Taylor Knox Goes Platinum: The Hot Seat

If you happened to be in earshot of someone saying, “Coloring your hair is as fun as doing a giant cutback in front of a group of hot chicks,” you’d be inclined to duct-tape the pretty-boy twit to a lamppost. But on closer inspection, if you realized said twit was Top 44 legend and big-wave hero Taylor Knox, you’d roil in a sea of confusion: How could Knox, so straight and narrow, void of pretense, void of BS stoop to such vainglorious and highly humiliating levels? Is being the vanguard of power surfing not enough?

Every ambitious surfer has his or her eyes out for side projects to earn a little extra scratch. And the Maxim Hair Color Sports Club jingled their deep pockets for someone who is “super intense riding four- to five-foot sets” to help hock their wares. Knox fit the bill and ignored the embarrassment factor, thinking it would go under the radar being an online campaign rather than a glossy print ad in Maxim. How poorly he underestimated our ability to detect such a sticky morsel.

Knox is looking scrumptious these days (judge for yourself ) and seeing him in the Hot Seat is absolutely something to dye for. — Chris Mauro

How did this happen?

Taylor Knox: Oh, I had an agent that sucked me into it. I can’t believe you guys found it. Who saw it?

Scott Bass, our web editor, busted you. He’s Big Brother.

Taylor Knox: I think we should ask him what he’s doing on Maxim’s website during work hours.

Good point. But don’t try to wiggle out of this one.

Taylor Knox: Yeah, that’s pretty funny. I’m so busted.

Now you’ll do that but when we asked you to go sit under a hair dryer in a salon reading Oprah Magazine for this piece you totally haired out. What gives?

Taylor Knox: I was totally over that idea. That’s more up Dorian’s alley. He would love that.

You’re wiggling again. But you think Dorian is bitter he didn’t get the call for the job?

Taylor Knox: Oh, he’s probably pissed. He’s got the personality for it. But I have to say, the checks don’t bounce, so I can’t complain.

What exactly is the stuff?

Taylor Knox: It’s basically hair dye. That’s it.

Are you hiding some gray or something?

Taylor Knox: No, not even. I’ve never dyed my hair once. But they offered a bunch of money to dye it black, so I figured there’s a first for everything.

And it was just an online campaign?

Taylor Knox: Yes, thank God. Can you imagine if it went into Maxim? That would suck. I figured I’d be okay on the web, because only my geeky Internet friends would have a chance to see it.

So any of the web surfers on tour stumble across it yet?

Taylor Knox: No. Not until now. Hot Seat in the Big Issue? That’s just frickin’ great. Thanks man. Snips [Mike Parsons] and Gerr [Brad Gerlach] are gonna use it as major fuel because I’ve been riding them pretty hard lately.

Seems like a bunch of you guys have skeletons in your closets? Do you know of anyone else we can bust?

Taylor Knox: Well, Benji Weatherly puts baby powder on his nuts.