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 A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as ''papa hee ...

design, called the "thruster".

Early life

Anderson grew up in the Northern Beaches area of

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 ...

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 WSL was originally known as International Professional Surfing ( ...

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, off ...

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 of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Simon Australian surfers 1954 births Living people Surfboard shapers Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal World Surf League surfers