In this episode, we dive deep into the life and waves of the world-renowned professional longboard surfer, Taylor Jensen (@taylorjensentj).
Known for his dynamic performances and his impressive streak of titles, including three World Longboard Championships, Taylor isn't just an athlete—he's a devoted husband and father. But his journey isn't just about chasing the perfect wave, it's about riding the highs and lows of fatherhood and crafting a family life that travels well.
Join us as we explore Taylor's incredible journey of turning pro as a teenager, a feat fostered and encouraged by his own father. Hear about the profound impact his dad had on his surfing career and the life lessons imparted to him along the way.
Traveling the world with his family, Taylor and his wife have turned every beach into both a surf spot and a classroom, homeschooling his kids to provide them with enriched, diverse learning experiences.
From his early days riding the Californian waves to today's worldwide surfing escapades, Taylor offers his insights on how to maintain a strong family bond amidst a bustling athletic career. He opens up about how he's molding his kids into responsible global citizens while still letting them enjoy the thrill of childhood.
Lastly, we dive into Taylor's perspective on fatherhood—how it's changed him, how it influences his sport, and why he considers it his greatest adventure yet. In a world where high tides come with every sunrise, learn how Taylor Jensen continues to inspire, on and off the board.
Prepare to be moved by his stories, lessons, and, of course, his unyielding love for the waves and his family in this extraordinary episode of The Athlete Dad Podcast. An episode not to miss for those interested in understanding the true balance between fatherhood, sports, and globetrotting.
Resources and Links:
The Athlete Dad Resources:
In this episode, we dive deep into the life and waves of the world-renowned professional longboard surfer, Taylor Jensen (@taylorjensentj).
Known for his dynamic performances and his impressive streak of titles, including three World Longboard Championships, Taylor isn't just an athlete—he's a devoted husband and father. But his journey isn't just about chasing the perfect wave, it's about riding the highs and lows of fatherhood and crafting a family life that travels well.
Join us as we explore Taylor's incredible journey of turning pro as a teenager, a feat fostered and encouraged by his own father. Hear about the profound impact his dad had on his surfing career and the life lessons imparted to him along the way.
Traveling the world with his family, Taylor and his wife have turned every beach into both a surf spot and a classroom, homeschooling his kids to provide them with enriched, diverse learning experiences.
From his early days riding the Californian waves to today's worldwide surfing escapades, Taylor offers his insights on how to maintain a strong family bond amidst a bustling athletic career. He opens up about how he's molding his kids into responsible global citizens while still letting them enjoy the thrill of childhood.
Lastly, we dive into Taylor's perspective on fatherhood—how it's changed him, how it influences his sport, and why he considers it his greatest adventure yet. In a world where high tides come with every sunrise, learn how Taylor Jensen continues to inspire, on and off the board.
Prepare to be moved by his stories, lessons, and, of course, his unyielding love for the waves and his family in this extraordinary episode of The Athlete Dad Podcast. An episode not to miss for those interested in understanding the true balance between fatherhood, sports, and globetrotting.
Resources and Links:
The Athlete Dad Resources:
Cool. All right. Awesome. Taylor, thanks for jumping on the show today. Excited to talk with you.
[taylor]:Thanks for having me man, I'm stoked.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah, man. Well, as a fellow dad, the thing I'm always curious about is like, what is dad life at home for each of these athlete dads? So when it comes to you, you have two little ones at home. You know, what is the dynamic of you as dad at home right now?
[taylor]:Well, we have, yeah, so we have a four-year-old and a 10-year-old, and they're both homeschooled. So the dynamic's a little bit, I like to think of it as I'm just more involved in their lives and can direct and steer them as they're growing and becoming interested in other things.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:It's pretty full on at times for sure. I mean, yeah, everybody went through COVID and had their kids at home and yeah, it can be challenging at times, but at the same time, you know, they're... You only get so much time in their developmental periods before they move on and they're with their friends and they're doing their own thing. So the dynamic at home is just, yeah, kind of at home dad when I'm home and then when I'm on the road, I'm on the road, but most of the time I try and bring them with me.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah. I feel like homeschooling is something that was really rare when I was a kid and seems to be really popular more and more now. Like I'm curious, what was it for you that made you like, were the kids in ever in public school or was it homeschool all the way through? Like, what was it for you guys?
[taylor]:For us, our eldest daughter, she did one year of school. And in that one year she had bullying and she just wasn't excelling. She didn't gravitate towards it. She had a really hard time,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:wasn't learning anything. She was just unhappy. Like, and we could see it. She was changing as a person. Like her happiness was just not there. Even when she came home, she just wasn't our happy little girl. So we decided to pull the pin and it just made sense too with traveling.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:Like we're in a town for four months max at a time. You can't really, you know, become a part of that community in a school like that. And then you're pulled out and you're across the world to a different school that has a different curriculum.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:It just, it made things 10 times more complicated. So
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:for us, the traveling aspect really steered us towards it. And I don't know, I just also like, I didn't have a great time at school. My wife didn't have a great time at school. You know, we just wanted to let them learn about what they want to learn about and be more involved in their lives. Like, I don't want to drop my daughter at school and see her at the end of the day when everybody's tired and done with work. And just want to be more involved in my kids' lives, really. So that was the other aspect of it. Like, we can travel, we can be involved and see what they're interested in and then steer them towards that and, you know, kind of adapt their learning to whatever interests them instead of having to learn every little bit and piece that they may not use in their life or they may not like, you know, I'd rather focus on what they like and what they're interested in and let them guide themselves and just kind of be there to steer them and help them in what their interests are.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah, man, I agree with that. I think especially during COVID, you know, once we started working from home, I kind of did the mental math of, okay, if I were commuting, you know, how much time would I actually get to spend with my, with my son every day? And I think it was something depressing, like 45 minutes. I'm like, wow, 45
[taylor]:Cheers.
[Ben Gibson]:minutes out of an entire day for his entire childhood. Like, there's no way that's sustainable. And I understand there's certain, certainly people out there where it's, it's not an option. And And I definitely have the privilege of being there every day with him, but, um, that was definitely a mental shift for us was like, we definitely need to be doing whatever it takes to make sure that we can physically be here every day so that we get all that extra time. Cause yeah, you mentioned it, you know, it's precious time. It goes by quickly. And I also love what you said about, you know, being able to find out what they're interested in shape that I'm curious what, what, what are the kids interested in and how do you, as dad find yourself kind of navigating it, nurturing that and helping them explore it.
