what you see outside is real, what you see on the screen isn’t. I’m outdoors all the time, even ifI’m just going for a walk. I love being outside, doing outdoor activities. I’m learning the ropes of growing food, it’s tricky but when you do grow something it’s really rewarding.
Your favourite wave to surf in Australia?
Australia‘s got so much good surf! There are really good waves here in WA, but a lot them are very unforgiving and pretty crazy, dangerous. I have a lot of favourite waves, it’s hard to pick one. The Gold Coast is probably some of the best surf with warm water and right hand point breaks. I think that’s maybe why I had such a good run with results on the Gold Coast, I just love that wave at Snapper Rocks so much. It’s also one of the busiest waves in the world, there’s hundreds of people out there daily, so I was grateful to surf it in competition with no one else out.
What do you love about Australia?
The amount of coastline we have. That you still have the option of packing the car with camping and surfing gear and just heading off and finding your own little nook. I don’t do that as much as I like, waiting for the kids to get to an age where we can do it together. That’s one of my favourite things to do, camping, surfing and finding uncrowded secluded locations.
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