Shaun Tomson: The light shines ahead
Light, Love, Life. For 16 years Shaun Tomson was a professional surfer. In this talk, ‘The Light Shines Ahead’ he relates a poignant sacred circle story that might just touch your heart, make you feel grateful for how love comes to you and for life that can come again.
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“Shaun Tomson was born in the coastal town of Durban, South Africa and went on to become one of the world’s best surfers, winning events all over the world culminating in the surfing world’s top honour, the World Pro Title in 1977.
In 1975, Shaun was an integral part of the ‘Free Ride’ generation. Along with Australians Rabbit Bartholomew, Mark Richards, Ian Cairns, Peter Townend and Mark Warren, they rode the infamous waves along Oahu’s legendary North Shore with a style, aggression, and raw courage unseen prior to their arrival.
Collectively, these surfers changed the face of surfing and were the first to really apply themselves as serious professional surfers. With his good looks, eloquence, and undeniable athleticism, Shaun served by default as the face and voice of this movement, and he is still viewed as the prototype blueprint for today’s pro surfer, with legions of fans throughout the world.
He won the highly coveted IPS World Championship in 1977. On a performance level, Shaun completely changed the way the tube of the wave was ridden, using a completely unique style of pumping and weaving through and around collapsing sections of the barrel. Even today, his electrifying performances at ‘Off The Wall’ and ‘Backdoor Pipeline’ stand the test of time. A very underrated aspect of Tomson’s inventiveness was his in the tube punch throughs where he escaped unscathed from hideous closeout sections over a shallow reef.
He competed on the pro tour for 16 years, winning 19 professional events, and at the time was both the youngest and oldest surfer to win a professional event. He was a true surfing innovator, developing a revolutionary and radical new tube riding technique.
He is recognised as one of surfing’s greatest ambassadors and is a strong proponent of environmentalism, having been chairman of the Surfrider Foundation Advisory Board for the last 8 years and recently elected to the Board of Directors. In 2002 the Surf Industry Manufacturer’s Association honoured him as Environmentalist of the Year and in 2009 Surfrider Foundation in Hawaii presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award.”
The VIDEO
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