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{{Short description|Australian surfer (born 1954)}}
'''Simon Anderson''' (born [[7 July]] [[1954]]) is an [[Australian]] [[surfer]] and [[surfboard]] shaper, noted for creating the '''Thruster''' design of three equal-sized fins on a surfboard, a design now used on practically every [[shortboard]] made.
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Simon Anderson
| image = Simon Anderson after surfing.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1954|07|07}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) -->
| death_place =
| nationality = Australian
| occupation = [[Surfer]]<br />[[Surfboard shaper]]
| known_for = Professional surfer and inventor of the three fin surfboard
| other_names =
| module = {{infobox surfer
| image =
| child = yes
| height = 6 ft 3 in
| weight = 229 lb
| stance = Regular (natural foot)
}}}}
'''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".<ref name="Surf Transworld"/>


==Early life==
Anderson grew up in [[Collaroy, New South Wales|Collaroy]], [[Sydney]], the second oldest of four brothers. All four were surfers and strong [[swimmer]]s, and competed in [[Surf Life Saving]] competitions. The family moved to North Narrabeen when Simon was 16.
Anderson grew up in the Northern Beaches area of [[Sydney]] with three brothers.<ref name="Surfline"/> His family lived in a house that overlooked Collaroy Beach.<ref name="Surfline"/> In 1977, he won the junior division at the [[Bells Beach Classic]] Easter competition and began shaping surfboards in the Sydney suburb of [[Brookvale, New South Wales|Brookvale]].<ref name="Surfline"/>


==Career==
Anderson's [[surfing]] skill stood out from his brothers, and in 1972 he was a surprise winner of the junior division at the [[Bells Beach Classic]] Easter competition. In that year he also started shaping, with [[Shane Stedman]] in the [[Sydney]] suburb (and surf-factory hotbed) of [[Brookvale, New South Wales|Brookvale]] near his home.
In 1977 he won the Bells Beach Classic competition and the [[Coke Surfabout]] in Sydney.<ref name="Surfline"/>


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".<ref name="Surf Transworld">{{cite web |url=http://surf.transworld.net/1000111570/features/simon-anderson-talks-thurster/ |title=Simon Anderson Talks Thruster |author=Koteen, Casey |date=10 August 2010 |accessdate=28 February 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Surfline"/>
(When) Simon was recruited by Shane Surfboards he was given the job of shaping "pop-outs," as they were called. That basically meant that after the foam blank came out of the mold the outer skin had to be taken off and then the board was glassed. They were a mass produced 'affordable' surfboard, but Simon was able to gain a considerable amount of shaping experience in a short time. He now had two things going for him. Simon was a world class surfer and he shaped his own equipment.


In 1981, using one of those surfboards, he won the competition at the Bells Beach Classic and the [[World Surf League]] 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.<ref name="Surf Transworld" /><ref name="Surfer Today">Author Unknown (19 July 2010) [https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/simon-anderson-invented-thruster-30-years-ago Simon Anderson Invented the Thruster 30 Years Ago] ''Surfer Today'', retrieved Sept 17, 2012</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/1981/mct/2424/offshore-pipeline-masters/results?resultsType=prizes|title=Prizes & Placing – 1981 Offshore Pipeline Masters|website=World Surf League|language=en|access-date=2019-06-01}}</ref>
The Shane factory at that time was the workplace of quite a few noted Australian shapers. Among them were Terry Fitzgerald (Hot Buttered), Butch Cooney, Ted Spencer (from the films "Evolution" and "Sea Of Joy") and Frank Latta. These shapers contributed to Simon learning his craft, but it would be another local shaper who would have a profound influence on Simon's career and the development of the Thruster.


Anderson retired from professional surfboarding in the mid-1980s<ref name="Surfline"/> 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."<ref name="Surfline">Nick, Caroll [http://www.surfline.com/surfing-a-to-z/simon-anderson-biography-and-photos_745/ Simon Anderson profile] ''Surfline'', retrieved Sept 16, 2012</ref><ref>Koteen, Casey (9 August 2012) [http://surf.transworld.net/1000111356/features/surf-science-30-and-counting/ Surf Science 30 and Counting] ''Surf Transworld'' retrieved Sept 16 2012</ref>
In 1975 he started his own surfboard factory, Energy Surfboards, in [[Brookvale, New South Wales|Brookvale]].


