John Taylor 2011 Honor Roll

John grew up on Balboa Penninsula and in Long Beach. Surfing and sailing captivated him at a young age. He raced at age 10 at the Balboa Yacht Club, of which he and his family are still members. In the 8th grade, John made his first balsa wood surfboard under the guidance of Ole, of Ole Surfboards, as that was John's wood shop teacher. He graduated Poly High Long Beach and moved to 13th St Huntington Beach up from Gordie's shop at the age of 18. John started making fiber glass molds and surfing for the Hole in the Wall surf team in WSA Men's division in 1967.

At age 23, John opened the The Little Shop of Repairs and John Taylor Surfboards under Gordie's tutelage. Shortly after that John started tandem surfing and held first place in WSA and the United States Championships for 15 straight years. He was on The Wild World of Sports for three straight years winning fourth, third, and second. In the Hawaiian United States Championships, John won first place in 1978.

After the Hole in the Wall team disbanded in 1985, John worked for Infinity Surfboards for 32 years. He still surfed tandem competitively until Australia in 1999, attaining 4th place out of 37 teams. Now Matt Taylor, his son and partner, shapes and surfs competitively, furthering the Taylor tradition.