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Sidney Robert "Bob" Cooper (5 October 1937 – 16 February 2020) was an American and Australian surfer, shaper, surf shop owner and surf commentator. He was regarded as being one of very few surfers and shapers to be majorly influential in surf history on both sides of the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. He began surfing in 1952 at age 15, at Malibu. His nicknames included the Bearded Bard and the Original Surfing Beatnik. Cooper died 16 February 2020, aged 82, from cancer-related illnesses near his home at
Noosa Heads Noosa Heads is a coastal town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. It is a popular holiday destination. In the , the suburb of Noosa Heads had a population of 5,120 people. Geography ...
, Queensland, Australia.


Surfing career

Born in
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, Bob grew up near the beaches there and started surfing at Malibu Beach in 1952. He also became an early surfboard shaper in California, working for the likes of
Dale Velzy Dale Velzy (September 23, 1927 – May 26, 2005) was an American surfboard shaper, credited with being the world's first commercial shaper. He opened the first professional surf shop in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1950, personally hand fashion ...
,
Reynolds Yater Reynolds Wood "Renny" Yater (born 1932 in Los Angeles) is an American surfboard builder. He was one of the first commercial surfboard builders of the 1950s and is best known for his Nose ride, noserider, the Yater Spoon. At that time, it was the t ...
, and
Tom Morey Tom Hugh Morey (15 August 1935 – 14 October 2021), also known by the moniker Y, was a musician, engineer, surfboard shaper, and surfer responsible for several technological innovations that have heavily influenced modern developments in surfin ...
. Cooper's signature ‘Bob Cooper Blue Machine’ model produced in 1967 and early 1968 by Morey-Pope Surfboards, was the only board of the era to feature an asymmetrical fin setup. Cooper was one of the first Americans to travel to Australia, bringing with him USA surfboard-building innovation. After his first visit to Australia in 1959, Cooper began working with Barry Bennett and Gordon Woods, where he introduced Californian manufacturing techniques. He later worked with
Midget Farrelly Bernard "Midget" Farrelly (13 September 1944 – 6 August 2016) was the first world surfing champion. Farrelly, was the first Australian to win a major surfing title, the 1962 Makaha International Surfing Championships, the unofficial world ...
, Joe Larkin, and many of the major labels in Brookvale,
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. Around 1963., he moved to
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
where he worked with
Bob McTavish Bob McTavish (born 1944) is an Australian surfboard designer and member of the surfing hall of fame. He is often credited with the invention of the V-bottom surfboard and was one of a number of pioneering surfer/shapers considered instrumenta ...
, Russell Hughes and Algie Grud at the Hayden Kenny factory on the
Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...
. At the height of his popularity in California] in 1968, Cooper left America for good, moving permanently to Australia with his new wife. Cooper went on to become a keen driver of the initial shortboard revolution of the 1970s.


Surf Films and Features

Cooper featured in several surf films of 1960s – 1980s including ''Slippery When Wet, Surfing Hollow Days, Strictly Hot, Men of Wood & Foam (2016).'' Cooper modelled for surf labels such as Morey Pope, O'Neill (brand), O’Neill Wetsuits and Okanui Boardshorts. Cooper was the first in the surfing industry to promote Indigenous Australian surfers, featuring a few in advertising campaigns of the late 1970s.


Surf Shops

Cooper and his Dutch wife Wilhelmina, whom he met in Australia, opened their first Coopers Surf Shop in 1969 at the Jetty area in
Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...
. At one point this was the biggest surf shop in Australia. Subsequent stores were opened at Coffs Harbour and on the Gold Coast in the 1980s. Cooper sold his businesses in 1993, afterwards retiring to
Noosa Heads Noosa Heads is a coastal town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. It is a popular holiday destination. In the , the suburb of Noosa Heads had a population of 5,120 people. Geography ...
in Queensland. Today there are six Coopers Surf Stores around. Cooper continued making custom surfboards for collectors in his retirement from his home at Marcus Beach, Queensland, from 1993 – 2015.


Religion

Cooper was a life-long and sixth-generation member of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded durin ...
, with his faith being central to his life and teachings. Cooper claimed that it was his religion, not his surfing, that was his bedrock. Cooper was known for refusing to participate in all surf activities on Sundays. While he entered few surfing competitions, he invariably would pull out before any finals held on Sundays, to the great irritation of officials. He also refused to open any of his stores on Sundays, and he refused alcohol and tobacco according to his faith.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Bob American surfers 1937 births 2020 deaths Australian surfers