“I was going to suck it up. I was thinking, ‘Don’t worry, mate, I’ll wait and bide my time…an eye for an eye.”
This interview with Jodie Cooper was the last podcast the surf writer and commentator Ben Mondy recorded for us and took place around eighteen months ago.
BeachGrit employed the Mondy, who lives in England, to make a few Dirty Water podcasts while Charlie and I busied ourselves with leisure.
Mondy and I had worked together at a Sydney publishing house in the real early two thousands, he Tracks, me Waves. And while my surfer connections withered to nothing after Andy died and Bruce fled the scene, Mondy’s had flourished as he pivoted hard into surf commentary.
It never ran ‘cause I asked Mondy to call back Jodie Cooper and lean a little more into her famous, and successful, assault case against surf mat aficionado Mark Thomson.
In the interview, Joe Cooper touched on the assault and her reasons for pressing charges.
“I wasn’t his first victim. Hopefully, I was his last. He picked the wrong person as you know. He picks on women, he picks on young kids, that’s the type of species that guy is and there’s a lot of them out there still.”
Initially, Jodie was gonna avoid any police action and wait for her moment to strike back.
“I was going to suck it up. It was traumatic for sure. I didn’t need the attention. I didn’t want the attention and I knew it was going to draw a lot of attention. I was thinking, ‘Don’t worry, mate, I’ll wait and bide my time…an eye for an eye.”
But,
“I got so much feedback, people contacted me who he had attacked pleading with me to do something. That’s why I decided to press charges.”
It’s a good interview, but I wanted more! The revenge fantasy! What hell would’ve struck her assailant?
Anyway, the files just appeared on my desktop, had a re-listen, though it’s a story worth re-telling.
“There isn’t much about Jodie Cooper that I don’t love,” Matt Warshaw told me back in 2020. “Jodie seems indomitable in a way, unbreakable, but there’s something kind of hard-luck about her too. I don’t quite know why. Maybe I’m just still pissed on her behalf because that geezer Thompson who assaulted her basically walked, which seemed like a pretty grievous miscarriage of justice.
Such a huge Jodie Cooper fan. Literally grom – fanoboi’d out with her when I was about 14 or so. Must have been like, ’92. She was doing a signing at Charlestown Square while Surfest was on with a bunch of 90’s CT’rs. When I made it to her, I nervously and squeaky voice asked her about doing the surfing parts in Point Break for Lori Petty. Jodie confirmed my “did you do the surf parts for the chick in Point Break?” question. I’m still squirming at how cringey it must have seemed to her. But, Jodie was very nice to me, and seemed somewhat shocked I knew this piece of trivia about her. I.. was STOKED for quite a while after that. Safe to say, I’ll chuck this a party Pete
Always hated that Carcass cunt for assaulting her at Lennox. fucken surfmat herb.
**edit** Bring back Dirty Water DR – expand the BG media brand! Was always a quality listen, but the sound quality was a bit meh.
What? A new episode of Dirty Water? What’s it been like 2-3 years? Ok, I’m in.
back in the day, Jodie and Pam Burridge used to hang out at our house and go night spotting with us in Waikiki.
Jodie was super cute, aloof and sexy, but Pam was the fun one, awesome cute Ozzie gal with heaps of verve.
both of them absolute chargers in the waves and in life.
wish Jodie would’ve just clocked the guy with her board…..fins first.
She coulda picked me up in that pick up any day o the week..
Oooooeeee bench seat!
Isn’t she gorgeous! I would have definitely let her lick my bumhole! Anyone who says otherwise is definitely a closeted homosexual.
Xox
Lol, xoxo
certainly was a babe BITD
Jody and Sam have got the same hair cuts
I’m pretty sure that Thompson geezer wears a tin foil hat too. Useless c#nt
Carcus is just a cunt
I’ll listen to it later
Is it too late to Go Fund a vigilante?
Maybe Sam George can point his self righteous ire in that direction…