[taylor]:Yeah, you know, the thing that we really noticed with my eldest daughter going through school is that she loves um She loves science, which is a really bizarre one because I was never like a science kid and my wife was never a science kid so we've Kind of been learning along with her
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:Through all these different things and our homeschool program's great It gives us a fund that we can spend on things for school on amazon like we can go on amazon and buy science experiments for my daughter, they show up at the house and we do them and that's like school for her, which is pretty rad. And to be able to like sit there and do a science experiment and build the volcano with your kid, which I think everybody did as a kid, right? Like it's
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:a, it's a fond memory that I have of like, man, I got to build a volcano and the thing erupted and the whole thing. Like to be able to experience that with your kid and, you know, just, just see that she's science, like cool, right on. Let's learn about science. Like it's really
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:cool. And Our youngest one's just kind of a wild child and is more interested in athletic activity.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:And we're more interested in helping her burn energy so that we can sleep at night.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:So it's, you know, she's four. It's like, she's at that age where she's starting to want to do what sister's doing. Like sister's doing a science experiment. So we'll get her like a smaller version of that science experiment
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:and she can play along. And music's now become a thing with my daughter. She loves singing. and now she's learning to play the guitar. It's like, I wish I would have learned to play the guitar growing up, but because I was in a school environment and that wasn't an option at my school, I never learned. And I didn't have anybody in the house who played music and it just didn't have the opportunity. So it's cool that we can see, hey, she likes music, she likes science, let's get her guitar lessons and singing lessons and let's do science experiments with her and take her to the science museum in San Diego. And,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:you know, just Yeah, just kind of expose her to things that she can learn from.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah, that interest-based learning is huge. And like even something as cool as you mentioned of like, yeah, let's, let's get the science experiment and let's do this at the kitchen table or let's pop down to the museum and let's go do this ourselves. Um, and one, I think it's certainly a, probably a higher quality of education than what most public schools can offer. But two, you get, you get to be along the ride with them and that's such a unique experience. Um, I hear you about the four-year-old. I have a four-year-old son and, or almost four-year-old and I don't know if I'm helping him burn energy as much as I'm helping him just get better stamina because he just seems to just get more and more endurance. But I also think of that as like, I don't know how he would do in a traditional classroom,
[taylor]:Hmm.
[Ben Gibson]:like sitting down all day and having to wait to raise his hand to, you know, be let to go to the bathroom. He's in an all outdoor preschool at the moment a couple days a week. And I'm like, yeah, that's what he needs. He just needs like. a field, some forest, some rocks and mud, and he's running around and learning more than I think he probably would learn in a traditional setting. So yeah, that's
[taylor]:Yeah,
[Ben Gibson]:really cool.
[taylor]:exactly. Well, you've got to figure we're all different, right? Everybody is different. We can't all be funneled into one system that's going to work for everybody. It just doesn't work.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:Some kids don't need school. Some kids need a different sort of learning. My daughter needs more one-on-one than in a classroom.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:She's too easily distracted, loses interest, and then gets called out for not paying attention or whatever it may be. It's like,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:hey, you need one-on-one. You need. No distractions in a house, no TVs on, no other kids raising their hands or making funny jokes and fart sounds and whatever else goes on in classrooms,
[Ben Gibson]:Ha ha.
[taylor]:you know? She just needs that one-on-one and it's cool that we could see that and yeah, dial her in.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah, and even things like that might be viewed at in traditional schools as negatives, you know, sort of maybe fierce independence, a little bit of like questioning authority, rebelliousness, and you know, inability to sit still, like things that we know will probably serve them later in life might not be rewarded as much in that traditional setting. And they might they might lose a little bit of that. And that's, I think the biggest thing I've realized as a parent is like this fear of like, You know, I don't want you to lose your shine because of me or because of the world, like I want you to shine as brightly as who you are as you possibly can. And, um, I think that that probably is a lot of the conversations that people are having around school, homeschool. How do we approach this, you know, generally, but yeah, cool to see that you guys have really leaned into that, that homeschool approach and you mentioned traveling quite a bit, so you're currently in. Australia, you split time between California. Tell me about like, how does that work for the family for, for all that travel?
[taylor]:It's look we've been doing it since before the kids were ever thought of or born so But they've just kind of they don't know any different right like
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:we don't stay anywhere for a prolonged period of time I think the most amount of time we've ever spent in one place was during kovat
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:Which was for like 11 months because we couldn't travel and we were stuck So for us, we're just constantly wheels turning always moving like yeah, we're in Australia now We were in Bali for two months the last two months We just were going, we like to travel. It's also a part of what we want our kids to experience growing up. It's a part of that schooling. It's when we take them places like Bali, they learned all about the cultures. They learned about Nipi, which is the day of silence in Bali when we were there. They learned about the Ogo Ogo statues and what it is and why they're silent and how they scare away bad spirits. And, you know, like there's so many other cultures and religions and different ways that people live that. For me and my wife, we really want our kids to understand that, that there's no one way of living, there's no one religion, there's no... Everybody has their own beliefs and their own way of doing things and it's important to learn about that, have some sort of a vague understanding of why it is that they believe that and they do certain things and then to just respect it.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:And I think that for them, it's allowing them to see the way that other people live and have an appreciation for the way that we live. and living in first world countries and having food on the table and a roof over our head. And, you know, we go to some pretty sketchy places, traveling for surf, like remote islands are kind of generally better, less crowded waves.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:So we go to places like that and they see people living in shacks and kids that don't have toys and they appreciate coming home and having their toys and a TV and, and whatever it may be. It just gives them a better appreciation, I think, for life and the life that we live and how they really are.
[Ben Gibson]:Oh yeah. And it's so hard to impart those lessons without travel. Like I didn't ever really travel growing up. And so I really leaned into it as much as I could as a young adult. And yeah, like you said, some of those experiences, especially in pretty sketchy places really gave me a lot of like empathy and perspective, you know, you've probably surfed Nicaragua, my wife and I were, we flew into Nicaragua at like, 11pm at night and our plan was like we were just very naively gonna like just sleep in Managua Airport. And then in the morning we'll catch a taxi cab up to Leon and this woman on the plane like heard our plans and she's like, you cannot you cannot
[taylor]:Thank you.
[Ben Gibson]:sleep in the Managua Airport. Like it is very, very unsafe. You must stay at my house. And first off just the generosity of some stranger that this woman was like, Yeah, sure, you come to my house. But this woman's house like you could tell that like they built it like they built it from scratch.
[taylor]:Mm-hmm.
[Ben Gibson]:And then In the morning, they fed us breakfast, and it was just this unbelievable generosity and kindness towards complete strangers to go out of their way for that. And that's a moment that impacted my life forever, and certainly something that I want my kids to experience to some degree, like you mentioned, that appreciation of how things are different, that respect for other cultures. And I don't know how you do that without travel.
[taylor]:No, it definitely makes it easier to just opening that conversation, right? Like, how do you even approach the subject without them seeing it? Like, they don't,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:they wouldn't have any understanding of what other people live like and, you know, living in a shack that has no power or no water or it's wild even for us. Like, even
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:as adults, it's a crazy thought that people do live like that. Like,
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:growing up in a Western world, it's like, wow, man, people really do. Like, that's reality for them. So. Yeah, it definitely opens up that subject and makes it a little bit easier to talk about with the kids once they've seen it. And they also, they see how happy the other kids are,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:even though they have nothing. Like these kids are smiling and playing with sticks and coconuts and happy to play with them as well. Like even though the language barriers, they don't understand anything the other one's saying, but
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:they can still play with a coconut and a stick and have a blast and think it's
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:great and find hermit crabs and you know, like they figure it out. So it's just really cool that. they start to understand that we don't need to speak the same language, we don't need to have the same values or belief systems. We can still get along and have fun and make friends with people that we know nothing about and have nothing in common with. But that that comrade, that friendship can still exist, which is cool,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:I think, growing up, like you learn to not judge people so much.
