Michael Peterson

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spicsnspecs started the topic in Sunday, 26 Jan 2014 at 6:33pm

Picked up the latest issue of Surfing World and it says on the cover that Michael Peterson surfs like a chick.

Are there any surfers on here over the age of 15, anyone in their 50s or 60s who actually saw MP surf? Did he surf like a chick? No he f****ing didn't! He was more animal that the bloody animal himself. More mongrel than anything before or since.

But the kids will buy the magazine and believe every word.

If you are a kid and you are reading this, MP was a freakish surfer with incredible talent. He made the other guys he was surfing against look like chicks!

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Roy Stuart Monday, 27 Jan 2014 at 4:38pm

It might have made sense if directed at P Drouyn, but not Michael.

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blindboy Monday, 27 Jan 2014 at 4:50pm

I saw Michael surf many times and he was unique, no-one has really surfed like him before or since. His multiple contest wins and the awe in which he was held by the entire surfing community at the time speak for themselves. I haven't seen the magazine but if it was intended as a cheap shot at a legend who is no longer around to defend himself then I would expect that it will do their reputation no good. That said, there comes a time to let the legends fade a little to make room for all that has been achieved since.

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sir ambrose bea... Monday, 27 Jan 2014 at 6:38pm

Who wrote that article .........'surf like a girl' no fucking way - to the editor of surfing world fucking shame on you.
MP graced your covers many times and those pics sold mega copies !!!!!!!!!

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deanw12 Monday, 27 Jan 2014 at 8:50pm

I'm 57 years old and was around the place when Michael was surfing at his peak. Saw him riding Kirra at 6-8
a few times, especially one 28 day cyclone swell around 1975. Plenty of the top surfers were about, Hackman, Rabbit, PT and so on but MP was on a higher level altogether. Fastest man in the water and for that time and equipment best surfer I've seen. Surf like a girl? NO.
I have super 8 footage of that swell and Michael getting 7 barrels on one wave.

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sir ambrose bea... Monday, 27 Jan 2014 at 9:06pm

@ deanw how can we see your super 8 footage of the man? may we.

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deanw12 Tuesday, 28 Jan 2014 at 3:36pm

It was put on video tape, if I could find how to get it to a digital form I'd be happy to post it here.

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udo Tuesday, 28 Jan 2014 at 4:47pm

im sure the swellnet team could advise on that.

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stunet Tuesday, 28 Jan 2014 at 6:18pm

We've got a vid to digi converter here in the office but it sounds like Dean is in QLD. Best bet would be to check film or camera houses. I got eight video tapes converetd a few years back for a reasonable price. Think it was a Rabbit Camera House, or some such generic camera place anyway.

Would love to see the MP footage...

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udo Tuesday, 28 Jan 2014 at 6:37pm

or about $10 aust post pack qld to syd.

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stunet Tuesday, 28 Jan 2014 at 6:46pm

Yep, or that. Dean, Swellnet would be happy to pay get the tape digitised and pay for postage here and back. You'd retain all copyright over the footage.

If you'd like to take the offer up please email me at: [email protected]

-Stu

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1963-malibu Wednesday, 29 Jan 2014 at 10:01am

MP super 8 footage in a cyclone in 1975, thats worth money!

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stickyson Wednesday, 29 Jan 2014 at 2:39pm

Yeah spent a little time in Qld through that time. One solid day at kirra there were a few absentees MP one of them, missing in action yeah but only to be surfing a macken right handed off the Tweed Bar with Murray Bourton and one or possibly two others, got round there for look see UNBELIEVABLE!

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deanw12 Wednesday, 29 Jan 2014 at 6:33pm
stunet wrote:

Yep, or that. Dean, Swellnet would be happy to pay get the tape digitised and pay for postage here and back. You'd retain all copyright over the footage.

If you'd like to take the offer up please email me at: [email protected]

-Stu

Will see what I can do.

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udo Wednesday, 29 Jan 2014 at 6:42pm

@Sticky watched a few of those tweed bar sessions as well epic stuff, wayne dean surfed it solo lots of times Marty Tullemans took heaps of pics .
Deany on some 12ft plus days taking off way out on the bar and flicking out almost at lovers ,fuck some footage of that would be good see, deanw got any bar footage or know of any ?

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The Shaper Saturday, 8 Feb 2014 at 12:58pm

On the original topic it never ceases to amaze me what media dish up for journalism these days.
Its a shame to see the rot creeping in to the surf media, present company excluded of course.
Here they have touched on a subject close to my heart and so I am compelled to post. Perhaps there is some context to the comment that may sway our interpretation of what was said I don't know, but in tribute to a man who I knew very well having begun my career working with him and the other great Shapers under the Tutillage of the late Brian Fury Austen, there was also Billy Grant, Graham Black Blackie, Richard Huzza Wuzza Herbert, Peter Mont Monte, Shane Egan, Tommy floating in and out, Dave Macca Macdonnald, ect, I lived with Michael or should I say Micheal lived with us, on and off for a number of years in the house on Kirra Hill overlooking Kirra Point, best view in the country in those days, front window right onto the point, so many stories to tell, Michael was a surfer of extraordinary natural ability, for his day on par with Kelly Slater make no mistake. I remember clearly about eight months before the first ever Stubbies contest (the first man on man heats) Michael had been sort of away from surfing for a while then in New Zealand, drugged out and messed up, I had not seen him for good while, he just showed up one day and asked to move back into the house, he was fat podgy pasty, he said to me Robbie I am going to win that contest. (that was six months out)Now there are no shortage of egos out there who readily make such statements then and today, but over the course of the next six months he got off the smack started running exercising pulled his diet together and claimed the 5K prize against MR who went on to claim 4 world titles, after an exhilarating semi against Rabbit. That was todays equivalent of wining the Quicksilver Pro, it his last major contest win.
Only true champions can do things like that. Us mere mortals have no hope. Such individuals deserve respect because they have earned it. I am surprised that some one would stoop to cheapen that ability using the cheapening of that reputation it to promote their own magazine or agenda. I hope they get to see this post.

