Throwback Thursday - The Late Drop Big With Laurie Towner

Jamie caught up with Laurie in Dec 2021, for The Late Drop.

When Billabong sent 19-year-old Laurie Towner to one of the scariest waves on the planet during a massive swell with top-shelf pros Andy Irons and Joel Parkinson in 2006, few expected the Angourie hell boy to actually step up to the plate — much less rule the whole field.

While most of the crew spent the day getting towed into terrifying kegs at Shipstern’s Bluff, Laurie casually paddled into the bomb of the day — and cemented his reputation as a heavy-water star. Towner almost immediately switched from competing in pro contests to chasing big waves and backless slabs all over the world as a professional freesurfer for Billabong, resulting in XXL Awards, video parts and magazine covers galore.

But the career of a daredevil can be a fickle one. Towner was only 25 when he lost his main sponsor despite nonstop accolades and countless brushes with death. It turned out to be blessing in disguise as he was able to focus on his young family while remaining a standout in historic swell events, from the Code Red Swell at Teahupo’o to the Thundercloud Reef sessions in Fiji. Now, with a fresh sponsor and a newfound focus on Jaws, Laurie Towner’s best may be yet to come.

Additional footage by Tim Bonython