In November 2000, Anderson was awarded the [[Australian Sports Medal]] for services to surfboard design.<ref>{{cite web|title=Simon Anderson|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/972083|publisher=[[Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia)|Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet]]|accessdate=31 December 2012}}</ref> In August 2010 Anderson was honored by US Blanks at the Sacred Craft Expo in San Diego California.<ref name="Surfer Today" /> In 2011, Anderson published his autobiography called ''Thrust: The Simon Anderson Story''<ref>(19 April 2011) [https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/simon-anderson-reveals-the-story-behind-the-thruster Simon Anderson reveals the story behind the thruster] Surfer Today, retrieved Sept 16, 2012</ref><ref>[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/720506587 Thrust: The Simon Anderson Story] World Cat</ref> and was inducted into the Surfer's Hall of Fame.<ref>[http://www.surfersvillage.com/surfing-news/51232#.UFZB1a50lTk Simon Anderson joins roster of 2011 Surfers' Hall of Fame inductees] Surfers Village, retrieved Sept 16 2012</ref>
<!-- help: please expand this about his surf style -->
Simon was an incredible surfer with a smooth, but powerful style. A 'natural footer' (left foot forward), Simon was noted for having exceptional ability on his backhand, no doubt honed in the famous lefts of North Narrabeen. He was and is a true power surfer in the proud lineage of Nat Young, Peter Drouyn, Keith Paull, John Otten, David Humphrey Treloar (the latter are two of Simon's favorites) and the other Australian great's that influenced the time. Anderson's surfing style was powerful and graceful, reflecting his size (over six feet tall, the same as his brothers). His laid-back attitude to life seemed to limit his success in competition though. Still, he was a two-time Australian Junior Champion in 1971 and 1972, and on the World Professional Tour he finished 3rd in 1977 and 6th in both ‘80 and ‘81. Simon has double wins at both Bells and the Coke events, along with a Pipeline Masters victory.


For some time, Anderson was a surfboard shaper at BASE, a Gold Coast surfboard-manufacturer that closed in 2011.<ref>Unknown Author (17 October 2011) [http://business.transworld.net/75337/news/base-surfboard-manufacturer-goes-under/ Base Surfboard Manufacturer Goes Under],''TransWorld Business'', retrieved Sept 19, 2012</ref><ref>Unknown Author (17 June 2011) Three-Fin Simon Tells Story; Thruster Inventor Releases Biography, ''Tweed Daily News'' (Tweed Heads, Australia)</ref>
In 1977 he had a burst of professional competitive success, winning first the [[Bells Beach Classic]] competition, then the [[Coke Surfabout]] in [[Sydney]]. Those wins, on single-fin boards, put him into the top 10 on the [[World championship tour (WCT) surfing|world championship tour]] and gave him a chance of taking that title, until the twin-fin intervened. [[Mark Richards]] had created a twin-fin design which greatly helped sharp turns on steep waves, by always having one fin deep in the wave. The twin-fin was capable of performing in the poor wave conditions and locations that the WCT events were often held in at that time. Within months surfers on this design were winning all competitions, but it was badly unsuited to Anderson's size and style. He simply overpowered the twin fin and didn't like the idea of having to 'nurse' the board through turns, and he wasn't going to compromise his surfing to adapt to the design.


Anderson has support many team riders including Kerby Brown and Cooper Chapman.<ref>[http://simonandersonsurfboards.com/au/team/ simon anderson surfboards team]</ref>
In October '80, Simon crossed paths with Frank Williams. Frank, a journeyman shaper, had worked with Geoff McCoy, Barry Bennett and other notable Sydney board makers. Simon ran into Frank as he was coming out of the water at Narrabeen with a board that was essentially a twin fin with a strange little 'half moon' shaped fin on the tail. Simon asked him what the 3rd fin was for, and Frank told him, "It helps make it more stable." Simon's instant response was, "I'm going to make it real stable!" In that moment the Thruster was conceived in Simon's mind. Being a shaper, he built his idea right away.


