Extroverted surf icon, ugg boot mastermind and peerless cocksmith Shane Stedman, dead at 85

"He had the sun on his face, watching those same waves roll in listening to Willy Neilson’s “On he road again” with his family loving him right beside him."

The surfing world is more than a little worse off tonight after Shane Stedman, the mastermind behind the sheepskin boot, surfboard shaper and recipient of an Order of Australia medal, said his final farewells to his family and set off to joint the gods in Valhalla. 

His son, the former world #11 Luke Stedman, at one time a cocksmith par excellence like his daddy, wrote movingly of Shane’s final moments on this earth on Instagram. 

The first time Dad saw any one surf a wave was on the point in the late 60’s at Crescent Head. His final wish was to spend his last moments watching the same waves at his favorite spot on earth, Crescent Head. Fortunately he had the sun on his face, watching those same waves roll in listening to Willy Neilson’s “On he road again” with his family loving him right beside him. I got to hold his hand and was right there with him to the very end. He never lost any of his positive energy or good time vibes. He was the eternal optimist. 

Im going to miss you so much Dad and so are so many others. We will be having a memorial service/ paddle out at Crescent head which the family will confirm details in the coming week.

Thanks for all the support and kind words that has been said. It means so much to the family and we are so grateful for the friendships Dad and we have made.

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A post shared by Luke Stedman (@luke.stedman)

Luke’s sister Bonnie posted their last family photo together, 

This is the last family photo with our dad.  In the place he loved most, on the balcony at Crescent Head, with the people who loved him most. 

He spent the morning with a dozen oysters and a chilli margarita and we held his hand until the very last breath, loving him with every ounce of our being.

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A post shared by Bonnie_ (@bonbonsteds)

Five years ago, Shane, who had just turned eighty although was still squirting testosterone, had surgery to remove “balloons” in his chest. These growths squashed his lungs, reducing his ability to breathe by eighty-five percent. 

Couple the fibrous growths with emphysema and the old boy could barely walk to the end of the street without stopping to suck in gutfuls of air, as if he’d just run a marathon. 

The “extroverted surf-world entrepreneur” and creator of Shane Surfboards is best known, writes Matt Warshaw, for “the short, stubby, Shane Surfboard ‘popout’, a mass-produced board designed for beginners and offered at discount rates in sporting goods and department stores. The brightly-colored boards earned Stedman a lot of money in the early ’70s (an Aussie magazine nicknamed him “the summer millionaire), but pushed him out of favor with Australia’s surfing tastemakers.”

“I’m in the fun industry, the surf industry is fun,” said Shane Stedman. “We certainly do live in the lucky country, no doubt about that.”

God, Shane Stedman will be missed.