Paddle Out for Shane Stedman – Crescent Head - Saturday May 30

Paddle Out for Shane Stedman – Crescent Head - Saturday May 30 - 11am Sevice, followed by a Paddle Out at 12.

R.I.P. SHANE STEDMAN - A LIFE LIVED

One of the truly great characters of Australian surfing has left us at 85, surrounded by family at his beloved Crescent Head. "He spent the morning with a dozen oysters and a chilli magarita and we held his hand until the very last breath, loving him with every ounce of our being," said his daughter Bonnie on social media,

An extrovert with a ready laugh, Shane produced the first discount “pop-out” surfboards en masse in the early ’70s yet somehow kept the credibility of his Shane Surfboards label intact with a stellar surf team and a revolving crew of respected shapers.

He’d fronted the rock band Shane and the Trojans, invented and marketed the Ugh Boot, was Sydney’s first radio surf reporter, hosted Australia’s first pro surf contest (the 2SM Surfabout), opened Sydney’s first health food restaurant, and . . . well maybe just seek out a copy of his biography “The Shane Gang – Surviving the Sixties, Surfboards, Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll and Ugh Boots” to get an idea of what an extraordinary life he lived.

PLB art director Sharon designed and laid out the book for Shane back in 2018 and he was regular visitor to our home office across a couple of months, pulling up out the front with his camper van and coming in to regale us with yarns and jokes - yet he was always interested in the stories we were working on and what we were up to with the mag. He was a charming man.

The following is a social media post from his son (and champion surfer) Luke Stedman.

“The first time Dad saw anyone surf a wave was on the point in the late ’50s at Crescent Head. His final wish was to spend his last moments watching the same waves at his favourite 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 The 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. 

“I’m going to miss you so much Dad and so are so many others.”