Michael Peterson dead...

[Beanpole]

Always thought it was a bitter irony that he was the most watched surfer in a small place like Coolangatta and he hated people looking at him.

[Skipper]

As many of you may know, I was lucky enough to shoot some 16mm footage of Michael in 1977 at Kirra, the Stubbies and Winki Pop. When I heard he died, I got some of it out and put some of the Winki Pop footage together with a tune. I know Collnarra and Larry have seen it and maybe Nick, but it hasn't been shown much and this is the first time I've put any online. There are some words with the video as well. You can see it here: http://www.realsurf.com/2012/03/30/vide ... p-in-1977/

Some exceptionally courageous posts too Josh and Otoway. My best wishes to you.

Same.

And great footage there Don. Good luck with the final cut. Look forward to seeing it all completed.

Meanwhile, below is a message fwd to me by a mate, now living in Nigeria, who made the film "Looking for Michael Peterson". I thought it a worthwhile contribution to this thread of tributes. He'd be chuffed i'm sharing it with you.


To everyone on this list who helped with the film - Thank you so very much. I hope you are well wherever this letter finds you.

To those whom I have not kept up to date their contact details my apologies in their absence.

Sincerely

Jolyon



Yesterday morning I woke up to the news that Michael Peterson had died. I was saddened to hear the news. He was a hero to me and so many others, and he’ll be missed by so many.

A few years ago I was privileged enough to make a film called Searching for Michael Peterson. I’d been fascinated by Michael ever since I picked up my uncle’s old Tracks magazines, sometime in the mid-eighties. They were like a secret world of wild characters and radical behavior, and Michael was the wildest and most radical. Tall and good looking; the long hair, the aviator glasses, the bewildering statements and his odd behavior all just added to his mystique. I was hooked.

In the film, I never really 'found' him, and in a way I don't think I wanted to. To me the film is more about us. Why were we so enamored by this flawed hero? What special magic did he hold?

All that I can say about that is in the film, but for anybody who is still searching for 'MP', go and watch the famous clip from Morning of the Earth, there is magic there. The movement, the light, the waves, the music, the filmmaker. It all came together that day to capture something about the man - an intangible energy that drew us all to him. To me, as a surfer, that’s the closest that we can come to finding Michael Peterson, to ever really knowing him.

My deepest condolences go to his family and close friends who helped him through his life and who really did know him. I am sure this is a difficult time for you all.

To Michael. I hope you have found your peace. I’m sure Kirra is always six foot and offshore wherever you are. Thank you for everything.

Jolyon Hoff

[Karlos]

Weighing in a little late but moved to comment. Very brave posts Josh & I sincerely hope that the road you're travelling pans out as well as it can under the circumstances. Hang in there no matter what, & appreciate that despite your condition, you've got too much invested in your family & kids to think otherwise.

I'm very fortunate in that I don't suffer from any form of mental illness, but have lost a sibling to it & have a couple of close friends battling mental health issues. My sister (diagnosed bi-polar) died just over 10 years ago after battling this insidious disease since her teen years. The heartbreak family & friends endured watching a beautiful intelligent girl decline into her bi-polar abyss was immense, but it could never compare to the effect on her.

When I was a young & stupid kid, mental illness fascinated me. Watching crazy homeless types had me thinking about how interesting it would be to be able to get into their heads for 24 hours or so in order to see the world the way they see it. Once mental illness affected my family I quickly realised that was a place I would never ever want to go, & trivialising it in such a way just made me a dickhead.

As for MP, no matter what his achievements (& they were immense), the fact remains that his illness robbed him of over 30 years of his life. He should have been surfing up until the end & that there is a tragedy.

[collnarra]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone who's responded in the forums or PMd me. I do appreciate it. I won't hijack this thread any further. As Karlos said, MP's achievements were immense, but his illness did rob him. And therein is the tragedy.

josh

[Roy_Stewart]

Great footage thanks Don.

As an iconoclast by nature I have to say however that all this idol worshipping is boring, constipating, and gay. It's one of the hallmarks of the fetid surf industry which I detest the most.

It is also a burden to the subject, particularly it seems in Michael's case.

Michael Peterson lives! I wish him many waves in his future lives.

[Skipper]

Paying respect, and acknowledging the contribution of an individual to their chosen field of endeavour is no more idolatory than posting footage of yourself decked out in kooky gear in piss weak surf, on a crafted telegraph pole.

Iconoclast my arse Stewart.
True iconoclasts wouldn't deride an object, subject, notion, or whatever, with the term 'gay'. And twice in one day!
Spending too much time in the mall me thinks. Get out and have a shit in the woods if it's all too constipating for you.
What are you really, a homophobic acne'd tween?

If you are so disengaged from the 'fetid surf industry', why do you persist in peddling your fanciful wares in its media arms.?

True rebels walk alone.
MP did. And payed the price.
What he did Out of Necessity, became, merely grist for the myth mill.
Merely academic.
A fallen idol. Not one to revere, or to aspire to.
In him we see our failings and our dreams, wound tight together like Buddha sticks in shiny foil. The promise of freedom reflected back at us, only to reveal our own expectant gaze, soon to turn to burnout and comedown.
If you think that's idolising....well, you've spent too much time out in the woods without having a good shit yourself.

[Roy_Stewart]

Whatever... I mean what I say including the fact that he lives, and I don't go to malls.

[jimmy]

Whatever... I mean what I say including the fact that he lives, and I don't go to malls.

Gee Roy. You really got rogered up there.

[WANDERER]

Great footage thanks Don.

