Surfing Pro Tour, 20 years
Taylor Knox is an American professional surfer from Thousand Oaks, California. At 8 years old, he began surfing and moved to Carlsbad at 13. At 15, he had to undergo back surgery due to a skateboarding injury. In 1990, he placed 4th in the World Amateur Championships in Japan, ahead of Kelly Slater. Knox started his ASP World Tour campaign in 1993 and won the K2 Big-Wave Challenge in 1998. In 2001 he achieved his highest World Tour rating of 4th place. In 2011 he was inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame. He was also involved in the video game Left 4 Dead and worked with Al Merrick to create the Channel Islands Dagger surfboard in 2012. Knox is known for his power surfing and ferocious frontside hacks.