[2] His mother is an elementary school teacher, and his brother Gavin is a professional surfer as well.
[2] At 16 years old, Beschen signed his first sponsorship deal and started to tour a a pro surfer.
[2] His mother recalled he would attend school for a couple of weeks, and then take off for a couple of weeks, taking "independent-study contracts", and doing his homework while flying to his events.
[1][3] In May 1996, he knocked Sunny Garcia from his number one spot in world rankings, at the Marui Pro surfing tournament at Torami Beach, Japan.
[5] In May 2005 in the final of the Billabong Pro Teahupoo, Kelly Slater became the first to score two perfect rides for a total 20 out of 20 under the newer ASP two-wave scoring system, matched by Joel Parkinson in the 2008 Billabong Pipeline Masters third-round heats.