"SIDNEY ROBERT 'BOB' COOPER, 82, passed away comfortably of natural causes at his beloved home of Noosa Heads, Australia on Sunday, 16th February 2020, surrounded by his loving family."
So wrote Christopher Cooper with Wils Cooper in Bob's obituary, continuing:
"Bob Cooper always placed his love of surfing behind that of his family and faith; nonetheless, he has left an indelible influence on surfing in the USA and Australia, as well as to surfing culture, folklore, fashion and craftsmanship.
"He was one of the first American surfers to visit Australia and introduce USA manufacturing innovation, as well as to then later take up permanent residence in Australia, paving the way for a number of other Californian surfers to follow.
"Bob started surfing at his local Santa Monica Beach in 1952 at age 15, and saw the sport emerge from obscurity to radical popularity and commercialism over the following two decades. His early surfing and board craftsmanship skills were mentored by the likes of Micki Dora, Dewey Weber, Tom Morey, Dale Velzy, and Reynolds Yater; many of whom Bob counted as close friends throughout life.
"Bob was best known for his unorthodox style in every way, in and out of the water. He was known as the Mormon surfer on account of his Mormon faith, as well as being dubbed the “Bearded Bard” of Rincon for his deep-thinking, aloofness and tendency to philosophize. He was easily recognised at the beach, known for his radical dress sense, being seen at the best breaks in fur coats, hippy beads, Hawaiian shirts below the knee, hand-crafted leather sandals, woven tunics, and pants fashioned from butcher’s aprons, while driving Cadillacs, Kombis, and even a hearse at one time; all the while donning his distinctive beatnik orange beard and glasses.
"In the surf he was an agile regular-foot known as being the master of hot-dogging and trim, and was often photographed in the iconic “Hang 10” stance which he perfected. His artistic surfing style featured in several surf films at the time – Slippery When Wet (1958), Surfing Hollow Days (1962), Strictly Hot (1964), etc. He also wrote many surf articles for the American and Australian surf press in the ‘60’s–‘80’s.
"Bob earned a legendary surfing reputation, not as a contest champion or big-wave hero, or even a small-wave performer (although he had a distinctively appealing, loose-limbed style, and a fine sense of trim), but as an articulate and slightly eccentric character of surfing. When questioned once about his surfing fame, he said “I don’t know – I just became famous for being famous!”
"While sitting at Malibu beach one day with friends, they saw a young girl named Kathy Kohner dragging down an oversized surfboard, the sight of which made them all laugh, and one called out “heh girl-midget”, and another followed with the abbreviated “Gidget!”, thus coining the name and moment that ushered in the great Gidget Revolution starting 1959 that forever changed the face of surfing.
"As surfing moved into the realm of pop-culture, so too did the character of Bob Cooper, even though for the most part, he was a reluctant participant. Bob was used for ads to promote surfboards and gear connected with brands over the years such as O’Neill wetsuits, Morey Pope boards, Okanui shorts, etc.
"Bob was working for Velzy Surfboards during this revolutionary time for surfing, being the late 1950's, and it was there that Bob became expert in the most current aspects of surfboard manufacturing. Bob then brought those latest Californian-advances of foam and glass innovation to Australia during his first trip there in 1959. Bob was initially employed at Barry Bennett Surfboards and Gordon Woods Surfboards where his latest skills were in demand as USA surfing was moving on to more modern materials of foams, resins and fibreglass, while Australia was still transitioning from balsa planks. It was also during this first trip that Bob began a friendship with a young surfer named Midget Farrelly who later travelled with Bob back to the USA.
"Once back in the USA in 1960, Bob relocated further north to Santa Barbara where he became a key employee at Yater Surfboards under the guidance of owner Rennie (Reynolds) Yater being one of the most outstanding surfers and board makers at the time. It was here that Bob befriended Richie West and Mike Davis – both of whom later followed Bob back to Australia, and both of whom remained Bob’s closest and life-long friends.
"Bob’s love for Australia’s surf and people bought him back to this country for an extended stay from 1963–1966, wherein he started working at Hayden Kenny Surfboards in Alexandra Headland, Queensland, alongside Bob McTavish, Algie Grud (dings) and Russell Hughes. Cooper's craftsmanship skills in these earlier years influenced many other surfboard manufacturers from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast. Bob used this time to explore the Sunshine Coast’s uncrowded surf spots, with Bob falling in love with what became his favourite surf-spot and favourite part of the world - Noosa Heads National Park.
"It was also while working here that he first met and soon fell in love with a young Dutch lady named Wils who was working at the beachside Boolarong Drive-in Restaurant at Alexandra Headland, where she worked since its opening in 1957, and which was the premier place to dine north of Brisbane.
"In 1966 Bob returned back to the USA and to Ventura where he became the foreman at Morey-Pope Surfboards where he crafted what became the famous Blue Machine board (circa 1967-1968) that featured an asymmetric fin. Bob’s Blue Machine board featured alongside fellow designer John Peck's The Penetrator board in a number of Morey-Pope's highly creative, full-page advertisements at the time, making them the most popular boards on the surf scene of those days.
"While at Morey-Pope, Cooper hired Michael Cundith, a protégé of George Greenough, who would later also follow Bob back to Australia where he then shaped extensively for Sky Surfboards, Byron Bay.
