Stab Magazine | "If He Had Unlimited Speed, Taylor Knox Would Be The Best Surfer In The World" - Joel Parkinson
974 Views

“If He Had Unlimited Speed, Taylor Knox Would Be The Best Surfer In The World” – Joel Parkinson

Despite nearing the half-century mark, T-Knox can still bury a rail with the best of them.  

cinema // May 3, 2020
Words by stab
Reading Time: < 1 minute

“If he had unlimited speed, Taylor Knox would be the best surfer in the world.”

Joel Parkinson said that in a mid-2000s surf film—I can’t recall which, help a brother out in the comments—and while somewhat controversial (this was around the time of Andy and Kelly’s competitive heyday), Taylor’s 2002 profile film Arc allows us to see where Joel was coming from.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/bMqE_zzwpOE

On the open face, no one could match the power, style, and control of Thousand Oaks’ first-and-only CT surfer. But it wasn’t just raw talent that made T-Knox one of surfing’s most fearsome competitors. Throughout his career, Taylor was 100% mentally and physically committed to being the best athlete he could be—and it paid off. 

Besides Slater, no one’s spent more time in surfing’s elite ranks—20 years! 

Now 48, Taylor retains a similar motivation toward full-fledged performance surfing. Unlike many of his peers, Knoxy hasn’t ditched his 5’11 shorty for some easy-to-ride duo or quad. And his turns still pack a considerable punch.  

Click above for Taylor’s most recent output.  

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

The Most Spectacular Waves Of 2025

Saltwater // chlorine.

Jan 6, 2026

The 49 Surfers Who Died in Fishing Nets: A Dark History Of Brazil’s Southern Coast

The deadliest surf coast you've never heard of.

Jan 4, 2026

We Tracked The Board-Buying Habits Of 7,500 Surfers 

What, why, and how much are we buying? 

Jan 2, 2026

Surfing’s 2025 Q4 Report

Detecting surfing’s dark matters.

Jan 1, 2026

Noa Deane Wins Stab Surfer Of The Year 2025, Best Male

Two films, one edit, and three film sections later, Noa's incomparable work ethic pays off.

Dec 31, 2025

Breaking: Medina Splits With Rip Curl, Noa Deane Signs On The Jagged Line, Yago Dora’s New Brand Revealed

2025's grand industry finale.

Dec 30, 2025

Molly Picklum Wins Stab Surfer Of The Year 2025, Best Female

The year of Pickles, immortalized once and for all.

Dec 30, 2025

Snapt5 Wins 2025’s Film of the Year

Logan Dulien hits a walk-off grand slam in surf filmmaking.

Dec 29, 2025

Harry Bryant and Dav Fox Win 2025’s Edit Of The Year with ‘Roasted’

A study of time, space, and surfboards longer than you need.

Dec 28, 2025

Nathan Florence Wins Best YouTube of 2025

Making him a three-time consecutive 'like and subscribe' SSOTY champ.

Dec 27, 2025

Stab Surfer of the Year 2025: Best Junior (Male And Female)

Congratulations Tya Zebrowski & James Kusitino.

Dec 26, 2025

Watch: ‘Vacation 3’ Presented By Monster Energy

Stab Highway East Coast USA winners bask in victory at Kandui Resort.

Dec 25, 2025

Biggest Movers of 2025

Who made the career biggest leap — forward, backward or otherwise — in the past…

Dec 24, 2025

‘Vacation 3’ In 11 Photos

And 11 behind-the-scenes backstories from the POV of a producer on the ground.

Dec 23, 2025

We Tested The World’s Best Wetsuit (According To You)

365 days prove you're (probably) right.

Dec 23, 2025

Ellis Ericson Is The Winner Of EAST With Mikey February

The first broken surfboard to ever win one of our board tests.

Dec 22, 2025

Exclusive: Noa Deane Stars In Film Of The Year Nominee “Stimulant”

A flawless degustation cooked up by James Kates.

Dec 21, 2025

Meet Our 2025 Stab Surfer of the Year Contenders

And cast your vote for the winners.

Dec 20, 2025
Advertisement