[Ben Gibson]:Sure, sure.
[taylor]:I think
[Ben Gibson]:Man.
[taylor]:and just have a respect for people who don't have as much. It's not like, oh, they're poor. It's like, hey, man, they're happy kids, too. Rad.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah, especially in, you know, the kinds of communities that you might find yourself within surfing, like, you know, I lived in San Diego for 10 years, my wife is from there, you know, in some of these places, you know, especially, you know, I think in California, it can feel very materialistic, it can feel very judgmental, and you're like, I think these like identities are very much at odds. with each other. And then you go to some places where surf culture is probably huge, but it's a very different experience where, yeah, it's very communal, it's very empathetic, it's very kind. Like, how do you think about your community and exposing kids to community in that sense to where you want to give them exposure to different kinds of people in that sense?
[taylor]:Yeah, it's a balance, right? You're just trying to find that opportunities to expose your kids to that community and to everybody that's there and that's involved. And
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:it's a balance, right? Because there's a lot of negativity in communities as well and trying to find the balance of sheltering them from some of that
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:because they're young kids and they don't need to know about a lot of the stuff that's on the news.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:Right? And then also trying to expose them to enough so that they understand what's going on in the world
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:and that it's not gonna be some big shock when they get older and they're exposed to it. So,
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:yeah, we're just trying to, it's all about just trying to find that balance, right? And every different like traveling helps, I think.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:You're exposed to it more and you see it more. And obviously having two different kind of homes, one in Australia and one in California and coming and going from those and kind of pulling out and pulling back in and. being involved and then seeing it from a distance and then back involved. It helps you kind of understand what's going on and, and, and yeah, it gives you a better perspective, right? That's just a little
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:bit easier to see when you step out of it and then step
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah,
[taylor]:back into it.
[Ben Gibson]:definitely. I just want to pause for a second. Um, I lost your video a while ago, but I didn't
[taylor]:Oh,
[Ben Gibson]:want
[taylor]:really?
[Ben Gibson]:to interrupt. I think it's just maybe the wifi isn't so great. I mean, we're talking like across the world, so
[taylor]:Yeah,
[Ben Gibson]:it's
[taylor]:yeah,
[Ben Gibson]:not,
[taylor]:yeah.
[Ben Gibson]:it's not a big deal at all, like the audio is the, is the main thing. Can you see me? Okay.
[taylor]:Yeah,
[Ben Gibson]:Or,
[taylor]:I can see you.
[Ben Gibson]:okay, cool. Awesome.
[taylor]:Fine.
[Ben Gibson]:I'll just like close my eyes and envision, envision yet. No, no,
[taylor]:Okay.
[Ben Gibson]:it's all good though. So cool. Awesome. Taylor, I just want to step back a bit and talk about your start in surfing because this being a podcast about dads, I believe you got started surfing, you know, around age six from your own dad. Is that right?
[taylor]:Yeah, that's right. My dad was a big beach volleyball guy. And so that's kind of, I was at the beach a lot. And he kind of exposed me to surfing. And I grew up in this really small town in Coronado, California, which doesn't have great surf by any means. I might as well have been born in Florida. Like this just, there's not much there, right? But as a kid, it's perfect. Tiny little waves all the time. So he kind of exposed me to boogie little fins on it, you know, eighties bodyboard. They used to have these little plastic fins on them. And I was small enough at that time at six that I could stand up on that. And so that's what kind of exposed me to surfing. And then my dad was the manager of the chart house in Coronado, California, growing up. So the chart house community is very surf centric, um, and, and ski centric. Like there's a whole lot of, of that stuff going on. So everybody within the business. always, their kids always surfed. So I was hanging out with these other kids who my dad worked with and then yeah, we surfed. That was it.
[Ben Gibson]:That's awesome. Did you,
[taylor]:Yeah.
[Ben Gibson]:do you, do you feel like there was something your dad did, uh, to nurture your passion for surfing or anything that you know, you think really helped make it to where you were able to start excelling right away?
[taylor]:Oh, for sure. My dad, he, you know, he helped implement a lot of things that guided me towards a professional surfing kind of career, I guess, as much as he always wanted me to have a backup plan and play team sports and do other things. He, he helped implement like bring on, we helped start the, the surf team at my school. So growing up, we didn't like surfing was kind of the what you'd say, but yeah, it wasn't a super popular sport in my town. It was more
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:basketball and baseball and football and, you know, that sort of stuff. So he brought, he got together with a guy named John Gillum, who is basically my coach growing up as a kid and they started the Coronado surf team. So then we were doing competitions, doing surf P in the mornings, training, going to surf, you know, going up and down the California coast to these surf events. And that. really is where I started to get a taste of what I wanted to do in this traveling, competing, you know, making friends from all these different places and and surfing together. That's that was like the biggest probably thing looking back and I never really thought
[Ben Gibson]:Hmm.
[taylor]:about it till now with like that the fact that my dad went out and started that surf team with John
[Ben Gibson]:Hmph.
[taylor]:is probably the biggest thing that fed my career.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah, dude. That's awesome that he saw that opportunity and yet just got right on it. Like how many people would have just been like, Oh man, that sucks. There's no, there's no surf team here. Well, I guess, yes. On to baseball season, but you know, he saw that and, uh, and really made the most of it. I mean, dude, I remember the first time I saw. Surf PE, which as a concept is like so foreign to, I think 99% of the world. I remember being at Tamarack and Carl's bed and seeing surf PE. And I was just, it was so obvious. Like, of course you would have this
[taylor]:Yeah.
[Ben Gibson]:team. but also just so cool as a concept of like, oh yeah, third period, I have surf.
[taylor]:Yeah,
[Ben Gibson]:That is just
[taylor]:pretty
[Ben Gibson]:such
[taylor]:crazy,
[Ben Gibson]:a cool.
[taylor]:right? Like, yeah, we didn't have it like for the first few years I was in like junior high school, we didn't have it. But all the surrounding schools did. And I was like, I was hassling the principal doing anything that I could. I was like, why don't we have surf PE? Like this is ridiculous. Like I'm going, I'm doing it anyways in the morning. Like I'm going for a surf before school starts, but we should be embracing this because it's a great way for us to start the day. And you know, a lot of these surf kids, if they get their surf out, they'll probably pay more attention at school.
[Ben Gibson]:Hmm.
[taylor]:you know, it's gonna help the flow of everything with us. So yeah, it was really cool of my dad to step in and kind of see that and also just see that, like my dad was a really athletic guy, but as in like track and field, football, team sports, that was his thing. So for him to, even though he really made me do a lot of team sports that I probably didn't wanna do, for him to see that surfing was a thing and for him to start that surf team and stuff, Yeah, it was a big, big push from him. I can see that now looking back.
[Ben Gibson]:And you hit on something that I think is something I've always found really interesting about people. You know, there's just sometimes a stereotype of the surfer of them being lazy, you know, the, the Spicoli, you know,
[taylor]:Yeah,
[Ben Gibson]:and
[taylor]:the dropouts.
