The eternal influence of Mr Tom Curren

The history of surfing has given birth to great surfers and then the greatest ones… When it comes down to the list of people that should never be overlooked, there is one Californian that has definitely earned a place in the heart of those that love the Hawaiian board sport. His name is Tom Curren.

Born in July 3, 1964 in Newport Beach, California, Tom Curren started surfing at the age of six, the logical and natural consequence of his genetic heritage. After all, his father big wave pioneer and master gun shaper, was Pat Curren. At the age of 14 he had already won two USA national championships. A couple years later he had become the World Junior Surfing Champion (Biarritz, France,1980), by winning the ISA World Jr Titles in impecable form.

As many other ISA stars, he was bound for very high places.

The year of 1985 flew by and many things happened in the world. The Red Hot Chili Peppers released thei album Freaky Styley, pop music dominated all the charts and the Australian band AC/DC bringing to the spotlight their album Fly on the Wall. In terms of movies, Woody Allen gained prestige with his film Purple Rose of Cairo, Michael Fox wanted to go Back to the Future and the Goonies signified an adventure for those that were born in the middle of the seventies.

That same year, the world of surfing was dominated by the Australians who seemed predestined to be the eternal champions of the Association of Professional Surfing (ASP) tour. But it did not happen that way. With barely 21 years under his belt, Tom Curren became the first American surfer to win the ASP tour.
A year later he returned again to set fire to all the pages of the action sports magazines with his second consecutive title and claim the honor of being the first surfer with two consecutive titles in the first ten years of the ASP. Another fact to note is that at that time the world pro tour consisted of 21 dates, which further elevated the level of his tremendous feat.

During the last years of the colorful decade of the 80s, Curren abandoned the competition and submerged himself in a personal quest that would bring him to explore the most deserted and isolated waves in the world. Years later this period of introspection was displayed in Rip Curl’s videos titled The Search, which were produced when the world had not turned completely digital and VHS tapes were still the great sensation of the time.

The year of 1990 signified the great return of Mr Curren, and when the greats returned they made it to the top of their class. Seven victories gave him his third world title and thus defined his name as a true king of the sport of surfing. And in as a consequence he proved wrong to those that had claimed the end of his pro career.

Master of one of the most admired and well-known styles among his peers, today Curren has returned to Santa Barbara where he attends college and executes his cutbacks with amazing precision for the pleasure of local surfers.

Today he is a father of four and married to a Panamanian. He continues to surf in competitions by special invite and enjoys passing time by playing the guitar with his friends, while supporting some philantropic causes.

His daughter Lee-Anne is a raising member of the National French Surfing Team.

If the challenge does not frighten you and you plan to begin writing The History of Surfing, please don’t forget to mention the eternal influence of Mr Tom Curren.

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