Correspondent Biography

Joe Turpel has been calling World Title events for over a decade and recently surpassed the 100-event mark at the Championship Tour level. Turpel, often called "the voice of surfing," teamed up with 1989 world champion Martin Potter in 2014. The pair is the longest-running broadcast team in surfing.

The moment Turpel stepped into the booth and turned on the mic was pivotable for surf broadcasting. He moved the industry away from rants and sometimes irrelevant chatter, formerly known of surf announcing, and brought on a new wave of professionalism to the booth. Focusing instead on his turn of phrase, wave calls, athletes, accuracy and surf content that entertains global surf audiences everywhere.

Outside of the World Title race, Turpel has called prestigious Big Wave events at Jaws, Mavericks, Todos Santos, Nazare and the iconic Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau event at Waimea Bay. This summer, Turpel will be on the call for surfing's debut at the Tokyo Olympics.

Turpel started surfing on the South shore of Oahu, Hawaii. His dad, a former lifeguard, surfer and sailor, began pushing him and his sister into waves on the weekends. When Turpel turned 13, his family moved to Laguna Niguel, California. He competed on his high school surf team and later his college team at the University of California, Santa Barbara. While studying communications and dramatic arts, he interned at ABC affiliate KEYT in the newsroom and sports department. After graduation, he got his first announcing job working for the National Scholastic Surfing Association, and a year later in 2007, he delivered his first broadcast in Brazil.

Turpel's love for surfing and the ocean is tangible. He now resides with his family at Rocky Point on the North Shore of Oahu. Here he can be found surfing, paddling, sailing and chasing after his 3-year-old daughter up and down the beach.

After 15 years of announcing at surf events and competitions, Turpel continues to bring real value to the WSL broadcast on and off camera.