Special coverage presented by Surf City - El Salvador Travel

Newly crowned world champion Taylor Jensen says winning his fourth title puts him in a surprising position to separate himself from his lifelong heroes Rusty Keualana, Colin McPhilips and Joel Tudor.

Jensen claimed a fourth world title, something none of the men who dominated the discipline in the 2000s and early XNUMXs have achieved.

The fourth title “distances me from my heroes. From the people I grew up idolizing, like Rusty, Joel and Colin; they were immortal to me.”

Referring to what he was experiencing at the time, after the awards ceremony, he explained: “Winning the fourth title is something I don't believe and I won't believe for a long time.”

He had a tough day because he wanted to surf those perfect waves and he had to go into the last two or three. “It was torture.” And about Kai Sallas, he shared: “Kai is a tough competitor, it was definitely scary to see him break like that.”

But for him: “The format played in my favor. I got tired after two heats, I can't imagine how he (Kai) felt after surfing like six heats.”

Asked about becoming the first surfer who was previously a high performance surfer to win the world title, he said: “I’m proud. I took a risk, I risked my reputation by making the transition and adapting to single fins and things that I didn’t necessarily agree with at the time but… You have to challenge yourself, you either adapt or you die and I chose to adapt.”

Now he will take a family vacation to Costa Rica and he dedicated his title to his family, saying that they are the ones who have to understand that his father sacrifices his family's time for his priorities.

Finally, he explained that he is far from leaving the tour: “I am having too much fun,” he concluded.