TC

The long-awaited autobiography of one of Australia's surfing legends.

On the surface he was Tom Carroll, dreamer, cheeky grommet, brilliant surfer, Australian sporting hero, fitness fanatic, businessman, family man, big wave charger. Inside turned the terrible wheel of drug addiction, part family curse, part legacy of the footloose surf culture he'd done so much to legitimise. Tom's family and friends struggled with him, kept his secrets, and looked on in anger and fear as the wheel began to grind him down. Then a window opened – but getting through it made charging Pipeline look like a piece of cake ...

This is the story of an unlikely moral education: of humility, family, damage, brotherhood, youth, stupidity, glory, single-mindedness and surrender, and about the feeling of water moving under a surfboard, how it can bind past to present and make sense of lives.

About the Author

Tom Carroll is a surfing legend. He grew up in the surf at Newport Beach on Sydney's north side, began riding a surfboard at the age of nine, and went on to dominate the sport worldwide in the 1980s, winning two world professional crowns and three Pipeline Masters titles, before becoming involved in the surf business through a longtime association with global surf wear company Quiksilver.

For many years he has been regarded as a 'surfer's surfer', as committed as they come to challenging himself in wild seas; recently he starred in the highly successful big surf documentary 'StormSurfers 3D'.

Tom lives in Sydney and has three daughters, Jenna, Mimi and Grace.