Taylor Knox, still taking heat wins after nearly two decades on Tour. Photo: Ellis

One of the most respected surfers on Tour, Taylor Knox has held his place among the elite for nearly two decades. Want to be a better surfer at 40 than you were at 20? Read on and take a notes from Taylor.

Surf with the Best. It’s been said that the best way to become a great surfer is to surround yourself with great surfers. “I think just being around such incredible surfers has helped me so much. You can be around some great surfers and not really feel anything, but then you’ll come across ones that really make you want to be better—like Mick, Kelly, or Dane. Their [World Tour] rating really has nothing to do with it for me, it’s more about respect for what they’re doing on the wave.”...

Sunny skies and picture perfect waves treated competitors and surf fans to an epic day of competition at the ASP Prime rated Telstra Drug Aware Pro today. The call was made to run a full day of the Men’s event to take advantage of the clean 5 – 6 foot (2 meter) surf on offer and reduce the field to just eight Quarterfinalists.
Tom Whitaker (AUS) caused the upset of the 2012 Telstra Drug Aware Pro by eliminating the 11 x ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) in the first round of man-on-man competition....

Women's Finalists Determined on Ladies Day at Margaret River
Massive swell and perfect winds forecast for Mens action on Friday

Global Surf News, 22 March, 2012 Margaret River, WA, Australia – The swell dropped to the 4 to 5 foot (2 meter) range for Day 3 of the Telstra Drug Aware Pro with pristine conditions on offer. The call was made by contest officials to run three Rounds of the Women's event and cull the field down to just the eight Quarterfinalists.

Kaiborg gets clean and comes clean

In 1997, Kai “Borg” Garcia flew from his hometown of Kauai to Brazil where he won the Jiu-Jitsu World Championships. Along with being one of the most respected fighters in the world, he is also one of the most respected figures in the surf industry. Anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting Kai, will all say they were very luck to do so. I consider myself extremely lucky to call him a friend and mentor. Recently, Kai went through the biggest struggle of his life, which nearly took it. I hope this story has as much of an impact for everyone as it has for me. Thank you Kai for everything you have done for me and all of the knowledge you selflessly give away. Enjoy world!
-Alex (Turkeymelt)

HAWAII'S MIKE PRICKETT ARRIVED IN SAN DIEGO THIS WEEK FOR CONTINUED MEDICAL TREATMENT.
Hawaii's Mike Prickett, an internationally acclaimed underwater cinematographer, arrived in San Diego California this-morning to continue medical treatment for the severe case of decompression sickness he sustained during a dive accident in Tahiti two weeks ago.

Shaun Tomson, 1977 world surfing champ: As a huge fan of pro surfing, the first event of the year is a favourite – there’s as much pressure on each competitor as if it were the end of the year with the world title on the line and it is good to see who has stepped up their game in the off-season. How the top guys perform out of the gate tells a lot about who will be on top at the end of the season. Generally the winner of the tour will come from the four who make the semis – Adriano, Josh, Jordy and Taj – so I’m going to make my selection from that quartet plus Kelly and Joel. A great start usually translates into a great finish as confidence is like a snowball rolling down the mountain, building in power.