[Ben Gibson]:right. But what I always found interesting is that, you know, if there was good swell at 5 AM, 6 AM and it called for some Dawn patrol, There was nothing stopping people from getting out in frigid cold waters when the sun is just cracking the horizon. And I always found that interesting too, against thinking of it like as a dad. It's like, wow, we really, if, if given, if people are given the right opportunity to find their passion and they find that thing, people can, people can really. You know, make the most of that situation for themselves. And that was a dynamic of surfers where I was like, I don't know, dude, like they're probably up in the morning before. most people and they may not have slept all that much last night. Like that to me is a pretty motivated, committed individual.
[taylor]:Absolutely. And there's a level of dedication that comes with the addiction that surfing is that you're happy to get up in the dark and be standing on the freezing. Even my daughter this morning, she's 10 and we're at the beach at 630 and she's paddling out and it's freezing cold, but she loves it. So she's out there with her friends. And yeah, it definitely imparts that dedication in your life. You understand the commitment that it takes to be a surfer. And when you're going to school all day, if you want to surf, you got to wake up at 5.36 in the morning and be at the beach and get your surf in before because you're not going to get it, especially in wintertime when it gets dark early. You're not getting an afterschool surf. So if you want to be a surfer, you better get up and get out there early and be cold and deal with the cold and deal with all the factors. But at least you're getting your surf in, right?
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think that the thing that I'm really interested in is, is not just that first generation dynamic of, you know, what your dad did really well, but also how you think about carrying those things that he did well on, uh, to your own kids and how you show up as your own dad. Like what, what are things that you feel like your dad did really well surfing related or not that you really want to still impart on your own kids and, and where are some avenues where you might want to do things a little differently? Maybe your own style.
[taylor]:Yeah, I mean, I always think a lot about breaking the chain when it comes to the negative things that may be there in your life. My dad was a really dedicated worker. He was the manager of a big restaurant and that meant 7 a.m. mornings, come home at lunchtime for an hour break, go back to work at 2 or 3 o'clock and work till 10. That was his schedule. there on school days and during the week, he had Sundays and Mondays off, so I would see him on Sunday and then I was in school on Monday. So
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:it was a, yeah, I wanted to break that chain with my kids. I don't wanna work like that. And I've made that very like an adamant thing. I'm not gonna work like that. Like I don't care what I have to do, entrepreneurial, investment, whatever I can do to not have to work those hours, I'm gonna do and- be there for my kids for sure.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:But in saying that at the same time on the good side, my dad was always there for me. Like when it came to taking off time from work to take me to a contest or to wake up at 5 a.m. to drive me up the coast to some event in the middle of nowhere, I lose first heat and turn around and have to drive me all the way back home while I slept in the passenger seat. Totally ungrateful, you know, like just not even realizing what it was that he's doing at the time, you know, I just. Yeah, I wanna go to the surf contest. So dad's driving me to the surf contest. I didn't like appreciate it at the time,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:but I wanna make sure that I'm always there for my kids in that respect. And that if it's something that they're genuinely interested in or something that they wanna do, regardless of whether or not I see value in it, or I think that they should be doing it, if it's something that they wanna do, I just wanna make sure that I'm there and I'm driving and I'm behind the wheel and I'm ready to go, no matter how tired or. what 30 hour flight I just got off and I just got home like it's I want to be there for my kids.
[Ben Gibson]:that power of just physically showing up. Like I think something I've really learned from a lot of these conversations on the podcast is that most dads feel this pressure to feel like they have to show up in this heroic way, to have these really profound moments where they go above and beyond. And what is funny about that is that most of the time, especially when we reflect on our own relationship with our own dads, most of the time, the most important thing is just showing up. And nailing all the little things. And I think even if somebody is struggling, it's like, man, if they just are physically there for their kids, for their family, that makes up for most things, I think, and my dad was the same way where I was totally that ungrateful kid in the car as my dad's driving us six hours to a wrestling tournament for me to lose two matches and wrestle for six minutes and then just drive all the way home and I'm just annoyed that we don't get to stop for McDonald's on the way home and
[taylor]:Yeah.
[Ben Gibson]:It's so funny that now as an adult, I can fully appreciate, man, you what it actually took just to physically show up and how important that is. Like, yeah, that seems to be like a really, really big one is just physically be there for the kids.
[taylor]:Totally, totally. And like you said, it's those little things too, that when you look back as an adult and having your own kids, you really start to understand what it takes to have kids and what your parents went through to get you to be the adult that you are now.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:It's crazy. It's such hard work and there's times where it just seems like you're swimming upstream and it's a nightmare. You know, our kids go through different phases and it can be super rough. So just, yeah, just being there for them and, and trying to understand and not like trying to just have the patience
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:to, to let them come to their own understandings and, and get through things on their own, but also be present and be available should they need you. Like that's yeah, it's important. And it's, yeah, it's not always easy, but
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:I do think that showing up. even just for the little things is crucial.
[Ben Gibson]:You mentioned that, um, you know, you made a commitment pretty early on that you wanted to physically be there for the kids. You know, you see it reflected in the decision for homeschooling and traveling and all these things. Um, and I think in a lot of ways, you know, the, whether you're an entrepreneur or an athlete like yourself, um, it comes with its own unique challenges to logistically make that work, like between training and traveling for tours and contests. Like how do you manage the schedule so that it gives you that time to be present with the kids?
[taylor]:I mean, look, the homeschool thing helps a big piece of that because they're here, you know, during the day and I'm here during the day. Yeah, a lot of it's just, I don't know, just pushing through and just making it happen, not being too tired, not saying, oh, you know, dad's tired, a big training day or I served too much or, you know, not coming up with excuses and things when your kids need you or want you or whatever it may be, you know. I think that kids really feel your love the most when you're just with them, playing with them. That's kind of their, that's a kid's love language, right? It's play. They want to play. So I think if you just make the time to play each day and you know, surf schedule is pretty simple. Like it's not, I'm not an Olympian. I'm not a way at, you know, training at some crazy training center or whatever it may be. Like I'm out in the water surfing or I'm training in the garage or. or whatever
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:it may be, I don't have that crazy critical schedule that I have to keep every day. A lot of it's dependent on surf, and if the surf's no good, then I've got a lot of time for the kids, and then when the surf's good, I'm out in the water and the wind comes up, well then, I've come back and I'm with the kids. I'm
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:lucky to have that really flexible schedule, but at the same time, it is just making that investment of, hey, I'm going to be there. If this is on, I don't care. It doesn't matter if the waves are good or I'm going to fly back as soon as I lose a contest or I'm just going to make every effort to be there every minute that I can.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:But at the same time, yeah, making sure that I'm getting what I need to get done in order to perform at my best so that I can continue this lifestyle and have this schedule that I can be with my kids, right? Because if I'm...
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:start losing contests and I start not being able to compete at the highest level and my career starts suffering, then I'm going to have to start looking at other options and things financially to make an income and then that's going to take time away from my kids. So
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:just trying to find that balance of it all. Yeah, it's not easy,
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:but you make it work.
