This is a good read. Can anyone here shed some light on this topic?

forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=16575

Yeah I saw that piece of advertising the other week - it's a whole another era that one. Will look forward to watching it when it comes out. But it does not answer the real question - was Bob the inventor of possibility or the person who saw its true potential and sold it?

Some interesting quotes

People see possibilities, others create those possibilities, while others realise those possibilities and then still others **** up those possibilities (usually by regulation or formalisation) or the enlightened ones move on to new possibilities.

I have no doubt that McTavish was the leader and the guru. I also have no doubt that his boards were ****house to surf compared to others in his group ... but he was the one who saw the future.


Another bloke




McTavish and those around him - Nat, Spencer, Platt, Russel Hughes, Wayne Parkes, Keith Paul, Baddie, and many others - were not just guys who came up with a new direction in surfing. They were the best longboarders of that era. In fact, they were so far ahead of the others and what had preceded them that they had nowhere else to go but to find a totally new direction. Their frustration with the equipment's capabilities inspired the short board revolution. McTavish was the one who saw it.

If anyone has any interest in this topic they should talk to Baddy or Neal Purchase (snr) as they were right in the middle of it and were about the only one's who weren't totally off their face at that time.

Hawaii was a totally different set of circumstances and requirements.

About three years ago I put away my preconceived ideas about McTavish's boards and bought one. Got to say they are still as ****house today as they were then, maybe more so!

i grew up with neal snr,he lived across the road in fact,his dad was a milko and a pro fisherman,neal started work at keyo's in about 64 as a floor sweeper and went on to become a fine shaper,one of the best in fact,his longboards were so good.he made me a couple of good boards in the early 90's
his son became one of the goldies best tube riders and has become a great shaper in his own right.
baddie was always a good if not great surfer,he was riding short funny looking 5 foot boards when he was 12or13 i think they were hooly boards or something like that,surfed manly when he was young with neal,ted spencer,etc,great at the bower.in all that crew were easlily the best surfers of the era by miles,some were competitive
others not as much,they went on to be the discoverers of moving out of sydney and settling from angourie to the border.
they were good times.