NY Surfer Awarded East Coast Surfer of the Year

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Check out Newsday Article HERE

Surfline Article HERE

 

Long Beach, NY (January 13, 2014) – New York’s Will Skudin was named 2013 Surfer of the Year by Eastern Surfing Magazine (ESM) in their annual ESeMMY Awards.  Following the 2012 ESM Surfer of the Year Kelly Slater and eleven time world champion;  Will Skudin states “I am honored to receive such an award like this. Just to be on that list next to guys like Kelly Slater is truly amazing and I am very grateful for all the support I have from my sponsors, friends and family. I am looking forward to the 2014 season and am proud to represent the East Coast(USA) on the Big Wave World Tour.” Finishing 17th in the world during the 2013 season amongst the best big wave surfers on the planet. Skudin is the first New Yorker to earn this coveted title.

Skudin recently competed in the Punta Galea Challenge as part of the Big Wave World Tour and is on the invitation list for the Todos Santos Big Wave contest in Baja California, Mexico, a break with capabilities for waves up to 60 feet. In addition to being named Surfer of the Year, Skudin received the Legendary Session award for tackling a major swell in Ireland, which earned him a nomination by Billabong XXL for Ride of the Year, and Cover of the Year for ESM’s June 2013 issue following a historic surf session in Tahiti.
About Will Skudin’s year
This has been the year of rebuilding in NY.(Post Hurricane Sandy) Will started the year off with nothing. Just like his neighbors he lost his house/car and many other possessions after the storm. Not only did he help get his friends and family back in their houses with his own two hands but he also helped raise over $100,000 dollars online through his social media plant-form built by his three co-founded companies, Skudinsurf Camps, NYSEA collective and Non-for-profit Surf for all.
Skudin took his momentum out to Hawaii were he paddled into some of the biggest waves of the winter season. Then landing himself in Tahiti for one of the biggest session to date were he arguably rode one of the heaviest waves of the swell (scoring his Eastern Surf Magazine Cover of the year). After Tahiti, he headed home for the summer were he taught thousands to surf at his surf camp (Skudinsurf) and did numerous non for profit outings with Surf for All, an organization that helps special needs individuals share a passion for surfing. Will ended off the year with a bang, chasing down and surfing one of Europe’s scariest and deadly waves (Mullaghmore, Ireland). Which earned him a nomination by Billabong XXL for Ride of the Year. Will is now the 2013 east coast surfer of the year but in his words “There are so many things in my life I am still driving towards, all I can do is stay focused, keep on doing the next right thing and have faith that God will keep me on track. Wherever this road takes me, I’m going to accept it.
Links below to follow up on Will’s Year.  <SURFER_OF_YEAR_v02.jpg>
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 LINKS:

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16th in the world 2013 ranking – http://bigwaveworldtour.com/surfers/rankings/2012-2013/
Billabong XXL Ride of the year 2013 entry – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e6sjuMw8so
Tahiti Patagonia DeepWater (video) – https://vimeo.com/72756021