Joel Tudor

Joel Tudor is a world famous longboard surfer from San Diego, California.

He started out in skateboarding and, while in his early teens, gained both recognition and sponsorship for this. On the water, his apparently effortless skill saw him win his first professional ASP competition at age 15, making him the youngest competitor to win an ASP event [ [http://joeltudor.com/tudor07/ Joel Tudor Surfboards ] ] . Unlike the vast majority of his contemporaries who were riding only modern short surfboards, he also rode the out-of-fashion longboard, and it was the longboard that catapulted him to worldwide fame in his mid-teens. His reputation was such that, when he was on a break, other surfers would sometimes leave the water to watch his silky mastery of such skills as nose-riding ("hanging five" and "hanging ten" - riding with the toes of one or both feet hanging over the nose of the board [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surfing_terms#H] ). Admiration of Tudor was a major factor in the longboard revival of the 1990s.

Despite wide recognition as the doyen of modern longboard riders, and regularly competing in the longboard world championships, it took seven attempts before he finally won this event in the Canary Islands in 1998. Some Criticism has been forwarded, especially by other surfers such as Roth Allen, that his skills are largely blown out of proportion and that his only real skill is effective marketing. Nonetheless he has enjoyed a spectacular and influential career.

Joel Tudor is also a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu BlackBelt under former World Champion, Rodrigo Medeiros / BJJ Revolution Team. He has won numerous Brazilian Jiu Jitsu titles such as the Pan Ams and US Nationals.

Joel now has his own surfboard manufacturing company, as well as selling wetsuits in Japan.

Due to his skill on both longboards and shortboards, on big waves and small, Tudor is widely considered to be one of the best surfers alive, and is also known for being unusually open-minded with regard to the diverse equipment that can be used for wave riding.

Joel Tudor is featured in "The Seedling" and "Sprout" surfing films both shot in 16mm film by Thomas Campbell.

References

External links

* [http://www.surfhistory.com/html/profiles/tudor.html Surfhistory bio - listing him as one of just 24 surfing Legends - and with brief video interview]
* [http://surfline.com/surfaz/surfaz.cfm?id=936 Surfline bio]
* [http://www.joeltudor.com/ Tudor's company website, with bio including competition wins]