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Written by rsholin
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Anthony Tashnick, 22, Santa Cruz
Maverick’s results: Fourth in 2004, 2005 champion
Occupation: Pro surfer
Sponsors: Quiksilver, Etnies, Santa Cruz Surfboards, Da Kine, Smith sunglasses.
Maverick’s experience: Tashnick has been surfing Maverick’s since the ripe old age of 16, when he paddled out on a clean, 25-foot day into a crowded Maverick’s lineup stacked with veterans and caught the wave of the winter … and subsequently took the pounding of his life when he reached the bottom of the wave and got obliterated by the guillotine lip.
Notable: Since his spectacular initiation season of 2001, “Tazzy” has continued to grow as a big-wave surfer, traveling around the world to put in his time at the heaviest breaks he can find. Under the wing of Santa Cruz heavy-water veterans, such as Peter Mel, Josh Loya and Ken Collins, Tashnick has become a regular summertime pilgrim to the Mexican Pipeline at Puerto Escondido and makes multiple trips to Oahu’s North Shore every winter. He has also traveled to South Africa to compete in the Red Bull Big Wave Africa event held at Dungeons. Tashnick has also been involved at the cutting edge of big-wave surfboard design through his relationship with Santa Cruz shaper Bill “Stretch” Riedel, serving as one of the primary test pilots for Stretch’s innovative quad guns (big wave boards that can be ridden shorter than conventional single fin or thruster guns due to their increased stability and control in large wave faces). Tashnick won the 2005 Maverick’s contest on a Stretch quad gun and opened the surf world’s eyes to the potential of quads in big surf. Currently, Stretch’s quad settup is the standard among the world’s top tow-in surfers. For the second year in a row, Tazzy is on the alternates list for the prestigious Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau event to be held at Waimea Bay.
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