Background
Allen grew up in a part of Venice, California known to locals as "Dogtown". His father was a lifeguard.
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Allen Sarlo
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Career
Surfing Magazine recognized Sarlo as the first to "kill" a wave. The aggressive and slashing style of surfing he pioneered during 1970"s earned him the nickname "Wave Killer". He is considered by many "The King of Malibu".
At 14, he was surfing the infamous "Cove" at the POP pier in Venice.
In 1974, at age 16 Allen took first place at the Malibu 4-A contest. Allen"s progressive surfing style was ahead of its time and challenged the old-school style of surfing, with strong and aggressive wave maneuvers.
By 1977 Allen was sporting the media given nickname "Wave Killer" and surfing around the world. In 1977, he joined the professional international circuit after taking first place in the West Coast Junior Championships.
In his first event in South Africa, he finished in a tie for 15th place, Shaun Thompson would go on to take first.
In 2000, Sarlo placed 5th in the Quicksilver"s World Masters, held in Hossegor, France. Sarlo has been sponsored by Body Glove, Quiksilver, Channel Island Surfboards, Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions. By the 1980s Allen had finished surfing the Pro-Tour and went into a career in real estate.
Sarlo is featured in the 2001 award-winning documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys.
The film documents his adolescence as part of the Zephyr and his athletically intense surfing style. In June 1990, the cover of Surfing Magazine shocked the surfing community with a photo of Allen doing a bottom turn on a 20+ ft wave.
Until that cover came out, big wave surfing was all about taking the drop and getting out alive. He performed stunt work for Heath Ledger in the 2005 Lords of Dogtown film.
He made featured appearances in the surf films "Wave Warriors" and "Following the Lotus".