As an iconoclast by nature I have to say however that all this idol worshipping is boring, constipating, and gay. It's one of the hallmarks of the fetid surf industry which I detest the most.

Wow, purely breathtaking.
Perhaps you should improve the ventilation when glueing up your wood... either that or remove most of the ventilation and smoke whilst glueing up...

[collnarra]

For anyone interested, here's the piece I wrote about MP, serious mental illness and chronic disease. None of the avenues I pursued - surf mags, mainstream media etc - expressed any interest, so I posted it on a blog site.

http://www.madambipolar.com/2012/04/how ... d-god.html

[alakaboo]

Nice article, Josh.
Perhaps too direct for the people you pitched it to, i.e. they were a bit frightened that it came from someone who personally understood the medical consequences of treatment, and that made them uncomfortable to talk to you?
Just a thought.

[collnarra]

Good point. It's fairly niche stuff, but I thought I had an angle no-one else had pursued. Oh well, good to get it out there anyway.

Interestingly, Keith Paull was also a victim of these circumstances. No-one really remembers Keith. I've long planned to do something about that. He shouldn't be forgotten. The difficulty is in finding people who knew him towards the end of his life. I've approached his former wife Collette for an interview, but she never replied.

such is journalism.

Josh

[collnarra]

Good point. It's fairly niche stuff, but I thought I had an angle no-one else had pursued. Oh well, good to get it out there anyway.

Interestingly, Keith Paull was also a victim of these circumstances. No-one really remembers Keith. I've long planned to do something about that. He shouldn't be forgotten. The difficulty is in finding people who knew him towards the end of his life. I've approached his former wife Collette for an interview, but she never replied.

such is journalism.

Josh

What about his Brisbane Hotelier "friend"

Can you elaborate? The only thing written about Keith I've been able to find is Malcolm Knox's obit in the SMH.

JG

[Beanpole]

Really agree about Keith. He had a great style. I remember seeing him take off in front of the headland at Caba one day which no one did and I don't know how many do today. Screamed across on this wave as it turned into a typical Caba lump and did a huge cutback. Really smooth. I remember them saying he got some of the best waves on the epic 69 Makaha Session when Greg Nolle caught his defining wave.

Internationally recognised surfer.

[Beanpole]

Must have been a funny business when he and MP briefly had a shop at Kirra

[Nick Carroll]

Nice article, Josh.
Perhaps too direct for the people you pitched it to, i.e. they were a bit frightened that it came from someone who personally understood the medical consequences of treatment, and that made them uncomfortable to talk to you?
Just a thought.

It's a good take Josh, but ignores MP's serial history as a major illicit drug abuser, not to mention his family background.

Would MIck have spilled into psychotic episodes had his predilections not been encouraged by virtually every aspect of his life to the point where he finally lost the plot?

He grew up in a chaotic family circumstance in which he never knew his father and indeed was lied to about it for years. He found a home within a subculture riddled by unstable behaviour and massive drug use and without any kind of sociatel sanction, indeed, Gold Coast surfers were constantly harassed by the Bjelke-Petersen-empowered law enforcement authorities at the time. He was an enormously heavy drug user, ploughing through incredible quantities of dope, heroin and other narcotic and semi hallucinogenic drugs, some of which have since been heavily implicated in young adult onset of schizophrenia.

Whatever protection surfing offered him from the consequences was obviously pretty short lived. It didn't survive his departure from Dee Why in late 1980 and subsequent abandonment of riding waves other than in his mind.

Like a mutual friend said recently: "MP had no chance."

Those anti-psychotic drugs may be the reason he made it to the age of 59, not the reason he died then.

[Yuke Hunt]

Nice article, Josh.
Perhaps too direct for the people you pitched it to, i.e. they were a bit frightened that it came from someone who personally understood the medical consequences of treatment, and that made them uncomfortable to talk to you?
Just a thought.

It's a good take Josh, but ignores MP's serial history as a major illicit drug abuser, not to mention his family background.

Would MIck have spilled into psychotic episodes had his predilections not been encouraged by virtually every aspect of his life to the point where he finally lost the plot?

He grew up in a chaotic family circumstance in which he never knew his father and indeed was lied to about it for years. He found a home within a subculture riddled by unstable behaviour and massive drug use and without any kind of sociatel sanction, indeed, Gold Coast surfers were constantly harassed by the Bjelke-Petersen-empowered law enforcement authorities at the time. He was an enormously heavy drug user, ploughing through incredible quantities of dope, heroin and other narcotic and semi hallucinogenic drugs, some of which have since been heavily implicated in young adult onset of schizophrenia.

Whatever protection surfing offered him from the consequences was obviously pretty short lived. It didn't survive his departure from Dee Why in late 1980 and subsequent abandonment of riding waves other than in his mind.

Like a mutual friend said recently: "MP had no chance."

Those anti-psychotic drugs may be the reason he made it to the age of 59, not the reason he died then.

Sometimes ... Nicholas ... you make a lot of sense out of the insensible.

One of MP's favourite sayings was ... you're all mad ... having met a few of his cohorts ... I would probably concur with his analogy ... and yes ... he had little to no chance ... those cards were dealt very early in life ... but my god he could surf ... just another example of those freaks who's candle burns bright but briefly ... maybe thats the price one has to pay ... you know ... go down to the crossroads ... the devil is in the detail.

[chrisb]

Although an interesting article I must say that was the first thing I noticed when I read it was the absence of any reference to his heavy drug use. Medical research strongly suggests that drugs such as pot exacerbate various psychoses.

How well would MP have surfed had he been diagnosed early
Would he have surfed at all