Surfer Profile: Thomas King-Kleynhans

Highlights:
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A regular in the big surf spots all over the country and a fit and healthy big wave surfer, Thomas King has been a stand-out for many years now, and has handled some big drops on his backhand. A few years ago Thomas ventured out at Dungeons with fellow goofy-footer Cheyne Cottrell. Without wishing to detract from Cottrell’s performance, Thomas pushed it to the limit out there.

One of the first big sets of the day cracked over the outside reef and someone, a Dungeons regular, took the drop on the first one. The second was a monster, and the surfer in position was Thomas King. He paddled hard, caught the beast and headed for a massive drop. His board side-slipped down the face and we all held our breath. It looked like he was heading for a disaster, but at the last minute the fins of his gun hooked in, he swooped into a huge carve off the bottom and raced for the channel on one of the biggest waves of the day by far. The whoops and screams from the excited spectators on boats, the fellow surfers in the water and even the screams from people on the mountainside were testament to his incredible ride.

Thomas followed up with a couple of excellent sessions at places like Sunset and his home spot The Outer Kom, to solidify his reputation as a charger.

Thomas was an alternate for this year’s event, but got his slot at the last minute, and is a great addition to the competitors out there. He is a Kommetjie local and surfs every day, so he will no doubt snag a few monsters out there and impress as he has in the past.