"It was while living and working in Santa Barbra that Bob's Dutch girlfriend Wils from Australia came over to visit him. While Bob had explored beyond his Mormon faith bounds for a short while, it was his desire to marry Wils that drove him to return steadfast to his faith, saying "I realized if I wanted this person for eternity, I would forever have to live the things I believed." They married that same trip in 1966, and thereafter set up home in Rincon at the “Lemon Ranch”. Wils soon also converted to the Mormon faith, Bob continued shaping boards, while Wils worked as a receptionist at Ventura’s Pierpont Inn on the Pacific Coast Highway.
"After a couple of years working and saving, Bob and Wils enacted their plan of moving back over to Australia permanently, via a short working summer vacation in Europe. During these years Bob had collected what was then the best collection of surfboards of historical significance and design, surrendering this collection for just a small amount to help fund his onward journey. Fortunately, most of this collection of Bob’s boards are now held by the Surfing Heritage Foundation, California, and are on permanent display there.
"It was during Bob’s European sabbatical that he entered and won the European Surfing Championships, International Division, at Jersey in 1969. This was to be Bob’s only real surf competition and win, as Bob decided out of respect to his Mormon faith that he would not ever surf on a Sunday. This creed excluded him from all future surf competitions, not that he probably would have entered either way, as Bob’s passion for surfing remained a private pursuit. Bob was always loathe to promote the commercial side of his surfing notoriety, even though in the following years he established several surf shops that would bear his name.
"After living and working in France for one summer, Bob and Wils returned to Australia in late 1969, moving to the New South Wales coastal town of Coffs Harbour where Wils’ family had since moved to, and where they established the first Cooper Surf Shop in 1969. The original store was established at the Coffs Harbour Jetty area, and over the years this franchise has grown into the seven Coopers Surf stores in the greater Coffs area today.
"Early shapers working for Bob and Wils include Billy Tolhurst, Ronnie Goddard, Richie West (USA), and airbrush artist Dana Woolfe (USA).
"Bob Cooper and his shops were some of the very first to support and promote indigenous Australian surfers, with Bob sponsoring several young local boys with boards and branded gear, and even featuring them in early print advertising campaigns in the late 70’s. Cooper Surf also sponsored the local Aboriginal Women’s touch-football team at the time, and Bob took great pride in watching them play in competitions in Cooper Surf shirts, even though the game itself was completely foreign to him.
"In 1977, Cooper was one of the judges at the first Stubbies Contest at Burleigh Heads which saw the introduction of Peter Drouyns' Man-on-Man format.
"Bob worked his surf shops, raised his children and remained very active in his Mormon faith and Coffs Harbour community in the 70’s and 80’s. Bob was a pioneer of the Mormon religion (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) in Coffs Harbour, helping establish the faith there, and today there remains the legacy of a chapel and strong congregation with many faithful families.
"At one point a Mormon leader asked Bob to lead the several Mormon congregations of Northern New South Wales, but also suggested to Bob that in order to serve most effectively in such a religious position, it would be best that he shaved his trademark beard off. Bob disagreed with this in principle, but out of obedience, he shaved his beard off for just those years, immediately growing it back upon his release from that voluntary assignment, and forever thereafter wearing his defining, characteristic beard.
"Bob handed over the surfboard making side of his business to Richie West in the mid-80’s, and then sold the remaining surf businesses to a local couple, thereafter retiring in 1993 and moving up to Noosa Heads where he and Wils lived ever since. Bob continued to innovate and shape boards for himself, and for others only as he chose, from his Marcus Beach house basement shaping room up until around 2015.
"Surfers Journal magazine featured Bob’s surfing career in an epic, 37-page feature article in 1999 entitled Bob Cooper: Further Down the Line. Bob agreed to this final article under the condition that he could choose the writer (Mike Perry) as well as have a degree of editing control so that his main messages of life-philosophy were not edited out in favour of mundane surfing tripe. Bob gave the final production his blessing as he felt his life and sentiments were correctly portrayed and conveyed.
"Regarding his faith and surfing, Bob once said "I'm quite vocal about it in any publicity that I get, so they know where I stand if they know anything about me. When the questions come up, I'm more than willing to answer."
"Bob was always willing to give sage advice and offer spiritual direction to his fellow surfers who had the tendency to drop in and out of waves, relationships and life. Many would come to him, most would listen, some would follow. Bob’s spiritual compass and sure path worked well for him as his business was successful, his marriage lasted, and his extended family remains very close-knit. Bob also remained healthy, astute and incredibly happy until the end, constantly recounting his blessings and attributing those to his faith. While never really a proselytizer, Bob often said that Mormonism–not surfing, was the unifying and driving force in his life.
"In one of his final interviews he stated, "I can go back to surfing and it's great, but it doesn't give me the satisfaction that I get out of doing what I'm doing now. You know, wife, family and kids — eternal concepts. Knowing where I came from, what I'm doing here, where I'm going, what the purpose of this existence is and dedicating my life to it. And the more effort I put into that, the more rewards come back."
"Apart from his pioneering surfing and board-making skills, Bob’s character and dedication to pioneering his Mormon faith philosophy helped establish his unique and enduring profile in surfing culture and history that will forever remain."
Source:
Christopher Cooper with Wils Cooper, 16 February 2020. Posted in the Legendary Surfers Group, 16 February 2020 by Duglass Duquette.
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