Coming Soon: A Portrait of Laurie Towner
Don't waste your sympathy on Laurie Towner. Fella doesn't want it. In the post-GFC wasteland where ex-pros wander without stickers or pay cheques, Laurie has quietly adjusted to his new reality.
Real life can bite hard to those who once surfed for a wage, but the shift from pro surfer to salaryman is fascinating to watch. Some hanker and hang on, others just get on with it.
A Portrait of Laurie Towner is not so much a look at Laurie's transition out of pro surfing as it is a snapshot of his life now: providing for his family, snatching moments of solitude, and even a short reprieve back to his glory days of chasing heavy water.
Ryan Scanlon from needESSENTIALS is an unashamed fan, and he also saw value in roping Laurie in to test products and provide feedback. Scanno asked where Laurie would like to go, thinking the answer would be Indonesia or Tahiti, maybe even Shipsterns, all scenes of past glory, but Laurie surprised him with his answer.
"I want to go to Maui and surf Jaws," answered Laurie.
After a near-flat summer, Scanno registered concern about Laurie's fitness.
"Yeah, I've been chasing the kids around a fair bit so I should be right," said Laurie both undercutting the commando tactics of modern big wave riders and underscoring why Laurie won the respect of so many surfers, even the purists, during his pro career. He was one understated cat. Still is.
A Portrait of Laurie Towner is made by Gary Parker and needESSENTIALS, it's filmed largely on the NSW coast with select waves from the biggest swell of the year on Maui, and it will play on Swellnet from next Monday.
Comments
Riding Albie Layers board?
Yep, he flew over to stay with Albee for the swell. Laurie rides a couple of boards so I assume he busted one of his and borrowed one of his hosts.
More excited about this than the Andy Irons flick. Bring it on!
Yes this guy is so underrated
His efforts at the Code Red swell among others was amazing
Just so calm
Looking forward to that, Stu.
In the meantime, this is good:
Thanks IB that was cool. Such a smooth, unflustered style.
yeah thanks IB that was a cool flick, from a far i didnt realze he was was so good in the small stuff.
i would much rather watch him surf than most of the clones on the world tour,
how he dosnt have a decent sponsor is a corporate surf crime.
but by the looks of it hes not prepared to get on the cock to keep the dream alive.
like so many others with half the talent
power to him , seems like a solid dude.
X2
Why is he so much better than everyone else?....... At teahupoo especially............ hes a standout. .....
He's such a great surfer, a tube master, steps, boils and chandeliers are no problem, just drive straight over, under and out. I'd hate to see him on the WSL competing against the driven, hungry pack, surely like Margo there's good sponsor value in him free surfing or competing at selected big wave comps. Good luck LT
He reminds me of an older Russ Bierke.
Just very calm and relaxed on heavy waves and in heavy situations. I could watch them surf all day
"how he doesn't have a decent sponsor is a corporate surf crime."
That's a great line Ant. I'm a big fan of the man. Him and Dylan Longbottom on the code red day at Teahupo was beyond anything I've seen. Martin Potter couldn't believe it, and he was watching it first hand. Death lips as thick as a truck and they look at each other and say, 'you wanna go first', sure!
Just cool beyond belief.
Silky smooth.
His style is poetry surfing
His lines and carves and bangers are just a pleasure to watch.
More please
Sat down and watched this again, having just returned from his home turf. Agree with the above sentiments; his style really is impeccable.
Why he doesn't have a sponsor, when so many seemingly indistinguishable surfers do, is hard to understand.
Yes a mighty fine surfer but comes across as a even better human!