Tom Curren: The Legendary Surfer

Surfing phenomenon – with an enigmatic personality, three world titles, and an almost poetic, original wave-riding style – Tom Curren is arguably the best and most influential surfer of all time. With a name almost synonymous with surfing, Tom Curren dominated professional surfing in the 1980s.

 

Tom Curren is a legendary surfer and three times World Champion (1985, 1986, and 1990). His artistic, graceful, and revolutionary surfing style redefined competitive surfing in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is among the wealthiest surfers, with a net worth of around $5 Million.

 

Despite Curren’s humble, quiet, and reclusive personality, he was a fierce competitor with an unmatched talent in the water. Here’s more about the surfing legend who changed the art of competitive surfing in the 1980s.

 

Is Tom Curren Still Surfing?

Tom Curren odically retired from the competitive surfing scene in the mid-1990s. However, he is still very present in the world of surfing.

 

Curren occasionally participates in ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) contests, and the Word Championship Tour (WCT) often invited him to surf as a Dreamtour wildcard in their contests.

 

He has also competed in the Annual Switchfoot Bro-Am Surf Contest a couple of times, surfing on the Switchfoot team. The Bro-Am is dedicated to giving back to the San Diego community and local children’s charities by raising awareness and funds.

 

Tom Curren enjoys tinkering with unconventional surfboard designs, skimboards, and bodyboards, often in pumping surf. And even though he loves surfing in his local Santa Barbara waters, he still loves traveling the world to chase down those perfect waves.

 

Curren occasionally trades his board for his guitar. His singing and composition reflect his unique personality, marrying blues, folk, and rock. Tom Curren has released several albums and has toured extensively.

 

How Old Is Tom Curren?

Tom Curren is 58 years old today. He was born in beautiful Santa Barbara, California, on 3 July 1964.

 

How Many World Titles Did Tom Curren Win?

Tom Curren has three world titles – 1985, 1986, and 1990.

 

He was the first American surfer to win the men’s world title. Before Kelly Slater dominated the competitive arena, Curren held the record for achieving the most event victories, with 33 wins from 1982 to 1992.

 

Curren is also a three-time Op Pro Champion, winning in 1983, 1984, and 1988.

Tom Curren’s Surfing Style And Achievements

Tom Curren redefined the competitive surfing era in the 1980s with his unique, effortless wave-riding style that other surfers can only dream of emulating. He always will be one of the most stylish surfers in history.

 

Curren is an artist, then a world-champion surfer. Opposite to surfers like Occy, who surf with aggression and sharp lines, Curren surfs with a smooth style and clean, precise sinuous lines interspersed with raw power. His original surfing style was influenced by Wayne Bartholomew (1978 world champion) and endless hours spent mastering the waves.

Tom Curren maneuvers each wave with deceptive power. He sets his front foot at a 90-degree angle while standing up, tucks his back knee in, and seldom moves his feet while riding a wave. His lines are precise and perfectly blended into the next with each turn.

Curren invented the iconic Double-Pump Bottom Turn, which has become the goal for every surfer since. The turn is accomplished by adding a booster second turn at the trough of the wave while climbing toward the board’s lip. The maneuver results in greater torque and rotation during the off-the-top maneuver.

Curren’s brilliant surfing technique and languorous bottom turns became the pattern for nearly every young surfer during the 1980s and early 1890s. He “paved the waves” for legendary Kelly Slater and JJF; both surfers mimic Tom’s style, from soulful bottom turns to perfectly positioned arms and effortless transitions.

Tom Curren successful surfing career earned him three world titles and 33 event victories.

Tom Curren Achievements – The 80’s

Tom Curren started impressing the judges at only 14 years old, where he began an astonishing four-year streak in the amateur division, winning the US Surfing Championships in 1978 and 1979. He also won the national and World Championship junior titles in 1980 and followed up with one World Championship victory in the men’s division.

 

In 1981 he participated in the Katin Pro-Am, finishing runner-up to former world pro champion Shaun Tomson, but won the following year.

 

Tom Curren turned pro before his 18^th birthday and signed his first sponsorship contracts with Rip Curl and Ocean Pacific. He won the Trestles-hosted Stubbies Pro and the Marui Word Surfing Pro in Japan in 1982 and entering only four of twelve world tour events, Curren finished the year rated #19.

