The voice of surfing, Joe Turpel, now has an Emmy Award for his mantel. Photos: Instagram
Joe Turpel has been one of surfing’s most recognizable voices for a while now. He landed his gig as a World Surf League commentator in 2007, and now he can call himself an Emmy-winner.
Turpel’s voice is unmistakable. It’s a mix of smooth jazz with a nasal twinge, all soaked in a Spicoli brine that’s a little bit California and a little bit Hawaii. His knowledge of surfing is encyclopedic, and if you’re even a casual viewer of pro surfing, you know it. He’s been on the commentating career path for a surprisingly long time, and looking back at his life, it seems he made choices that positioned him just about perfectly to become the so-called “voice of surfing” that he’s become.
He was born in San Dimas, California, (where, according to both Bill and Ted and MXPX, high school football rules). Turpel moved to Oahu when he was six. He did, as you’d expect from a San Dimas kid who moved to Hawaii, begin surfing very young, and by the time he was 11, he’d been introduced to sports commentating while taking a summer course in Honolulu.
Two years later, Turpel moved back to California, where he went on to study Communications and Dramatic Arts at UCSB. He was on a college surf team and began to announce junior surfing events, eventually moving on to commentating on the NSSA circuit. His first webcast for the Championship Tour came in 2007 at the Women’s CT event in Bahia, Brazil.
Over the years, he developed the laid-back commentating style he’s now known for, which came to a culmination during Mick Fanning’s shark attack at J-Bay. “A little splash,” Turpel breezed as Fanning fought off a great white shark. “Looks like Fanning needs some assistance.”
Turpel won his Emmy Award for his work as surfing’s play-by-play commentator for NBC Universal’s coverage of the Olympic Games.
He announced his win on Instagram in classic Turpel fashion. “Emmy!” he simply wrote. “Stoked!”
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