Grant Taylor (born October 30, 1991) is an American professional skateboarder. He is the son of former professional skateboarder Thomas Taylor and won Thrasher Magazine's Skater of The Year in 2011. Grant's style of skateboarding is known to be fast and powerful. He is recognized for his unique versatile skateboarding. Early life Taylor was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States (US). Grant began skateboarding at the age of six. He began competing in amateur competitive skateboarding contests in the early 2000s, and in 2004 Grant took home second place at the Phoenix Am. Volcom noticed that Grant was incredibly talented early in his career, and began sponsoring him at an early stage in his skateboarding career. It is said that Grant's father, Thomas Taylor, has had a profound influence on Grant's introduction to skateboarding. Remy Stratton is quoted as saying “Several years later when he was six, Thomas began bringing him (Grant) to the vert sessions at Surf Expo in Orlando, FL. Grant would start from the bottom while we watched from the decks and the crowds cheered. Then he just dropped in and the crowd went nuts. Everyone loved Grant. He was determined to shred, even at this age, he fit in and was embraced by all.” In an article titled “The Greatness of Grant Taylor”, written by Chris Nieratko, he demonstrates that Thomas’ lax mentoring style was evident when Grant and his father skateboarded together, stating “When I went to visit them in the late '90s, I watched them shoot a doubles photo on their then miniramp with Grant blasting over his dad's lip trick. Later they went downtown and shot a doubles street photo at Bell South. In an age where skate dads are more militant coaches than bros, Thomas was always more of a skate homie than a trick choreographer”. In the same article, Nieratko also comments on how influential Thomas has been on Grant's life in skateboarding, saying “It's thanks to Thomas that we have Grant in our lives, both literally and figuratively. Thomas taught young Grant to skate everything at a very early age”. Family Grant's father, Thomas Taylor, has had a profound impact on the skateboarding industry. Thomas Taylor is credited with formulating and operating Atlanta's first skateboard shop “Stratosphere" in Little Five Points. His mother, Rachael Taylor, was a full-time stay-at-home mom raising Grant as well his two sisters, McKenzie and Sarah.