We recently sat down with team rider and 2011 ASP Longboard World Title Champion Taylor Jensen for a quick interview.

OC: Taylor, congratulations on your 1st ASP World Title, tell us what was the first thought that came to mind when you knew you clinched the title? Where were you at that moment in time?

TJ: The first thing I thought was "I finally did it." After 10 years on tour traveling around the world competing in events and coming so close numerous times before I finally got the title in my hands. I knew all the different possibilities in the title hunt. I was crunching number in my head before the semi-finals and I had figured out that if I made the final the title was mine, if I lost Kai would have to win the event to win the title. With about 3min to go in the semi-final I was in the lead and with Tony Silvagni needing a 9.5 in small funky conditions I was feeling pretty confident. With 30 seconds to go all the emotions came pouring in and I knew it was all happening. I took a moment after the heat to swim under water and get a second of peace and soak it in. It's only just really soaking in now.

OC: Talk about lay days! The Bear pro contest in Italy almost looked like it was going to be a wash, tell us how it was moved and approved to be held at another break?

TJ: Going into any World Title event you know you are probably going to have a couple of lay days here and there. But when the day before the event starts its 6ft and then by the next morning its dead flat you start to worry a little bit. Basically with a week left in the waiting period we were all sitting in a meeting room talking about the fact that there is no swell on the forecast and the event may not run. Day by day it was looking worse and worse. With 2 days left in the waiting period the event organizers gave one final hail marry attempt and called another city near France to see if we could get a permit for the event to be held there (normally takes 6 weeks or more). To make a long story short they got the permit in 6 hrs, got the event insured in a day and we were surfing the event the next day!

OC: You had a great run in SriLanka (forst of two world title stops), besides a couple of mishaps with your leg rope breaking in the finals, you seemed to be on fire. What did you do before hand to make sure you were ready for the two world finals comps?

TJ: The best thing you can do for your surfing is go surf! I did a little bit of training, nothing too hard just some cardio to get my body ready. I really took a lot of notice of the food I put in my body and the reaction that it gave me. Your nutrition is a key deal, if your not eating proper and getting hydrated your not going to perform at your top level. It really just comes down to being confident and prepared. If you feel like you have done everything you can you won't have any question about what your capable of and its game on. I also showed up a bit early to the events, 2-3-4 days before and got some surfing done. You can not expect to just show up and rip a wave you never surfed, so time in the water makes a big difference.

OC: I know your main support group (your family and the Young Family) has been crucial to your outcome this year, how did they contribute to your title run?

TJ: Anytime you have a strong backing, wether it be from friends family, sponsors, or whoever your going to be feeling good about life in general. Having a support crew just makes it that little bit easier to focus on the task at hand. For me I am in a really good place in my life right now. All my relationships with friends, family, and sponsors are thriving and knowing that my life is where I want it to be right now allows me to really give the competition my 100% focus. When Mick Fanning won his world title he was quoted saying that you have to be really selfish to win a title, I find that true. You have to give yourself 100% of your time, energy and attention to win these things. Im sure my girlfriend hates it, she was with me at both the events, and they way I focus on me and only me puts a strain on our relationship but she loves me enough to know I'm just going into contest mode and when its all over things will be back to normal. That doesn't me she doesn't want to smack me upside the head every now and then!

OC: This year you switched board companies, you're now riding for Firewire Surfboards. Is it really all about the equipment? Do you think you had an advantage?

TJ: Look your equipment is one of the very few parts of your competition that you can actually control. For me the bottom line is I would never ride anything that I didn't feel was the best equipment available on the market, free or not. I would gladly pay thousands of dollars for the best boards, but I am lucky enough to have a partnership with Firewire and for me they are the best boards in the world. The technology is ground breaking for longboard surfing, the way these boards respond to the slightest pressure and movements allow me to go place on the wave I normally wouldn't and to do things I never could before. There is a definate advantage to having a board that you are comfortable with. When you know your board is the best, thats one less thing you have to think about. I know for a fact I can go into my garage and pick up any of my boards and they will work insane. Thats a major key to my performance and it was a huge help to getting me the results I needed to claim the World Title.

OC: How long have you been surfing on the ASP Longboard World Tour? Seeing the same faces through the years, what was the reaction like from the other surfers on the tour when you won?

TJ: I have been on tour since I was 17. So 10 years all up traveling with generally the same group of people. Most of the guys who were dominating the tour when I was starting out are long gone and retired, but all the best guys still remain. I think all the other surfers were happy for me. Everyone congratulated me and told me they were stoked to see me win and that they felt I was very deserving of the title. My 3 best friends on tour who I used to travel with didn't make it to Italy this time so it was a bit of a bummer to not be able to share this with them on the beach. But I will share it with them in time at different places around the world when we catch up. Nobody wants to see the same guy winning title after title, its cool if they are dominating like Slater, but your always rooting for someone who hasn't won to take out the current champ.

OC: Now with an ASP world title under your belt, what's the next step and what do you have planned for the beginning of 2012?

TJ: The next step for me in not quite certain yet. Im going to Hawaii with the Ocean Current team in February so thats something I am looking forward to. Obviously I am going to keep going for another world title, but there are a lot of different things I want to look into and do. I am going to take this year as World Champ and travel my butt off. I want to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way and go everywhere I can. I made a promise to one of my best buds that if I won the title I was coming to see him in South Africa (its my dream trip to go there and surf some of the waves), so thats on the cards for sure. I am going to be doing more designing with Firewire on some boards, taking more free surf photo and video trips, just trying to build the sport as best I can and make it an epic year.