Surfing
The Five Most Powerful American Surfers
Meet the five most fluent artists in the ageless act of power surfing.
Laying rail
© Ryan Miller
Surfing progresses every single day, and the majority of that progression happens in the air. People are now landing things that could only be fathomed in the lucid haze of an LSD frenzy in years past — things like backflips, 540s and frontside hand shuv-its. It’s a buzzy little world of tricks and it sure is a pleasure to watch. But innovation isn’t everything.
No matter what happens north of the lip, the ageless art of power surfing still has a very warm place in our hearts. Raw, honest surfing is alive and well and it will never go extinct. There’s something intangibly special about watching somebody connect with the wave and subsequently demolish it. And that’s why we compiled this list of the top 5 American power surfers.
Taylor Knox
TK is known for one thing: his carve. Although he’s capable of a decent air every now and again, Taylor’s progressive game has always been shadowed by his power surfing. His turn was the turn to emulate and he is largely responsible for influencing a new generation to focus on the carve.
Kelly Slater
You could drop this name in any list relating to anything about surfing and you would never encounter much of an argument. Kelly is far and away the greatest surfer of all time. He’s simply the best. But you don’t win 11 World Titles without being able to move gallons upon gallons of water.
Tom Curren
Curren’s surfing is literally too smooth. He rides waves in such an aesthetically pleasing way that you almost forget how complex it is. He’s more widely recognized for his influence on style, but somewhere within that style is a mastery of good, hard power surfing. And those 3 World Titles sure don’t lie.
Conner Coffin
Conner was raised by the Queen of the California coast, Rincon. Turns out that royal bitch made for a great mother. In a generation of kids who’ve focused on above the lip cinematic, Conner has developed into the best rail surfer of his time. And he’s still in is early twenties. Look for him to make a big impact on tour when he inevitably arrives.
Kolohe was once a scrawny little boy, and people would always talk about how perfect his form was. “Just wait until he fills out,” they’d say. Well, he’s filled out now and is officially the surfer he was prophesized to be. He’s had a few big results on the WCT — like a 2nd place finish at the 2014 Billabong Rio Pro — but the best is yet to come for Brother.