 

Over the next two years, Tom Curren’s rating went from eighth to fourth, helped by his consecutive wins in the Op Pro Championship at Huntington Beach. By mid-decade, the humble and reclusive teenager was an international surfing phenomenon.

 

In his first golden year in 1985, Tom Curren conquered five stages: Foster’s Surf Master Pro, Marui World Surfing Pro, BHP Steel International, Philishave Tracer, and Stubbie’s Surf Classic.

 

He was the first American male surfer to win the world tour since the circuit was founded in 1976. Curren took the championship, defeating Australian rival Mark semi-finals of the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, which is still regarded as one of the greatest matches in world tour history.

 

Tom Curren joined Martin Potter and Tom Carroll in 1985 to help introduce world politics to surfing by boycotting the world circuit events in South Africa to protest against apartheid.

 

In 1986, Curren went for his send golden year, conquering Marui Japan Open, Gotcha Pro, Lacanau Pro, Foster’s Surf Master Pro, and Stubbie’s US Pro.

 

It seemed as if Curren lost interest in competing between 1987 and 1988, dropping from 5th to 15th in the ratings. He quit the tour in 1989 to spend time with his wife and children in Anglet, southwest France.

Tom Curren Achievements – The 90’s

Returning to compete in 1990, the 26-year-old won cruised his way to a third world title, winning a record-tying seven events for the season: O’Neill/Pepsi Coldwater Classic, Bundaberg Rum Masters, Rip Curl/Coke Classic, Quiksilver Lacanau Pro, Arena Surfmasters, Boundi Pro, and Mauri Pro.

 

Curren won his final world tour events in 1991: Alder Surf Pro and Wyland Hawaiian Pro. He occasionally competed in masters events during the 2000s, finishing runner-up in the 2000 Quiksilver Masters World Championships and first in the 2011 ISA World Masters.

 

In 1995, Tom Curren was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame and into the Surfers Hall of Fame in 2003.

 

Men’s Championship Tour

1982	Marui World Surfing Pro – 1st place
1983	Hang Ten Series (i) – 1st place OP Pro – 1st place Marui World Surfing Pro – 1st place
1984	OP Pro – 1st place Stubbie’s Surf Classic – 1st place Rip Curl/Aust Crawl Classic – 1st place
1985	Foster’s Pro – 1st place Marui World Surfing Pro – 1st place Philishave Tracer – 1st place BHP Steel International – 1st place Stubbie’s Surf Classic – 1st place
1986	Marui Japan Open – 1st place Stubbie’s US Pro – 1st place Lacanau Pro – 1st place Gotcha Pro – 1st place Foster’s Surf Master Pro – 1st place
1987	Marui Japan Open – 1st place Stubbie’s US Pro – 1st place
1988	Marui Japan Open – 1st place Stubbie’s US Pro – 1st place OP Pro – 1st place
1989	Rip Curl Pro Landes – 1st place
1990	O’Neill/Pepsi Coldwater Classic – 1st place Bundaberg Rum Masters – 1st place Rip Curl/Coke Classic – 1st place Quiksilver Lacanau Pro – 1st place Arena Surfmasters – 1st place Boundi Pro – 1st place Mauri Pro – 1st place
1991	Alder Surf Pro – 1st place Wyland Hawaiian Pro – 1st place

 

Tom Curren’s Personal Life And Net Worth

Tom Curren is among the most popular surfers, with an impressive net worth and fascinating life. Let’s take a look.

Tom Curren’s Net Worth

Tom Curren is among the wealthiest surfers, with a net worth of around $5 Million.

 

Tom Curren’s Younger Years

Thomas Roland Curren was born to 1950s surfing legend Pat Curren and surfer wife Jeanine. Pat pioneered the modern age of surfing in the Waimea area of Hawaii, where the waves were particularly dangerous.

 

Pat and Jeanine got married in 1961, and a year later, they moved to Santa Barbara, California. While Jeanine managed ran a bikini shop, Pat made a living by diving for abalone and shaping surfboards. Tom, the first of their three kids, was born on 3 July 1964 in Santa Barbara.