Regards to all Rob Webster

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gavin007 Saturday, 8 Feb 2014 at 11:45am

I fit the 50's age group. I saw MP when he won Bells in the 70's. I'm pretty sure it was the following edition of Tracks that had this amazing photo of him doing a reo on a big one in the bowl (can't quite remember now if it was Tracks or Surfing World). Memory of his surfing that week and that photo still sticks. Made the rest of us look like girls.

Apologies to girl surfers - there's plenty of you out there who surf better than me (and the Tracks journalists)!

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udo Friday, 28 Feb 2014 at 8:05am

Did the MP footage end up getting digitized ?

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stunet Friday, 28 Feb 2014 at 8:15am

Dean contacted me and I emailed back. Haven't heard from him since.

Dean, you out there? Still keen??

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more Saturday, 22 Mar 2014 at 9:03am

who cares what some journo said, just watch MPs surfing, see how good he was for those times and on those boards...R.I.P MP....

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deanw12 Saturday, 22 Mar 2014 at 11:03am

Hi Stu, hopefully getting it converted this week.

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morg Wednesday, 26 Mar 2014 at 8:44pm

Legends always seem to grow when they die, but MP could definitely surf. I travelled a bit surfing as a kid so I was lucky enough to see a lot of my hero's of the day surfing. A few decades ago I was surfing an almost perfect 6 foot Tea Trees (the one at Noosa) with one other guy, and this unco looking guy with a board sort of shuffled his way out to jump off the rocks. As soon as he hit the water you just knew he could surf. It was MP and he was really that good. His style and positioning just blew me away. Compared to his contemporaries he was definitely up there. I was still surfing a single fin in bigger waves so I'm guessing it was probably late 70's.

Coincidently back in the day I also had a few MP surfboards. One that comes to mind was this fang tail thing that had about three pointy flyers each side and a narrow swallow tail. Can't recall how it went but I thought it was awesome (realistically the performance of any of those boards from that era is ordinary compared to today's boards)

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Micky L Sunday, 15 Feb 2015 at 11:15pm

I was in cooly from late 71-81 surfed all the great cyclone swells anyone there for the peak just up the beach from Kirra point my mates & I jumped off green mount pt to get to it solid 8-12 foot perfect lefts & rights we we the 1st guys out there & so was Keith Paul I remember greasy living in his kombi shaping a board outside his van at the peak if anyone has pix please post em or talk about it I've never seen a beach break hold its bank for so long

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surfstarved Monday, 16 Feb 2015 at 1:50pm

I haven't read the article, so can't comment on its merits. The editorial crew were more than likely just trying to catch people's eye with a potentially controversial headline and sell a few magazines.

I do, however, think it's worth pointing out that the phrase "...like a girl" isn't necessarily a negative. I've been surfing for over 25 years now, but I'd fucking love to be able to surf like Steph Gilmore or Tyler Wright or any of a (quite large) number of female surfers.

Stop and think for a minute about the way you see the world and the way you absorb what's presented to you in the media. My daughter does everything like a girl, because she is a girl, and she's fucking awesome.

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winkie Monday, 16 Feb 2015 at 3:21pm

I saw M.P. in 76 at Bells after winning the last three. It was points for turns and on his first wave he just stood there trimming probably earning zero points. Incredible! He came through the carpark right up to the guy i was talking to and mumbled ' Higgsy around'? then wandered off. Saw him destroy big snapper a couple of years later and took some photos. Sent the slides to tracks when he passed away but haven't heard anything. He was light years ahead of everyone.

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winkie Monday, 16 Feb 2015 at 3:29pm

M.P. blitzed. saw him at Bells in the 70s and saw him destroy big Snapper around '77. Took some photos and sent the slides to Tracks when he passed away but never heard anymore. He was light years ahead.

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udo Monday, 16 Feb 2015 at 4:21pm

Winkie, "higgsy around"....classic...
what a pity Doherty didn't get to speak with Higgsy ...would have made the book another 100 pages long and some mindblowing reading

Higgsy is still around and doing what he does best .

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stunet Monday, 16 Feb 2015 at 4:43pm

udo wrote:

Winkie, "higgsy around"....classic... what a pity Doherty didn't get to speak with Higgsy ...would have made the book another 100 pages long and some mindblowing reading Higgsy is still around and doing what he does best .

Keep an eye out Udo. Sean's been doing some work in this area.

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udo Monday, 16 Feb 2015 at 7:00pm

Wish Don Norris would release a few more of his 1970s MP super 8 footage.

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blindboy Monday, 16 Feb 2015 at 7:17pm

It is actually 16mm udo and I suspect some of it was shot by Peter Crawford as Don was actually living in PCs garage for some of that period, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Often promised, never delivered.