Winning streak continues for Lennox Head para surfer Joel Taylor

By Sarah Waters

The decision to pick up a surfboard and get back in the ocean again has amounted to four huge accolades in the space of six months for Lennox Head bodyboarder, turned para surfer, Joel Taylor.

Last month, Joel, 43, was awarded Male Para Surfer of the Year at The Australian Surfing Awards held at Bondi Pavilion.

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The prestigious awards ceremony, now in its 60th year, honours the country’s top surfers and those who have made a significant contribution to the sport behind the scenes.

Joel described the night as ‘epic’ as he caught up with friends and rubbed shoulders with Australian surfing greats.

“Celebrating our achievements put an exclamation point on a really successful 2023 for me,” he said.

“Receiving the award just topped it off. I was so stoked when my name was read out, I couldn’t wipe the cheesy grin off my face (laughs).

“I only started para surfing 18 months ago… to win the Australian Title, World Title, [Ballina Shire] Citizen of the Year and Para Surfer of the Year all within the last six months still blows my mind.”

Joel surfed to victory at The 2023 ISA World Para Surfing Championships

Joel’s story of triumph in the face of adversity first captured the surfing community’s attention when he won The Australian Para Surfing Title after a 20-year hiatus from the sport.

In his late teens/early twenties he was making a name for himself as the country’s rising star of bodyboarding.

But his promising career was ripped away in the lead up to the 2001 Pipeline Pro bodyboarding competition in Hawaii.

It was the first big swell of the season, and Joel caught the first wave of the set, but there was no water on the reef.

He described being in a barrel when he was hit by a powerful, shock wave, which planted him feet first on the notoriously shallow reef.

At 21 years of age, he was suddenly left with the physical and mental pain of knowing he’d never walk again after he injured his spinal cord in the freak accident.

Although his love for the ocean never disappeared, getting back into it again with a board in hand, seemed like an almost impossible task as he navigated his new reality of being confined to a wheelchair.

Dark years followed, but Joel focused his energy on the sport in a different way and created his own bodyboarding-inspired clothing line.

His now well-known business, Unite Clothing, occupied a large part of his life for two decades.

But, when he became a father, he decided his two young boys, Jay and Sunny, weren’t going to miss out on experiencing the thrill of the ocean.

With the help of his mates, he adapted a surfboard and made his way back into the waves.

Despite, the 20-year gap since he last stepped foot in the ocean, Joel said it was like nothing had changed and he could still use his upper body strength to power through the surf.

Lennox Head local Joel Taylor has rounded off his incredible comeback to surfing after being announced the Male Para Surfer of the Year at The Australian Surfing Awards in Bondi last month.

His unfulfilled talent and competitive side still lingered.

Joel decided to see what he was still capable of and entered the Australian Para Surfing Titles in 2023.

After only 12 months of training, he won.

The win granted him entry into The ISA World Para Surfing Championships team.

An unwavering determination to be a world champion led him to victory on the world stage.

After five days of intense competition, he was crowned The 2023 ISA World Para Surfing Champion in the Men’s Prone 1 Division.

“With the full support of my family, I put everything I had into achieving my goal of winning the world championship last year -a dream I’d had since I was 13 years old,” he said.

Joel’s remarkable comeback to the sport was recognised locally on January 26, this year, when he was named Ballina Shire’s Citizen of the Year.

A month later, his achievements culminated when he was named Male Para Surfer of the Year at the Australian Surfing Awards on February 28.

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