‘... going towards the next plane ticket’

Lincoln Taylor is the first Red Bull Junior Surf Master. That he received the prize from his idol Mick Fanning was just one other reason for celebrating.

Surfers don’t have it bad. Their sport takes place in some of the most beautiful places on earth, under bright sunshine, on fantastic beaches and at exotic destinations. The disadvantage is that those who aren’t among the top surfers have to either hook up with a generous bank as financer or a generous stewardess as girlfriend. ‘The traveling really eats into your pocket,’ says Lincoln Taylor, 20 and one of Australia’s most talented cup surfers.

Generous prize money as talent support

For Taylor – naturally endowed with the usual optical attributes of a 20-year-old Australian surfer – it seems that the latter variant is a do-able task. But in the end he went for a third option – and on August 31 won the first Red Bull Junior Surf Masters, Down Under’s best endowed junior surfing cup. Taylor, currently second in the Australian Junior Series, held his own at the qualifying events in July and August, and also dominated the finals at Queenscliff Beach, NSW.

Talent test in front of Fanning and Clarke-Jones

‘The conditions were pretty tricky out there,’ said Taylor. ‘And I was lucky to get the better waves in the final. It’s been such an awesome event. It’s the best set-up I’ve seen for a junior surfing event.’ Onlookers Mick Fanning and Ross Clarke-Jones didn’t hold back with their praise. ‘I’ve been really impressed with the standard of surfing I’ve seen throughout the event,’ Fanning commented. The prize money worth 10,000 dollars, which he handed to Taylor along with a trophy, seems to be well invested in any case. ‘That money’s going straight into the plane tickets for the next events’ Taylor said. ‘Because I want to be part of the WQS next year already!’