==Personal life==
This wasn't the first time three fins had been used on a board, Anderson was aware of the Campbell Brothers ''[[Bonzer]]'' from December, 1970 [http://www.bonzer5.com/pages/BoardHistory.html]. and the Tri-fin by [[Bob McTavish]] from 1971 [http://www.surfresearch.com.au/00000009.html]. The Tri-fin design was essentially a single fin with two small outer fins. The Bonzer had a triangular fin set up with two 'keel' shaped fins with long bases, along with a large center fin [http://bonzer5.com/pages/History.html]. But the Thruster was the first with equal size fins. The idea was to have the maneuverability of a twin-fin, but the stability and drive of a single-fin, in particular enough stability to prevent the tail drift found on twin-fins in big waves.
Anderson lives with his wife and two sons in [[Newport, New South Wales|Newport Beach]], [[Sydney]].<ref name="Surfline"/>


⚫
==References==
The original Thruster had fins made from single fin 'lay-ups' (layers of fiberglass), which were thicker than what is used on today's multi-fin boards. Simon knew enough about board design to figure that the fins could be smaller as there were more of them. However, the back fin started off slightly bigger than the forward fins, but since that caused the rear fin to hang over the tail, sander Steve Zoeller ground it down at Simon's request so that Simon wouldn't get cut should his foot slip over the tail block. Consequently, all three fins ended up roughly the same size.
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
Simon noticed some drag due to the thicker fins and corrected that on the 2nd one he made by using thinner fins, at the same time increasing the tail width, also to compensate for the drag. He states he found using the thinner fins alone eliminated the drag issue, but that initially the Thruster was labeled inaccurately as needing a very wide tail to work. That misconception disappeared fairly quickly once a lot of them started being made by shapers all over the world.
* {{WSL profile}}


{{Authority control}}
Another 'North Narra' surfer named Bill McCausland, who later became one of the founders of Gorilla Grip and FCS, told Simon he should name this new design. Simon explained how the name Thruster came about: "Three fins had been done before. There'd been tri-fins (and) Bonzer's. So just to name it a tri-fin or three fin, people wouldn't know what it was. So "Thruster" is because the water gets pushed through the fins in the turn. The single fin (just) holds that speed through a turn. Whereas with the twin fins, obviously the speed was quickly released and you'd just zip along. But the third fin was controlling it, controlling that thrust through the turn."
He took that first Thruster to [[Hawaii]] for that 1980/81 winter on the [[North Shore (Oahu)|North Shore]], then on to [[California]] where he signed on to be sponsored by [[Gary McNabb]] at Nectar. McNabb wanted an Australian surfer because they were making a big splash in the world of surfing at the time.

The Thruster was met with skepticism initially, thought perhaps merely a gimmick, or only for Anderson's particular size and style. Back in [[Sydney]] in early 1981 Anderson made two more Thrusters at his own factory and using those he won the double of the [[Bells Beach Classic]] and the [[Coke Surfabout]] in [[Sydney]], for a second time, then later the [[Pipe Masters]] at [[Banzai Pipeline]] in [[Hawaii]].

Those victories silenced the critics and brought the thruster to everyone's attention. For the rest of 1981 competitions still had single-fins and twin-fins in use, but from 1984 onwards every world champion has used a thruster. Today practically every [[shortboard]] made uses the design, and some [[longboard (surfing)|longboard]]s do too (mainly smaller ones).

Anderson began to sell his new design with Energy Surfboards and it is thought that Philip Briggs from NSW Australia was the first to buy the design. All the thruster boards are now worth about $2500 as they are very rare

Anderson never sought to [[patent]] or trademark his design, so despite it becoming ubiquitous he never directly profited. He labeled boards from his factory as "The Original 3 Fin Thruster. Concept and Design by Simon Anderson." He said in later years that he "couldn't be bothered" exploiting the concept commercially. Though [[Nick Carroll]] remarks that perhaps his natural generosity meant it was simply not in his nature to deny it to others.

