Simon Anderson (born 7 July 1954) is an Australian competitive
surfer,
surfboard shaper, and writer. He is credited with the 1980 invention of a three-fin
surfboard design, called the "thruster".
Early life
Anderson grew up in the Northern Beaches area of
Sydney with three brothers.
His family lived in a house that overlooked Collaroy Beach.
In 1977, he won the junior division at the
Bells Beach Classic Easter competition and began shaping surfboards in the Sydney suburb of
Brookvale.
Career
In 1977 he won the Bells Beach Classic competition and the
Coke Surfabout in Sydney.
In October 1980, after seeing a twin fin surfboard with a "trigger point" fin Anderson had the idea for a new version of the existing three fin design which was later dubbed the "thruster".
Anderson created a prototype for the "thruster" design and took it on tour with him to Hawaii and California. When he returned to Sydney, he made two more surfboards with similar designs.
In 1981, using one of those surfboards, he won the competition at the Bells Beach Classic and the
World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfing, surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The World Surf League was originally known as the International Prof ...
Offshore Pipeline Masters. "Surfing history took its biggest turn since polyurethane foam" as the "thruster" design became the most popular fin design for surfboards over the next 30 years.
[Author Unknown (19 July 2010)]
Simon Anderson Invented the Thruster 30 Years Ago
''Surfer Today'', retrieved Sept 17, 2012
Anderson retired from professional surfboarding in the mid-1980s
and never sought to benefit commercially by patenting his invention. Anderson said: "If I didn’t come up with it right then, there were a lot of other people at the time that were working toward that same end goal. I’m just fortunate, and happy to contribute."
[Nick, Carol]
Simon Anderson profile
''Surfline'', retrieved Sept 16, 2012
In November 2000, Anderson was awarded the
Australian Sports Medal
The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...
for services to surfboard design. In August 2010 Anderson was honored by US Blanks at the Sacred Craft Expo in San Diego California.
In 2011, Anderson published his autobiography called ''Thrust: The Simon Anderson Story'' and was inducted into the Surfer's Hall of Fame.
For some time, Anderson was a surfboard shaper at BASE, a Gold Coast surfboard-manufacturer that closed in 2011.
Anderson has support many team riders including Kerby Brown and Cooper Chapman.
simon anderson surfboards team
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Personal life
Anderson lives with his wife and two sons in Newport Beach
Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws ...
, Sydney.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Simon
Australian surfers
1954 births
Living people
Surfboard shapers
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
World Surf League surfers