Baron Knowlton
Abandoned at a young age, the Lake Worth, Florida local surfers took Baron Knowlton under their rough and tumble wings. They spotted his surfing talent early on, taking him to the famed barreling big waves of Puerto Escondido at only 15-years-old. Knowlton did not disappoint; he charged the biggest sets. Small waves were no problem either as South Florida hurts for anything but small waves in the summer.
As his surfing developed, Knowlton became known for his big wave exploits, but he also took his talents to the ASP East Pro Tour. He did well enough against the East Coast’s best to build up a small nest egg, which provided him the funds to travel to Hawai’i to surf the powerful waves at Pipeline and, down the beach, the dangerous Rock Piles. On days that nobody else would surf Rock Piles, Knowlton was there. In one article on Hawai’i, a magazine interviewer asked Kelly Slater, “Who’s surfing well this year in Hawai’I, to which the 11x World Champ responded, “Baron Knowlton is charging.”
At Maui’s famous Honolua Bay, Knowlton’s action photo sequences taken by Floridian photographer Kevin Welsh were published in Surfer Magazine, giving Knowlton tremendous global exposure. Taking his winnings from East Coast ASP contests, he entered the European leg of the pro tour and competed until his money ran out. Today, Baron Knowlton is the Head Lifeguard at Lake Worth Pier.
Photos by Nathan Adams, Tom Dugan, Nick Lugo, Dick “Mez” Meseroll, and DJ Struntz
