 | A surfer since the age of 9, even younger if you count my styrofoam boards, I am a founding member of Freshwater Boardriders Club, former President of said club, founding member of Freshwater Longboard Club and committee member and surfing for 50 years. As well as being a facility manager, licensed electrical technician and air conditioning technician managing many large sites, including maintenance on a major hospital, data centre and a large portfolio of multi-story commercial buildings I am also one of the founders of Hot Grommet Surfboards P/L, where we made the soft board popular again in 1996 and took our soft boards to the world. Exporting soft boards to USA, Japan, New Zealand and UK. I've also raised three children, Matthew, now 28, current Freshwater Boardriders President and is the cover photo of the project, who has won two junior NSW State Longboard titles, a silver medal at NSW State junior surf life saving titles and pursued the Australian Junior Surfing professional circuit for a time competing against the likes of Owen Wright, Julian Wilson and Matt Wilkinson (now all current professional tour members). My daughter Holly is 26 and she has won bronze in surfing at the NSW State Junior Surf Life Saving Titles and my youngest is Patrick committee member of Freshwater Boardriders and an accomplished surfer. I have brought these three children to respect the water and the ocean and the people and animals that use it as well. I am very proud of all three who have turned out to be wonderful human beings. Being president of Freshwater Boardriders in 2013 it was decided that we should celebrate the visit of Duke Kahanamoku (Hawaiian godfather of modern surfing) to Freshwater in 1914 where he introduced the Hawaiian style of surfing to Australia for the first time at Freshwater Beach. We flew many Hawaiian dignitaries out to Freshwater, on the northern Beaches of Sydney, where we had former world longboard champion, Duane Desoto, re-enact the Dukes first surf on a replica timber board. The Hawaiians who attended were Brian Kealana, Fred Hemmings, Joey Cabell and Paul Strauch, the surviving members of the Duke Kahanamoku surfing team. The event was publicised on many international TV channels and partners included Hawaiian Airlines. I was instrumental in arranging the whole event with a large team to be managed to cater for all the intricacies of the event. Attached is a photo of myself receiving a Surfing Australia Award for organising the event.They each received a copy of the Hot Grommet Surf Star Challenge and Duane Desoto is using it as a teaching aid in his Na Kama Kai Kids surf education program. I have been working hard ever since to popularise the board game and now the 3D concept is going to make the concept go ballistic. I'm looking forward to more challenges in the future. |
