World Tour veteran Taj Burrow is set to be inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame at the QT Gold Coast on Thursday, the 16th of February, as part of the 2022 Australian Surfing Awards.
Taj will follow in the footsteps of Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning, the two previous inductees into the Hall of Fame; with a career spanning almost thirty years, the West Aussie spent 18 years on tour, winning multiple wsl tour events and millions in prize money and is certainly deserving of his place in the iconic hall of fame.
Australian Surfing Awards Curator Nick Carroll said Taj Burrow has been one of the most creative and successful Australian surfers of the past 30 years.
“Taj was born in Yallingup, Western Australia and was destined to surf – both his parents surfed and took turns looking after baby Taj on the beach. As a teen wunderkind, he qualified for the top tier of the world tour, only to knock it back in favour of a year’s training in heavy surf to prepare himself. He went on to spectacular innings on the Championship Tour, competing for 18 years, winning 12 majors and over $10 million in prize money and ranking second in the world twice.
Taj has marked his surfing life in many other ways than competition. His brilliant creative performance style influenced a whole generation of kids worldwide, and he is an enthusiastic backer of youth surfing – his “Taj’s Small Fries” junior event, held in Yallingup each year, is a mainstay of grommet-world.”
Burrows retired from professional surfing back in 2016; Surfing Australia CEO Chris Mater said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Taj as our 45th Australian Hall of Famer. Starting out as a child surfing prodigy, he went on to have one of the most incredible surfing careers ever. A surfer that could do it all and always with style to burn. Congrats.”
