A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Alexandre, João (Dapin)

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Smooth-riding but often inconspicuous Australian pro surfer from Avoca, New South Wales; world-ranked #2 in 1994. Powell was born (1972) in Sydney, and raised in the north Sydney beachfront suburb of Avoca, where he began surfing at age eight. He turned pro in 1990, after an undistinguished run as an amateur, and made a steady rise up the world tour ratings, going from 49th in his rookie season to ninth in 1993.

Powell was a slender, rubber-limbed, splay-fingered surfer, quick and precise, and occasionally criticized for lacking power. Along with fellow Aussie phenom Shane Herring, Powell took to the low-volume, hyper-rockered "glass slipper" design in the early '90s; the boards suited his wicked forehand off-the-top, but further reduced the weight and heft of his turns.

Raising his level again in 1994, the handsome regularfooter finished runner-up to Florida's Kelly Slater for the world title, only to be dropped 18 months later by primary sponsor Rip Curl as he headed for a 15th-place finish in the 1996 ratings. Powell battled his way back up to #3 in 1997, but over the next four years again dropped out of the top 10, then retired, nearly unnoticed, in 2003, to become a professional fisherman.

Although a bit of a recluse while home in Avoca, and never one to court the surf media, Powell earned a reputation as a man who rarely said no to a night out while traveling. "When you're on tour," he told surf journalist Nick Carroll, "every night can be a Friday night." To which Carroll added, Powell "tested this fantastic theory to its chaotic limit."

Powell won five world tour events during his career, including the 1993 Quiksilver Surfmasters in France and the 1994 Coke Classic in Australia; he also won the 1995 World Qualifying Series tour. He appeared in more than three dozen surf videos, including 

Powell, Shane

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

Features

Videos

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

Features

Videos