[Ben Gibson]:I can't help it feel this sense of fluidity in the way that you approach it. And I imagine that much of your life has been influenced by surfing and that because of that, much of that, of those lessons in surfing of, of, of how you've navigated the world with surfing has come into your daily life, like how much has surf influenced the way you show up as a dad and as a husband? Like how have those things been changed because you've chosen this life?
[taylor]:Um, I mean my whole life like from meeting my wife to having kids everything it's all because of surfing like I met my wife at a surf contest and we both lost like You know, like funny thing like I lost the contest, but I want a wife. You know what I mean? Like it's kind of a crazy It's just weird the way that surfing's kind of steered my life. You know, I was having a lot of fun when I first got on tour and I was losing a lot And then I met my wife and I took things a little bit more serious, but still had fun and traveled together with her. And all of a sudden I started winning. And, you know, just my life just got better because I think I had more purpose behind it with having someone who I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and wanted to have a family with. And it just, it, it helped me find a balance, I think. And, and I think that understanding that, you know, life comes in waves and. Sometimes you have to ride the waves, and sometimes you have to go under the waves, and sometimes the waves hold you down. And you know, there's a lot of similarities between surfing and life and the waves that come. And you know, just understanding that the wave will pass and tomorrow there'll be another wave, you know? I mean, it goes with everything in life, and it's something that's really kept me, given me good perspective on things, right? It's like, it's gonna pass. The moment's gonna pass, whether it's. today and it's a good moment and like I won a world title but if in that moment I'm still thinking man this doesn't last forever.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:Like that'll disappear and then what happens you know like I appreciate it now because you're in this moment but then there's gonna be another moment and that moment
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:might be bad and then well it's gonna pass you'll be okay and then you know you just kind of work through life like that and it's helped me find the balance of remaining sane I guess.
[Ben Gibson]:Sure.
[taylor]:and things with kids and you know, like kids go through different phases. And sometimes it's gnarly that my daughter, my youngest daughter was going through just, I don't know, acting out. I don't know what's going on. Maybe she's getting a cold, maybe something coming, but, you know, just trying to realize that that's going to pass. Like
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:she's, she was really gnarly the last couple of days and it was driving me and my wife and our other daughter crazy. Um, but it'll pass and it's just a phase and you've got to remember that. And their kids and the. something's going on, whether they're trying to articulate something and they don't have the words for it, or they're not feeling well, or whatever it may be. Like, it's a phase and it'll pass. Yeah, I think
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:surfing's just really brought that balance to me to understand that things come and go. And yeah, you just gotta keep moving.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah. And those moments where, yeah, especially when the kids are, they're in a phase that's so challenging. It's just like surfing where, you know, it's like, I got to read the wave. I can't fight it. I've got to see what it gives me. I can't really go in with too much preparation, but I've got to see what it gives me. And I've got to, I've got to write it out the way that I see best in the moment. And I noticed in parenting, it's like, when I'm in that mode of resistance, I'm trying to like impose my will to push through and force through. In, in opposition of the wave that's coming at me, um, I'm totally out of sync and it's not, it's not good for anyone. And it's definitely in those moments where I'm much more. Present calm, receptive and receiving of like what's coming and, and how can I just kind of navigate this with ease and to your point, know that good or bad. It's going to pass. We're going to get through it. Things are going to improve. Things are going to get different. And, uh, yeah, man, it's, I think that there's a lot of really powerful, like life. perspective life lessons that you can learn from being in the water. I think too, it's, it's obviously an important part of your life and like who you are as a person, you know, I'm a climber, right? You know, when I was in San Diego, I was in the water every day and I never thought I would, I wasn't even interested in hiking and now mountains have become this life obsession of mine and I've moved my family to Oregon so that we could be at the mountains, but I think a big part of why it's so important is that I always say that the person that goes up the mountain, is not the same person that comes down the mountain. Tell me about how does the person change for you, that person that goes out in the water versus the person that comes back to shore? Like how is how is surfing changed? Or why is it so important for you?
[taylor]:Surfing, it's my release. It's how I cope. It really has become a coping mechanism for me. It's all going to the water stressed out and frustrated or whatever it may be, whether it's family work, whatever, and I'll go into the water and it all disappears. And it doesn't necessarily matter how good the waves are or if I get good waves or not. It's just a place of... serenity for me. It's quiet. It's it's silence. It's it's the only kind of the only place where I can actually think without getting distracted. Like I've ADHD. So for me, I'm I get distracted super easily. Right. But in the water, there is no distractions for me. I'm scanning the lineup looking for waves. It's the only time I feel like my brain is silent, and not just kicking crazy, you know, just ticking constant ideas or thoughts through I'm just I'm in the ocean and I'm thinking about the waves and that's it. And it's just like, if you see on Instagram, there's like memes and stuff where people there's all this noise and then they pick up a whatever it is that they like to do and it goes silent. And it's like why they do this. It's like, it's a real thing for me. Like I'm constantly noise, head noise going on, and then I get in the water and the head noise is gone. So for me, I, I'll go into the ocean as a stressed out dad. and come back and build sandcastles on the beach happily. You know what I mean? Like that's
[Ben Gibson]:Totally.
[taylor]:really indicative of what it does for me. Like if I'm sitting on the beach and I haven't had a surf yet, I'm not as eager to build sandcastles and do that stuff. I'm like looking at the ocean, like, oh man, I should be out there. I need to, you know, and then, but if I've had my surf, I'm like zenned out, balanced, and I can come back into shore and do those things and
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:be much more present for my family.
[Ben Gibson]:That's great. Yeah. It's like peak dad post-surf. Like if you want, if you need to ask
[taylor]:Totally.
[Ben Gibson]:dad for a raise of allowance, hit them up post surf, cause he'll be
[taylor]:Yeah.
[Ben Gibson]:in the best mood.
[taylor]:Oh, my kids know too. They know like, don't ask dad before he's had a coffee and a surf. Let that go through first and then okay. And then we can try and get in dads. And they've got me wrapped around their little fingers anyway. So they know. Yeah, they know how to get me.
[Ben Gibson]:That's cool. Yeah, it certainly, uh, it certainly changes, you know, becoming the dad, but, um, you mentioned your kids are surfing. Is that something you guys all get to do together?
[taylor]:Yep. Yeah, it's really cool. So my wife surfs as well. She was on the world tour, Australian longboard champion.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:So she's Yeah, we both surf and both of our kids surf and her tube her her whole family serves basically other than her mom. So we're out there with granddad uncle mom dad all surfing together. And it's just
[Ben Gibson]:That's
[taylor]:a
[Ben Gibson]:so
[taylor]:really
[Ben Gibson]:cool.
[taylor]:special, like such a special thing to share. Like there's these, you know, most of our days involve going, walking down to the beach from our house here in Australia, surfing this little baby wave in the corner. That's just, you couldn't build a more perfect wave for a four and a 10 year old
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:and go down there and grandma and granddad come down and uncle comes down and watch on the beach and play on the beach and surf for a couple hours. And that's like a daily activity for us. That's like recess. for the kids,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm.
[taylor]:you know, like that's like, what a special thing to be able to grow up doing that.
