I didn’t know Midget, but the communications we had showed me a very polite and thoughtful person. I wish the world knew all the things he did to move surfboard design forward. He was robbed of his true place in the history of the surfboard.
Huie, maybe you could help to tell us Midget’s story, along with yours. There must be a heck of a lot of eye opening information between the two of you. There must be someone down there who wants to record your story.
When Midget contacted me thru Sways two or three years ago asking permission if he could call me, I was floored. His stature and place in surfing far exceeds anything I have ever contributed, and here he was, asking me for permisison to ring me up?
When he called, we had an easy and instant connection. Maybe my simple honesty managed to traverse the long distance call from OZ to the states. We talked about foam, and some design stuff I was working on, business stuff and where I thought things were going.
At the end of the day, it was an unexpected honor that said heaps about the man. I really believe he never got his due, and in the recent past, I’ve been pretty vocal about why one picture, (of Midfet carving that very first v bottom) covered with foam dust, and still pinned to my shaping room wall, has been the inspiration to fuel my aspirations and propel me into a world I call “Exploring the Possibilities of the In Between” and “Life on Planet V” while creating and advancing the design of surfboards from a bygone era that Midget deserves a huge nod in initially creating.
BTW, he was also a genius in surfboard blank foam formulation.
Give the man his due … he was a giant in life and deserves all of our utmost respect.