Wow, that is very sad, a real loss to our culture
http://stabmag.com/michael-peterson-dead-at-age-59/
Vale MP…you da man
Rocky
A true loss
Im going to go ride my single fin as a tribute to the great man
RB
a great surfer, way ahead of others at that time, a great competitor, a true icon of Australian surfing and surfing in general for that matter…I will be in Kirra tomorrow so will have a paddle and be thinking of the great man…RIP MP
RIP. A troubled soul but an amazing surfer. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to replicate that Kirra cutback.
Absolute Legend from day one when surfing started to infect the Australian way of life …
RIP MP on this side of the fence … but I know you’ll be RIPping on the otherside where it’s always blow’n off shore
Hey Ripbowl we should organise a single fin surf session with the crew to remember the big bloke
W
R.I.P. Reg
a sad day indeed for oz surfing
condolences to his family
I'm grateful for the discussion on 'into the ether' by him of the 'cutback' board from morning of the earth ... as well as , of course , the rest of the M.O.T.E footage of him.
Also , the 'searching for michael peterson' movie , 'on any morning' , and other films featuring his surfing , and the 'M.P.' BOOK , too ....
There are some nice shots on his 'Facebook' pages , by the way.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Peterson-surfer/116318138441035
R.I.P., M.P. !
I , too , will go for a surf [on my stubby singley], as soon as possible , in honour of his surfing influence [my love of singleys he played a part in , via footage of him I've watched ....]
cheers !
ben
Aloha Michael, Another legand enters the line up in the next world.
Such a brilliant surfer…his sizzling high line speed runs, precise pocket positoning and massive carves embodied single surfing at it’s best. MP will forever remain the icon of his time and place.
His life story, however, is tragically familiar to those who’ve witnessed the train wreck of undiagnosed/untreated mental illness dramatically exacerbated by ‘self medication’ with street drugs and the resultant extreme behavior during the downward spiral, behavior too often glorified by the spectators.
Around the same time as MP’s rise, in NorCal we had Kevin S (those who know, know), another brilliant trailblazer who at 14 was tagged by Brewer, after Kevin had spent a couple of months on Kaui with him, as the best young surfer he had ever seen. Five years later Kevin was in the mental instituion he would spend decades in, having spent the previous years sucked into a vortex of escalating drug use and increasingly extreme behavior.
The price for true brilliance often costs more then the rewards…
There is a recurrent theme that exists within surfing where a young talent is given adulation for their surfing prowess; that light shines bright for an ephemeral moment. Then somehow the is light is replaced by drugs, which take away the light. I never knew MP, but from what I understand that ugly theme took its toll, just as I have seen with my own eyes time and time again and again. On a brighter note, his cutback picture hung by the doorway for years at the old Helena St. Channel Islands factory and was the first thing Merrick, and those fortunate enough to have the key saw and the last thing they would see as they left the building.
yup,
bad to hear of.........foresure.
hope he is in a better place.
herb
Apparently the waves were really good on the G.C yesterday, seems appropriate on such a sad day.
I was helping Paul Gross move some years ago. He had about 5 or 6 boxes full of slides. He says to me…" I think I am going to pitch these slides" I said what are they? He says they were from a 1974 trip to Australia. So I said I would take em. I have a slide projector and went through all of em(maybe 4 or 5 hundred)…picking out ones that looked interesting to me…mostly realted to surfing. I had those transferred to DVD’s at Costco…I ended up with a copy and sent one up to Paul.
Turns out, that at least for some period, Paul lived with Michael Peterson and took some pics from in and out of water. I have been reluctant to post any of these, but I see that Paul has put a few on Surfmatters…so here is a couple.
more pics of MP
I’ve always wondered how Michael Peterson’s surfing would have progressed had he not burnt out. Some of his peers surfing abilities have matured like fine wines, others have’nt. It was sad to see such someone with such great talent fizzle out so early in his life. I guess it was just meant to be.It’s nice to see how much he was appreciated. My heart goes out to the loved ones he has left behind. That board hes carrying in proneman’s post is such a clean design especially when viewed on surfmatters blog.
thanks VERY much paul gross for giving them to proneman !
thanks very much proneman for posting them here ...GOLD !!
cheers
ben
[it would also be interesting to see what my brother has from that era , as tracks photog ...I know he shot the stubbies comps ....]
It is a good point Foamdust as it was well known at the time that Micael was somewhat 'freaked ’ by the Thruster and the new approach that threatened his dominance by Simon Anderson, Shaun Thomson and the likes who undoutbedley took a new line at that time…not better mind yuo, but different.
I had the privilege or misfortune to compete against MP twice and was humbled beyond recovery on both occassuions back in the 6 man heat days.
Many do not appreciate that Michael had another secret weapon on board and that was his ability to outpaddle all and sundry. His lower back arch allowed hieghtened shoulder and arm angle of attack on the water and he was like an outboard motor, stroking past you with a wrye smerk knowing he had your measure while we all were struggling to just get out the back.
One theory put forward by another close rival was that Michael had a narking on the nose of his board and focussed to be sure it never stayed still…it was to be always changing direction which meant the board was turning which meant ponts from the judges…only ever a theory mind you, but that is the sort of stuff others came up with to try and find an answer to challenge MP.
To be bruttally honest from where I sit, MP had and fullfilled his glory days and a new wave swept through that had a very different persona and overall approach to surfing. Not better, not more skillful…just different and it was an etension of what MP brokered and it would never have eveolved that way without him, personally, I think he knew that and accepted it in his own way.
He was and still is a intergral pat of our surfing heritage and culture and we are all the richer for his contribution and legacy…not the greatest IMHO because that is too subjective, but one of the greatest we will ever see, no question.
Sad Rocky
maybe he never burnt out, there’s some who believe he knew his best was past him and he chose to not surf anymore, he was such a hungry determined competitor that , that kind of thought process might be right…dunno but another thought is, was it the drugs that made him unwell, or was he already unwell and the drugs were an escape from his mental illnesses…who knows, but we do know he was a freakish surfing talent and thats what I will remeber him for…
below is a pic of me with a signed by MP copy of the original tracks, MP was there that night having a few ( quite a few ) sausages on bread and saw him with a lollipop alot of the night too, he was smiling and laughing and looked happy, he had a definite aura about him, my son was stoked to meet him after seeing him on DVDs and me talking about him… I am going to shape a replica of the cutty board real soon, RIP MP
The photo of his cutback has properly been termed ICONIC. It captured the dynamic spirit of surfing, at a time of explosive creative energy, both in Australia, and the US. An impressive talent, gone too soon.
‘Totally focused!’ In Kirra, from Falzon’s Morning.
i have an extensive collection of surf films of the home made and commercially available type, stretching back to the '50's. of all that footage, my favorite is that section of MP at kirra in MOE. for me the epitomy of what surfing is and should look like....rip MP.