 

Tom had a great headstart to his surfing career from the get-go with Santa Barabara’s legendary ‘Ricon Point’ point break on his doorstep and a famous surfing dad to teach him the trade. As a result, he was in the water almost as soon as he could walk. Pat put Tom on a surfboard for the first time at age two, but Curren only started surfing regularly at age six.

 

Caught in the middle of his parents arguing and discontentment, Curren began drinking in sixth grade and smoking marijuana in seventh grade. Jeanine, at her wit’s end, took Tom to church with her, stating that Christianity would become an essential piece of his life – his deep Christian faith persists to this day.

 

Jeanine drove him to multiple surfing competitions along the whole West Coast. By the time Curren was 14 years old, he was already winning contests and major championships and making a mark in the surfing media.

 

Pat left home for good when Tom was seventeen, but Tom says he has nothing but respect for his father and confirms that they have a strong relationship.

 

Tom Curren Becomes Pro And Starts A Family

By eighteen, Tom was married to a French teenager, Marie. The couple moved to the French Basque coastal country and had two kids, Lee-Ann and Nathan.

 

During a competition, Curren was photographed riding a wave to victory at Haleiwa on a surfboard conspicuously free of any logos and trademarks. It was never determined whether Curren was making a quiet yet very loud anticorporate statement or if he was displaying chronic absentmindedness. However, long-time sponsor Ocean Pacific was upset enough to completely drop Curren from its roster.

 

Several weeks later, Tom Curren signed the richest surfing contract at the time: a five-year, $2 Million deal with Rip Curl. He spent most of the early 90s traveling the world as the iconic figure of Rip Curl’s marketing campaign “The Search.”

 

Curren and Maria got divorced in 1993, and he married Maki Caicedo of Panama by the following year. They moved back to Santa Barbara and had two children, Francis and Patrick.

 

Tom Curren emerged as a pro surfer in the early 80s, an era when the surfing competition was at its best. His three world titles – 1985, 1986, and 1990 – do not give the full story of his enduring appeal. Curren won the 1982 Marui World Surfing Pro in Japan – his very first event as a pro; he boycotted South African events to make a stand against apartheid and was the unwitting cause of a riot due to nemesis Mark Occhilupo.

 

Despite Curren’s aversion to the spotlight, he became one of the top surfing influencers of all time, acknowledged for his cutting-edge, perfectly tuned, original performance. He challenged the surfing culture and altered the mindset of thousands of surfers across the globe.

 

He also appeared on MTV’s Alternative Nation to promote the Ocean Aid environmental group 1995, telling 40,000 people in Anaheim Stadium that “the ocean is a sign of God’s power, and it’s really good to live for Jesus Christ.”

 

Tom Curren Pursues A Music Career

Tom Curren has enjoyed making music for almost as long as he’s been surfing. He has played various instruments since he was fifteen, including guitar, drums, bass, and singing. His musical gift was mainly recognized among a small group of musical celebrities.

 

He released his first track in late 1993. He committed to a 27-stop national tour, where his band ‘Skipping Urchins’ traveled to every hardcore surfing outpost. The American tour was a stunning ode to his artistry & endurance.

 

It was only in 1998, in Sydney, that Curren exposed himself as a prodigious musician, featuring raw and honest performances with a minimalistic approach and folk and bluesy influence. Curren released his first album in 2004. Rolling Stone magazine gave his 2013 LP In Plain View a three-star review, commenting that “he can navigate a studio as well as a wave.”

 

Tom Curren Today

Tom Curren remained enigmatic, riding strange homemade surfboards and appearing in over 100 surf movies, videos, and documentaries.

 

Today, Tom Curren occasionally participates in ASP and WCT contests as a Dreamtour wildcard. He enjoys tinkering with unconventional surfboard designs and traveling the globe to enjoy perfect waves. Curren also enjoys singing and composition.

 

Conclusion

Tom Curren has well earned his reputation as one of the top surfers of all time. His artistic, revolutionary surfing style redefined competitive surfing in the late 1980s.

 

Tom Curren still captures the public’s attention. His surfing style is quietly powerful and speaks volumes of his unmatched understanding of the waves’ ever-changing environment.