RealSurf Surfers' Forum

I was reading an article a while back on Shane Herring and how he wasn't surfing anymore (I believe he is again now). I was blown away. How could someone who had a great talent and knowledge of the ocean just give it away and not surf when it was once your whole life? Apparently he didn't even own a board.

I'm trying to think of any other ex-pros who dont surf any more??

Micheal Peterson is the prime example IMO

I think Kingsley Looker would be another one. Sensational pro surfer in the 80's from Queenscliff, gave it up to pursue a career in music. Don't think he surfs but still lives/works locally.

MP doesnt surf anymore. He stopped as soon as he saw Simon Anderson with the first thruster at Dee Why. Im not sure of any others though, it seems MP and Herro were both pretty troubled souls and that played a big part in it. All that time in the spotlight and the pressure put on herro was enormous, he was so talked up that living up to his reputation would have been pretty hard. Suck for us really, 2 incredible surfers who just gave it away, so good to watch

I think that MP had bigger issues than simply seeing Simon Anderson surf....

collnarra wrote:I think that MP had bigger issues than simply seeing Simon Anderson surf....

yeah just maybe...
his bio shows some pretty intense shit going on.

Yeh, i forgot about M.P., probably cause he was out of my generation. Yeh, read the book that Sean Doherty wrote, pretty sad really, especially his poor mum.

Moby wrote:I think Kingsley Looker would be another one. Sensational pro surfer in the 80's from Queenscliff, gave it up to pursue a career in music. Don't think he surfs but still lives/works locally.

wrong ... kingsley looker still lives in manly ... he now works in real estate & still surfs ... usually only when the waves are good.

marty wrote:

collnarra wrote:I think that MP had bigger issues than simply seeing Simon Anderson surf....

yeah just maybe...
his bio shows some pretty intense shit going on.

The bio's a very sad read. Have read it a couple of times, and when I get to the end, I'll read back to the middle so I can put it back on the shelf with MP in his prime

Was it Nicky Bell (or something) who had dodgy knees after a teenage growth spurt and had to give surfing away?

Nicky Wood (who won Bells at 16 against Dog Marsh). But not sure if he's still surfing or not.

JuBu wrote:

marty wrote:

collnarra wrote:I think that MP had bigger issues than simply seeing Simon Anderson surf....

yeah just maybe...
his bio shows some pretty intense shit going on.

The bio's a very sad read. Have read it a couple of times, and when I get to the end, I'll read back to the middle so I can put it back on the shelf with MP in his prime

Was it Nicky Bell (or something) who had dodgy knees after a teenage growth spurt and had to give surfing away?

It's a good (but sad) read about MP. I think MP said he wasn't coming back unless he could still kick arse. He didn't believe in surfing past one's prime and was not flattering about his contemporaries such as Rabbit who still surfed. I had the impression that MP still had a big ego. Not that that's a bad thing - it gave him the drive to compete and win so effectively.

MP would need a big fat 10ft mal to float him now: the medication he takes to stop his schizophrenia has radically slowed his metabolism and he has ballooned out.

Like you, I enjoyed going back in the book to his good days when he had the ability and the determination to beat anyone in the world.

As for Newcastle's Nicky Wood, I recall a thread from a year or so back suggesting that he developed a drug problem?

Many pre-professional, but well-known, surfers of the '60's and '70's gave up waves and died premature deaths due to personal problems. Ex- Narrabeen's Bob Pike (big wave rider) and Grant "Dapper" Oliver, junior champion Kevin "Head" Brennan etc.

Anyone know what became of Larry Blair, Pipeline Master winner of 1980 and part-time actor?

How about Greg Noll, didn't he give up after taking what was then the largest wave ever ridden?

Larry Blair puts together surf guides. Little pocket size books, but i cant remember their name. Covers Aust/Indo/Hawaii. So presumably still surfs, but in more exotic locations.

smnmntl wrote:Youse can keep your Herros and your MPs.... what's Wayne Lynch up to these days?

Still surfs I believe. There was an article in a Tracks mag (I think) a few months back about a Wayne Lynch tow-in session in some Victorian surf coast spot. Can't recall any pics in it of Wayne surfing, but from the sound of it he was still frothing and charging.

ether wrote:How about Greg Noll, didn't he give up after taking what was then the largest wave ever ridden?

i think he meant big wave surfing

I caught up with Shane Herring, I think about 18 months ago. Not having seen him since before his attaining entry into the WCT (due to my 10 years away), I was rather shocked.

It was 10am. He had a 600ml stubby of beer in his hand in a brown paper back, and was wandering into the surf shops by the DY beachfront scouting for ding-repair work. He had a huge beer gut and looked destitute.

I saw him out at DY point the day after on a borrowed board and wetsuit, and he still absolutely ripped.

Around that time there was this other guy with a scowl, dull red hair and a deeply lined face riding this old grubby narrow-nosed thing with a really wide tail that looked like a 12-foot Hawaiian rhino-chaser with the last 5 foot cut off, that he'd glassed a single fin and a couple of bonza strakes onto. He was wearing an old hockey or skateboard helmet.

When he dropped in on me, I recognised it was little brother Brett. I caught up with him in the carpark a couple of weeks later. He seemed to be faring better than Shane, but not by much.

Drugs and alcohol.

The word I heard was that Shane was the reason Kelly had little time for Peter Crawford. Blamed him for leading Shane down the slippery slope that led to his demise. I have no idea whether either assertion is true or not - maybe NC can confirm or deny.

I thought that Larry Blair was still surfing and living up around Norah Head way. That could have been a totally misconstrued conversation though.

I think Wayne Lynch is still into it but keeps a low profile.

It's funny how when you are into surfing it seems like giving it away would be the hardest thing in the world. I've gone through few stages in the last few years, and in spite of my best efforts can't get the same stoke back. I still get out occasionally but it doesn't have the same pull that it used to. You know, the 'I have to get wet feeling'.

In truth, I could give it away. I wouldn't make a conscious decision, but it might happen one day, organically.

From where I stand now, you wouldn't believe how much surfing looks like a religion, or more accurately, a cult. I speak from experience

i konw a brickie who is a good mate of larry blair. he (blair) lives at ocean shores on the north coast. i beleive he is still surfing.