Taj Burrow and a well-hidden injury recovery, WA

Yeah, Taj Burrow has been injured. A few months back now, Stab whipped Taj and Mark Mathews into a bubble bath at WA’s The Right. The result? Perhaps not the best surf imagery ever captured, but certainly some of the best, plus the longest hold down of Mark’s life, and as we learnt not so long ago, prolonged shoulder feels for Taj. At the end of 2014, Taj opted, for the first time in his 17-year World Tour career, to not compete in Hawaii, and instead undergo shoulder surgery. After too many months on dry land, he’s now back in the water and loving it, obviously. Duncan Macfarlane, a star behind the lens, was recently in WA during Taj’s first week back surfing. “This is near Yallingup at one of Taj’s haunts,” says Dunc. “To be honest I can’t remember the name – we drove down a million dirt tracks looking for waves and they’re all bumpy and dusty and lead to an isolated patch of rocks or sand. I think Taj said he’d had about three or four surfs back after his injury, something like 10 weeks since going under the knife. One thing I can tell you is 10 weeks out of the surf during the summer in West Australia will bring out the childlike surf froth in the most seasoned surf traveller like Taj. He was frothing to surf little waves during his Small Fries event and was chomping at the bit to surf this Cyclone swell which never really eventuated to anything special. This particular surf was while we were waiting for the swell to fill in. It was a junky left, and apart from a few finners that went a little wayward he was still wielding turns like this one in true Taj form.” Pleasure to have you back, TB.