[Ben Gibson]:know of anything else that's like that. Like there are there are no other sports that I can think of, or I guess few other sports that are like that. But man, that is such a special opportunity for the for the grandparents to get into the mix too. I mean, that that gets them them time with the grandkids and gives them that that, you know, that that it's not like you're visiting grandma once a year, but it's like, man, that daily quality time with with the whole family. That's that is so special.
[taylor]:Totally, and they live like, they're three doors up, so the kids can run up there and, hey, we're gonna go surf, let's go, and then they'll come down and it's just, it's so special, like I didn't grow up with that in San Diego, like it just, you know, grandparents lived further up the coast or whatever it may be, or they weren't beach people, they didn't surf, you know, like that. I just didn't grow up with that, where my wife did, like her dad's always been there surfing and her grandparents,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:she's, you know, they lived on the beach, so. Yeah, it was something that I really thought was really cool when we had kids and started seeing this whole dynamic form. And, you know, my four year old the other day paddled out to the point, which is a bit of a bigger, heavier wave with uncle and on his big 12 foot board and caught a wave with him. And it was cool just to sit back on the beach and watch that.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:Like, it's great to be a part of it and to be dad on the board with my with my kids.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:And I've done a lot of that, but it's also really cool to be able to just kind of take a step back and watch. somebody else take your kid for that experience too and see the smile on their face and your kid's face. And yeah, just to be able to step back a little bit, you appreciate
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah,
[taylor]:it more.
[Ben Gibson]:totally. I mean, I love seeing my grandparents or my parents do anything with my kids. And it's just like almost surreal too. We're like, wow, this is, this is so cool to just watch them get to share that moment, but to get to see them do something that you also love that's, that's gotta be, that's gotta be really special.
[taylor]:Yeah,
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:it's pretty special for sure.
[Ben Gibson]:That's awesome. I am curious too, as you know, someone who has surfed their entire life and also I think you said you've won your first pro contest at what 16, is that right?
[taylor]:Mm-hmm.
[Ben Gibson]:So
[taylor]:Yeah,
[Ben Gibson]:you've
[taylor]:I was
[Ben Gibson]:been,
[taylor]:16.
[Ben Gibson]:you've been surfing at a high level for an enormous amount of time. So I, I am curious about longevity. And I think that this is something that comes up with a lot of dads too. You know, I think I was just talking with some, uh, dads of friends of mine here that ski and, and literally every time we get off the mountain, it's just aches and pains and it's like, ah, like how many more years of this do I have, but you seem to have maybe cracked a code when it comes to physical and mental longevity. And it's not been without injuries. I think you said you broke your back in your late teens. I know you've had some pretty significant ankle injuries, but I'm curious, what do you think you've done right? And maybe it's changed over the course of your career. What do you think you've done right physically to give yourself the longevity to continue to compete at such a high level for so long?
[taylor]:Um, it's a funny one because I feel the aches and pains too. Um, you know, I think surfing is not a super high impact sport, which I think definitely helps, um, also just the right balance of training. Like I don't over train. I'm not in the gym hitting weights and stuff like that. Like I don't,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:I don't think that that benefits you surfing personally. Um, especially long boarding, like I've read a longer board, so it's not so much about brute strength and aerial maneuvers and extreme sports. A lot of it's about finesse and little intricacies and details and footwork and being nimble and light on your feet. So for me, my training has been less impact and more just fluidity balance oriented.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:And I think that that's really where the longevity comes into play. Like if you can stay like loose and light on your feet, there's no... time limit for longboarding. Like really, like we had Joel Tudor won a world title. I think he's 46. Like that's, you know, Kelly Slater just won at 50 at pipeline. You know, it wasn't a world title, but it was probably one of the most highly respected events in the world.
[Ben Gibson]:Sure.
[taylor]:Um, surfing definitely has a longer lifespan.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:If you just stay on top of your game and continue doing things like
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:you just have to stay on top of it. And I think that the kids are definitely keeping me young as well.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:You know, them surfing more and I want to win another world title with my kids being able to watch me do that. Like
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:my eldest daughter saw that, like she got to see me win my third world title, which was a really special moment for me, right? But my youngest one hasn't seen that and I want to give her that same experience.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:So it's a little bit selfish of me, hey I want to, you know, be dad on the podium and have them on the podium with me when I win a world title. Like what a cool, what a rad experience, right?
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:And seeing Joel do it. a couple years ago with his kids. And I've watched his kids grow up, I remember when his kids were born, so
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:I've watched them grow up and they're in their teens and they're competing on the world tour now. Just see him win in front of his teenage kid, pretty rad. That's a pretty rad moment,
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:how cool. So
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:I just wanna find that balance, get my kids. You know, it's not easy. Like there's ailments and stuff with my back flares up from time, time, my knee flares up, my ankle flares up. It's like I just have to find the right balance of overdoing it and not doing enough.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:Because if I overdo it, things will start to hurt. And I really notice them now, but I just don't do those things that
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:make it hurt. And I just try to, you know, evolve and adapt and change and yeah, just stay on top of my game, but without overcooking myself.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah. And that would be a rad experience as a dad to be at the top of the podium, have your kids witness that. And I don't know if it's as much selfish as much as I always think of it as like, you're, you're really modeling your kids like, Hey, this is, this is how I think you should navigate the world. Like you should go after your passions. You should pursue them diligently for as long as you can. You know, you can accomplish anything you put your mind to despite the challenges. So, sure, there may be a little of selfishness in there of like, yeah, dad's still got it. But I definitely think that there's a lot rooted in, you know, modeling that ambition for how we think our kids should navigate the world.
[taylor]:Oh, for sure. I mean, my kids just see me day to day, right? Like,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:because they're homeschooled, they see what I do day to day, preparation for events and stuff. So for them to see that dad's like, I'm going for it, but there's no guarantee.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:Like, I might lose, I might put in all this effort, all this time, all this money and lose. And that's OK. Like, it's also helping them understand loss, right? Like, you can prepare as much as you want, and you can think you're on top of your game and then the wave doesn't come or the ocean doesn't cooperate or the judges. don't give you the score or whatever it may be. And you have to learn how to accept defeat. And for them to be able to see that, they've seen a lot of that, you lose way more than
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:you win. So for them to see that and to see that rather than me taking that in and being down and negative and beating myself up about a loss, that I can turn that loss into fuel for the fire moving forward. And I can
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:just say, okay, I need to work better at this. And then I'll just... go all in and work better. I went all in at surfing at 13. 13, I got my first sponsor and that was it. I was gonna be a professional surfer, I didn't care what happened. I stopped paying attention in school, just lost interest in sports, that was it. I was all in, no backup
[Ben Gibson]:Hmm.
[taylor]:plan. I don't wanna teach my kids that because that's probably a little bit of a risky maneuver, but when you have nothing else and that's your only plan, you'll put a lot more into it.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm. Yeah,
[taylor]:So there
[Ben Gibson]:absolutely.
