From Borongan to Korea, Edgar “Taybo” Calvo Jr. is building his way towards the World Longboard Tour.
His first WSL win. Also his first time on a wave pool. Photo: WSL | Ryo Shimizu
Before the Korea Open, Taybo was on a bus back to La Union, just three hours from his destination.
It was early morning in May. His new longboard was with him — fresh from almost two weeks of work with Dandoy Tongco Shapes. The board was made for the competition ahead.
Then, at Bituka ng Manok in Quezon Province, the bus collided with a truck while climbing the winding road. There was a ravine nearby.
Taybo braced himself. When it was over, the bus had not gone over. He was safe. His board was safe.
For Taybo, it was a reminder to keep moving forward.
This board made it through a lot before it ever touched the water in Korea. Photo: WSL | Ryo Shimizu
He went back to training.
A few weeks later, he was in South Korea for his first international competition, preparing to surf a wave pool for the first time. The funding to get there had only come together a few days before the event. Even making the flight felt like a win.
He was grateful just to be there.
"No matter what happened, grateful pa rin," Taybo says.
Then he won.
Taybo took out the men's Longboard Qualifying Series title at the Siheung Korea Open — his first WSL event win — in an all-Filipino final with Jomarie Ebueza, Crisanto Villanueva, and Rogelio Jr. "Jay-R" Esquivel.
One podium, four Filipinos. All winners. Photo: WSL | Ryo Shimizu
He saw a contest. Then someone saw potential in him.
Taybo was a skimboarder first. In 2019, he watched the Surf in the City Nationals in Borongan — not as a competitor, but from the side of the event. He saw the surfers, the boards, and a future that suddenly felt possible.
During the pandemic, he began borrowing longboards and learning in the water. Attorney Bryan Lassiter — one of Borongan's OG surfers — saw potential in Taybo and gave him a secondhand longboard.
Soon after, Taybo began competing.
In 2023, he entered the Single and Unattached competition in La Union. By 2025, he had moved to La Union to progress, train more consistently, and learn from the country's best longboarders. That January, he entered his first WSL event at the La Union competition.
He has been building ever since.
2021, UPSA Surf in the City Borongan — Taybo's first competition. Photo: Abdel Elecho
The long way to Korea
Taybo's first international competition began long before he paddled into a wave in Korea.
He was processing a Korean visa for the first time, learning the paperwork and figuring out the most affordable way to travel. His route involved long bus journeys between Samar, Leyte, Manila, and eventually back to La Union — because travelling by bus was what his budget allowed while he tried to pool funds for Korea.
On one trip back to Samar, the bus encountered trouble just 30 minutes outside Manila. The passengers were stranded and had to be rescued.
By then, Taybo had already spent almost two weeks preparing his new board with Dandoy Tongco Shapes. The board was with him on the bus. So was the goal of Korea.
After all the buses, paperwork, last-minute funding, and uncertainty, he was able to fly.
For Taybo, getting to Korea was already a victory.
Palawan, January 2026. Before Korea, before the final, just more time in the water. Photo: Dom Stone
Dancing with the wave
At the Korea Open, Taybo's goal was simple: surf clean, avoid mistakes, and make every wave count.
"Every round, dapat very high score," he says.
On a WSL stage, one fall can mean a wasted opportunity. In the final, there is no room to throw away a good wave. Taybo focused on carrying the same composure from the first round all the way to the final — clean manoeuvres, strong scores, and no unnecessary errors.
"Ginawa ko lang lahat ng best ko." I just did my very best.
His approach was not to fight the wave.
"Sinayaw ko lang," he says. I just danced with the wave.
That is exactly how Taybo surfs: classical, graceful, and never in a rush. From takeoff, he moves into frontside cutbacks, then works his way to the nose for hanging fives and tens. Throughout the event, he consistently posted six-, seven-, and eight-point rides — big scores on an international stage.
But the final was about more than technique.
After every wave, every paddle back, Taybo prayed.
"Lord, nagpapasalamat ako," he would tell himself — thanking God for the wave, the opportunity, and the chance to be there at all.
It kept him grounded through the pressure. He stayed positive, reset after every exchange, and trusted the work he had put in.
When the score finally landed
Only a few days before Korea, Taybo had finally gathered enough financial support to fly.
After the visa process, the long bus rides, and the uncertainty around funding, simply arriving at the event already felt like something to be grateful for. Reaching the final was more than he expected.
Taybo was up against Jay-R Esquivel, one of Philippine longboarding's most established competitors. Taybo knew that, whatever happened, he would finish either first or second alongside someone he had long respected.
So when the final score came through, he did not immediately understand what had happened.
Jay-R lifted him up in celebration. Taybo was still trying to take it in.
Jay-R and his fellow finalists lifted him up before he even understood what had happened. Photo: WSL | Ryo Shimizu
"Hindi ako makapaniwala." I couldn't believe it.
He had won.
For Taybo, the result was not only about beating a score. It was the endpoint of a journey that, days earlier, had still felt almost impossible: finding enough support to travel and arriving in Korea for his first international competition.
He had been grateful just to fly. Grateful just to make the final. Grateful no matter the result.
After everything that came before Korea, Taybo found himself wondering whether he had been given another chance for a reason. Whether becoming a better surfer, reaching the world stage, or even becoming a world champion might be part of his mission.
Korea did not answer every question. But it gave him a reason to keep going.
Still chasing the next wave. Photo: Instagram/@ampeedd
The next goal is the world stage
Korea was a breakthrough, but not the finish line.
Taybo's biggest goal is to qualify for the 2027 World Longboard Tour, joining Filipino longboarders like Jay-R Esquivel and Jomarie Ebueza on the world stage. He wants to become a professional surfer, represent the Philippine team, and one day become "world champion someday."
He has the talent. He has the discipline. He has shown that he will do the hard work.
What he needs now is a stronger circle around him.
Travel, event entry, accommodation, equipment, training, and content support all help create the conditions for Filipino athletes to keep progressing. Supporting Taybo means backing a Filipino surfer who has already shown he can meet the moment when it comes.
For brands, businesses, and the wider surf community, this is an invitation to be part of that journey.
When Filipino athletes get to go, the Philippines gets represented.
Taybo's wish list
These are the specific gear needs that would help Taybo continue training and competing:
- A longboard bag for boards from 9'4" to 10'
- A 10' black longboard leash
- A 5'11 fish twin-fin
- A 9.5" Thomas Surfboards fin
Beyond gear, support for his World Longboard Tour campaign from 2027 onwards would help turn more events — and more opportunities — into reality.
A Taybo x Kudo Surf collection is also part of his wishlist. Inspired by the collections Kudo Surf has created with Marama, Roger, and Piso, it could one day put Taybo's style, Borongan roots, and story into the lineup while helping support the road ahead.
He is also planning a surf film project in his home region — a chance to return to the places that shaped him and share them through his own lens.
The work happens long before anyone's watching. Photo: Instagram/@ampeedd
Still moving forward
Taybo's story is not only about a win in Korea.
It is about watching a contest in Borongan and seeing a future. It is about borrowed boards, a secondhand longboard, long bus rides, last-minute funding, and choosing to keep moving forward.
It is about a second chance — and what someone can do with one.
At Kudo Surf, we believe surfers like Taybo deserve to be seen, backed, and given room to grow.
Korea was his first WSL win.
The next wave is bigger.
If you'd like to support Taybo's journey or explore a collaboration, reach out to him via Instagram: @tayboooooooo
— The Kudo Surf Team
