Born and raised in New York, Tyler grew up surfing the beaches of Long Island with his older brother Jamie. He was forced to memorize surfers styles on VHS at the tender age of 7. Due to the lack of surf, Tyler and his brother absorbed and collected surf magazines, books, video and anything else they could get their hands on, reading and watching everything over and over again. Tyler spent 7 years on the road traveling and surfing until he finally settled back in NY and co-found the New York Surf Film Festival. Tyler now manages his family business, Sundown Ski and Surf Shop, one of the oldest surf shops in NY, and organizes surfing related events under the name SMASH Productions.  He has been described as a walking surf encyclopedia.