A small kind of homage to his gift to the world of surfing holds that every surfer with a thruster should give Anderson $1 as thanks. [http://www.surfa.com.au/Content.asp?ID=819][[Derek Hynd]] did that circa 1993, $55 for the boards he owned. [[Lost Surfboards]] USA did it for every board they sold in 2003, which was about $5000.[http://www.lostenterprises.com/prod/newsArtical.php?ID=98], [[Lost Surfboards]] press release December 2003 (including [[Derek Hynd]])

Today Anderson lives with his wife and two sons in [[Newport, New South Wales|Newport Beach]], [[Sydney]], a few suburbs north of where he grew up. He still makes [http://basesurfboards.com/boards-simon-anderson.htm state-of-the-art surfboards] at BASE on Australia's Gold Coast under his own name.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{citations}}

⚫
== References ==
*''Lord Of The Board'' by Jon Patton, Surfing Magazine, February 2001
*''Belief System: The Bonzer Saga'' By Steve Barilotti, [http://www.surfersjournal.com/BI13-2.html The Surfers Journal, Volume 13, No 2]
*http://www.bonzer5.com
*http://www.basesurfboards.com.au
*http://www.surfresearch.com.au/00000095.html Thruster (1981) by Scott Beggs
*http://surfline.com/surfaz/anderson_simon.cfm Simon Anderson profile at surfline.com], by [[Nick Carroll]], October 2000
*http://www.surfresearch.com.au/1981_Simon_Anderson.html
*http://www.surfresearch.com.au/1981_Walker_Trifin_Tracks_May_n128p16.html "The Tri-Fin: Did God Mean It To Be?", [[Dougall Walker]], [[Tracks (magazine)|Tracks]] magazine, May 1981, reproduced at surfresearch.com.


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

Latest revision as of 20:14, 24 February 2024

Simon Anderson
Born (1954-07-07) 7 July 1954 (age 70)
NationalityAustralian
Occupation(s)Surfer
Surfboard shaper
Known forProfessional surfer and inventor of the three fin surfboard
Personal information
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight229 lb (104 kg)
Surfing specifications
StanceRegular (natural foot)

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".[1]

Early life

[edit]

Anderson grew up in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney with three brothers.[2] His family lived in a house that overlooked Collaroy Beach.[2] In 1977, he won the junior division at the Bells Beach Classic Easter competition and began shaping surfboards in the Sydney suburb of Brookvale.[2]

Career

[edit]

In 1977 he won the Bells Beach Classic competition and the Coke Surfabout in Sydney.[2]

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".[1] 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.[2]

In 1981, using one of those surfboards, he won the competition at the Bells Beach Classic and the World Surf League 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.[1][3][4]

Anderson retired from professional surfboarding in the mid-1980s[2] 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."[2][5]

In November 2000, Anderson was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for services to surfboard design.[6] In August 2010 Anderson was honored by US Blanks at the Sacred Craft Expo in San Diego California.[3] In 2011, Anderson published his autobiography called Thrust: The Simon Anderson Story[7][8] and was inducted into the Surfer's Hall of Fame.[9]

For some time, Anderson was a surfboard shaper at BASE, a Gold Coast surfboard-manufacturer that closed in 2011.[10][11]

Anderson has support many team riders including Kerby Brown and Cooper Chapman.[12]

Personal life

[edit]

Anderson lives with his wife and two sons in Newport Beach, Sydney.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Koteen, Casey (10 August 2010). "Simon Anderson Talks Thruster". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Nick, Caroll Simon Anderson profile Surfline, retrieved Sept 16, 2012
  3. ^ a b Author Unknown (19 July 2010) Simon Anderson Invented the Thruster 30 Years Ago Surfer Today, retrieved Sept 17, 2012
  4. ^ "Prizes & Placing – 1981 Offshore Pipeline Masters". World Surf League. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  5. ^ Koteen, Casey (9 August 2012) Surf Science 30 and Counting Surf Transworld retrieved Sept 16 2012
  6. ^ "Simon Anderson". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  7. ^ (19 April 2011) Simon Anderson reveals the story behind the thruster Surfer Today, retrieved Sept 16, 2012
  8. ^ Thrust: The Simon Anderson Story World Cat
  9. ^ Simon Anderson joins roster of 2011 Surfers' Hall of Fame inductees Surfers Village, retrieved Sept 16 2012
  10. ^ Unknown Author (17 October 2011) Base Surfboard Manufacturer Goes Under,TransWorld Business, retrieved Sept 19, 2012
  11. ^ Unknown Author (17 June 2011) Three-Fin Simon Tells Story; Thruster Inventor Releases Biography, Tweed Daily News (Tweed Heads, Australia)
  12. ^ simon anderson surfboards team
[edit]
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