[taylor]:is definitely some. you know, there's something there that not having a backup, like my dad really wanted me to go to college and have a backup plan and I wasn't doing it. Regardless, like I didn't care. I wasn't listening, you know, it's a stubborn,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:little bit cocky kid who just got his first sponsor and you know, I'm going to be a professional surfer and I'm gonna win a world title and da da da da, you know, like, I probably should have listened, but at the same time, if I did listen, and I didn't go to school, I don't know that I'd be where I am now.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And I think, uh, man, having what you said about having them witness you lose and fail despite preparation. I mean, seeing your dad lose or fail as a kid is kind of a shocking thing, but what a helpful moment for them to get to see you navigate that. Cause I think a lot of people probably struggle with that themselves because they never, they never witnessed it. They're like, dude, I don't know how to handle losing. Cause I never saw somebody model. losing well and turning it into something positive. I don't know how to handle conflict because I never saw anyone handle conflict well and show me how to do it. So I bet the times where they've witnessed things not go well are probably some of the more impactful moments for them. Like that's huge.
[taylor]:Yeah, for sure. And they interpreted it funny too. Like, I lost a world title, really close world title. My daughter was on the beach and she came up and she's like, God, I want to go kick his butt. And
[Ben Gibson]:Hahaha!
[taylor]:I just like, you know, I'm all like bummed out because I just lost and she comes up and says that I just started cracking up on my, you know, it immediately took me out of that. Oh man, I just lost the world title by 0.03
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:or whatever it was to like, how great are kids? It's just really
[Ben Gibson]:Dude,
[taylor]:cool.
[Ben Gibson]:it's just a reminder that like, no matter what cool shit you get into, you're just dad. Like you're just cool because you're dad. And like you could win, you know, 11 world titles or none and they still love you. And that's, I think something I'm trying to remind myself of as I head into a big climb and it's like, man, most important thing is that I come home and I just show up as dad again and everything will be right in the world.
[taylor]:That's it. It's really hard to shelf that coming home, right? Walking in the door and hang up those emotions on the rack,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:like, you know, with your hat and your jacket, like it's really hard. Like it's a really hard thing. You know, you're emotionally invested in what you do as an athlete and to put those emotions aside and, you know, come in the door and be a hundred percent dad. It's really hard, man. Like there's days where I just can't do it. And it, you know, I feel bad and I feel like I'm blowing it as a dad, but you know, you got to take care of yourself too. And there's some things that you can't shake for a reason and you need to process emotionally and before you can be dad again, right?
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:So nobody's
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:perfect. You just got to kind of push through and yeah, I don't know. Fine. Try
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:and yeah, just make it work for you. Whatever you got to do, you got to do.
[Ben Gibson]:Certainly. Yeah, man. I mean, that was the whole genesis of why this podcast even exists was because I felt like I was massively underperforming in certain areas as a dad. And it was like, man, I, I, I am coming to this with zero answers and a million questions because, you know, I, I certainly want to keep pushing through. And, uh, I think it's conversations like this, that like, I think more men, more dads, like having this realness of like, man, I think I'm, I think I'm messing this up. quite a bit and I'm trying to figure this out and trying to navigate the ambiguity and the uncertainty and most importantly work on my own stuff, uh, to, to show up, but, uh, it's certainly not an easy, an easy endeavor at all. So.
[taylor]:No, not at all. It's yeah. Dad life's
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:gnarly, you know, it really is like a lot of yeah. I mean, I really valued conversations like this, right? Like hearing other people's take like a lot of the things I follow on Instagram and stuff like that. It's people talking about being a dad and that but in reality, like not some expectations, just this is real dad life. Like I screwed
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:up today. And that's okay. Like,
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:you know, like things slip, you make mistakes. That's being a dad. Like it just, that's being human.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:That's who we are. Like we're going to make mistakes and you just have to show up and do the absolute best that you can in the moment and learn from mistakes and move on to the next moment and just try to do better the next time.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, very well said. I want to pause. I do want to be respectful of your time. Do you have a couple minutes to go past?
[taylor]:Yeah, no, I'm fine. Don't
[Ben Gibson]:Okay.
[taylor]:worry about me. I'm just... Kids are at Grandma and Granddad's. I already took the big one surfing this morning. We're good.
[Ben Gibson]:Cool. Awesome. Perfect. Um, yeah. So kind of continuing on, I think a lot of what you said of like continuing to push through and continuing to, you know, uh, process where we fail and whatnot is probably a lot of that mental longevity, um, that I think is so critical to your career. Like one, you've, you've chosen a career that was your passion. And I think it's probably sometimes probably hard to And again, I don't know, but like maybe the have surfing not feel like a job not feel like work, but also the idea to continue to compete year after year. And as you mentioned, with some pretty kind of devastating losses that were just like, you know, fractions of points that were the difference between winning and losing, like, how do you think about the mental game of longevity? And how that's maybe evolved since you were that 13 year old kid that was maybe a little arrogant to the to the man you are now?
[taylor]:Yeah. I look, I found like early on in my career, I didn't really, I took the losses really personal, right? And I'd smash my equipment and I'd freak out and I'd like be so angry and so frustrated that I would just blow out. And I started to notice this toll that it was taking on me. Like I spent my first 11 years on tour without a world title. 11 years of doing the same thing, losing, like having to cope with losses like that, like close losses, like runner ups, thirds, fifths. I've been in the top 10 my whole career, but I spent 11 years in the top 10 without a world title. Like that's pretty gnarly stuff to try and figure out in your head. Like what am I doing wrong? Why aren't I getting these results? I'm doing all
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:the work. Where's the result? You're brought up to believe that you do the work, you get the results. And that's often not the case with competition because especially surfing, because it's not a level playing field waves come waves don't come.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:You just don't know. So I, um, I read a book and I can't remember the name of the book right now, but one of the messages in the book was to take time to acknowledge your moments of greatness as well as your moments of defeat and learn from them. Right. So I think as human beings, we notice our faults a lot quicker than we notice our strengths. And just to kind of, like I started stepping back and being like, hey, you know what? I surfed that heat really well. I did these things right. And it gave me a little bit of positivity within these negative results to keep myself going, right? If you're just bombarded with negativity, you're gonna burn out and you're gonna be over it. It's just gonna happen. You're not gonna wanna do it anymore. So even though you're losing and even though you're not getting the results that you want and all these goals and dreams are... passing you by, you can still acknowledge the fact that you did something good in there.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:And I think it's important, like as a dad also, like, you know, you have these moments of screwed up, you know, you notice when you screwed up,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:but you're not acknowledging the fact that, hey, as parents, we handled this situation really well today. Like stop and give your partner a high five or, you know, a hug or whatever it is and say, you know, we did really well with that. Like, I'm really happy with the way that we communicated with our children over this topic.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm hmm.
[taylor]:And even though it's one topic of a day that maybe it was a nightmare and things fell apart and you felt like you were losing that one moment is something that you need to keep in perspective that it's not all bad. Our goods in here, we're doing our best. Let's keep moving forward. Same thing in surfing.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:Like it's not all bad. I lost the contest, but maybe I was working on something in there, some competitive strategy and I got it. And that worked. So
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:cool. Acknowledge it. Like, don't just. skip over it like it's a nothing, like it is a significant event even though it didn't get you the result that you wanted.
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm. That is a man. That's a great piece of advice there in that moment of struggle to acknowledge your partner. Cause I think, yeah, that, that's something I, as you said it, I was like, you know, man, I, I certainly don't do that. You know, I think I'm quick to criticism when things are not going well. And, and there's really not a lot of praise in those moments where I'm like, Hey, I really loved how you handled that conversation. I really loved how you kept your cool. even though they were kicking and screaming. That's a great piece of advice. And it seems like it's definitely served you well, the focus on optimism. And I can't, I'm still blown away by the fact that you lost that contest and then met your wife. There's no better example of silver lining in a down moment than that. It's like, wow, shoot, had I surfed well, I may not have actually met my wife and
[taylor]:No,
[Ben Gibson]:had my family.
[taylor]:totally. Totally. And that may maybe that's what kind of kickstarted that whole optimistic thing in my head. Like maybe, you know,
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:one of the greatest moments of my life was losing that contest and meeting my wife. And it that loss steered me down this road where I met her and we have these beautiful children and have this fantastic life that like, if I'd won the contest, that probably wouldn't happen because I wouldn't have gone out that night. And I would have been preparing, you know, for the next day of competition. So yeah, like, you know, understanding that great things come from defeat as well as success. Like that's, you know, it's, yeah, sometimes a screw up might not be a screw up, but it might be a blessing in disguise.
[Ben Gibson]:Absolutely. And yeah, it is certainly led to a, an amazing life of travel and challenge and a lot of freedom. And, uh, man, I think that, uh, you know, I think if more people tried to live the way you're living, the world would be a whole lot better place. And I think we'd certainly feel a lot more connection to where we live and who we live with. So yeah, kudos to you, man. Um, I'm curious, what's, uh, what's, what's next for you and the family? What's, what's on the horizon for you?
[taylor]:Right now we're in Australia until probably September. My world tour stuff starts at the end of July. I'm going to fly back to California for an event there, the US Open, the big one. That's the start of our tour. Then we'll jump down to Bells. I'll meet the family here. We'll do Bells Beach in Australia. And then we fly back to California for about a week and then fly down to El Salvador for our next event. And then from El Salvador up to Malibu, California. So... our tour is like condensed into, you know, four months and
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:it's going to be a lot of travel, but the family's coming with me everywhere other than Huntington. Just because financially it doesn't make sense to leave Australia, fly to Huntington, fly back to Australia to fly back to LA again. So
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:yeah,
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:I'll do Huntington alone. We have a house in Oceanside, so it's kind of home for me anyways. And
[Ben Gibson]:Cool.
[taylor]:yeah, that's kind of it. And just more homeschool with the kids and getting them surf, you know, just... just fostering their surf stoke really like
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:they're into it right now and I don't want to let them down by not being there so I'm there
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:and we'll go down to the beach again in a couple hours and surf again like the kids are doing two surfs a day it's pretty cool like as a dad like that's rad you know
[Ben Gibson]:That's
[taylor]:and I'll
[Ben Gibson]:so cool.
[taylor]:fit my surfs in around hers it's cool like I don't
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah, man, that's so cool. And I can't help but think of like the, uh, the homeschooling aspect of it too, where it's like, so they have this traveling classroom, they're going to go to El Salvador and Southern California and all over the world. And that's, that's, uh, where school is as well. So that's such a cool concept.
[taylor]:Yeah,
[Ben Gibson]:Well.
[taylor]:it's fun. It's really fun. Like it's just, I don't know. Like, and for us too, like as parents, like I, I'm enjoying learning about these different cultures that we travel to. And
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:I'm enjoying, like I'm learning with the kids, you know, like, like I said, I didn't pay that much attention in school from 13 on. So there's a lot of things that I probably didn't really get, right. And my wife is really, you know, academic and she's super dialed in on all that stuff. So
[Ben Gibson]:Mm-hmm.
[taylor]:for me, I feel like I'm kind of learning along the way with my 10 year old, like stuff I just skipped over with surfing when we went through it at school or whatever it may have been. Yeah, it's just cool to learn with your kid. It's really cool.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah. Yeah, certainly I, um, and with that with my four year old right now, where what it's highlighted, how little I knew about certain topics. And I'm like, wow, let's, let's learn about this together.
[taylor]:Totally.
[Ben Gibson]:I
[taylor]:Totally.
[Ben Gibson]:know nothing about this. Uh,
[taylor]:Totally.
[Ben Gibson]:but then it's also cool to get to like share that. Like actually I, dad kind of knows quite a bit about this topic. Like let's, let's riff on this. Like, uh, space was a big one for my son. Like I happened to nerd out on some space stuff and I'm amazed with how quickly it stuck with him. He'd be like, oh, let's go see Orion and like, let's go see these stars in the sky. Like, what's Venus do? And I was just like, I'm like,
[taylor]:Isn't
[Ben Gibson]:oh, this is so cool.
[taylor]:that? It's so crazy, right? The stuff that you'll tell the kids once and somehow it's like imprinted in their brain and they'll pull it out like three months later and like, oh,
[Ben Gibson]:Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
[taylor]:this is da da da da da da da. And you're like, wait, what? How do you remember that?
[Ben Gibson]:Exactly.
[taylor]:Like my four year old does stuff, she remembers stuff when she was two.
[Ben Gibson]:It's,
[taylor]:Like
[Ben Gibson]:ah,
[taylor]:places
[Ben Gibson]:it's...
[taylor]:we went, she's like, I remember we went there when I didn't know like rip off what we did like that day. And I'm like, how do you remember what happened? two years ago when you were two years old in some foreign
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:country, but you saw the picture and it immediately clicked in this whole chain of events that we did.
[Ben Gibson]:Yeah.
[taylor]:Kids are just amazing.
[Ben Gibson]:It's, oh man, amazing. Yeah. I think that that's like, I know it's cliche, but it's like, they really, they really are teaching us probably more than we ever could to teach them. And that's, I think one of the most fun things about being a dad is like, you're, you're that, you're that, you know, fresh learner, fresh perspective. Everything's new and exciting again. And just leaning into that as much as we can.
[taylor]:Yeah, 100%.
[Ben Gibson]:Awesome. Well, I just want to say thanks so much again for the time. This has been such a great
[taylor]:No
[Ben Gibson]:conversation.
[taylor]:worries, thank you.
[Ben Gibson]:I'm curious if if you had to leave people with any one thing, like is there anything that comes to mind that either we we said that you want to highlight or anything that you maybe didn't get to that you want to touch on like any any last words you think
[taylor]:I would just go back to that, acknowledge your successes as long as your defeat, as well as your defeats. I think it's important as a parent to acknowledge when you do something right and don't just focus on your faults or the mistakes that you make. That's
[Ben Gibson]:Perfect.
[taylor]:really it. I mean, yeah. It's helped me a lot in getting through the toughest moments and just picking out the little things that you do right and acknowledging them. I think that that goes a long way with keeping the wheels moving and not getting stuck in a rut somewhere along the way.
[Ben Gibson]:Awesome. Wise words. Well, Taylor, thanks again, man. And
[taylor]:Thank you.
[Ben Gibson]:good luck with everything. Excited to follow along the journey.
[taylor]:Right on. Thanks, Ben.