Shaun Tomson
eco-friendly surfing legend, all round nice guy, author and
motivational speaker, goes head to head with our resident kreef,
Cornelius le Cray
CleC: You are listed as one of the 25 most influential surfers and one of the 10 greatest surfers. Which of these accolades is personally most fitting?
ST: Actually I like both of them. One of the most important roles of any athlete is to inspire and ultimately influence in a positive way. My mission in life is to influence people to make positive choices, so being called influential in the context of surfing is a wonderful accolade for me and I’m greatly appreciative of it. I’ve had the same mission all my life, throughout my surfing career and even when I started surfing as a young guy in South Africa, I felt, as an athlete, a tremendous responsibility both towards my sport which I loved, and also to the fans and the people that enjoyed my competitive success with me.
CleC: Do you recycle?
ST: Yes, definitely. We are a very environmentally friendly home. I have also been involved with the Surfrider Foundation since 1984 which is the world’s biggest surfing environmental group. I’m on the board of directors of this foundation. My wife is involved with an environmental organisation and we are very much into sustainability.
CleC: Can you tell us about your link with Ushaka Marine World in Durban?
ST: When I was in SA a couple of years ago I launched a book called ‘Crazy Creatures’ which was a book of rhymes about creatures that live under my surfboard. I launched the book at the Ushaka Marine World and I loved what they were doing. They then asked me to be their unofficial ambassador … and I agreed (laughing). The CEO of Ushaka at the time was also called Shawn Thompson (more laughter) and he was also a surfer (more laughter).
CleC: You spent many years surfing actively; was it all good?
ST: Yes, I love my surfing career and I’m still an active surfer. I retired from competitive surfing in 1989 and I surfed my first pro contest in 1969. From a surfing perspective, it was all good; I loved my life; I loved putting it on the line every couple of weeks in a surf contest. I loved the wins, and endured and learnt from the losses. For me it was all good.
CleC: You recently released your book ‘The Power of ‘I Will’ which is essentially the foundation to taking positive steps in the face of adversity. Do you live by that code?
ST: I live by that code … absolutely. It’s what I live by and what I’ve always lived by. I think we all have our own code and the mission of the book is to empower positive choice through having people write their own code. Writing your own code, which is a very simple exercise that takes a few minutes, forms the foundation for positive change. The code is made up of 12 lines that each begin with ‘I will’. Those words become very powerful as they are the writer’s words and they are promises to yourself that will transform and help you in the challenges that you face.
CleC: Where can interested readers purchase your book?
ST: The book can be purchased through Jonathan Ball Publishers in South Africa, Amazon and Kalahari.
CleC: If you are ever in the Cape Town area, would you be willing to clean our motoring correspondent’s car? It’s filthy!
ST: (laughing)I definItely will ... if he participates in a beach cleanup with me. (more laughter)
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CleC: Where can young people access information on your ethos of giving back and making a difference?
ST: They can go onto Vimeo and You Tube where they will find quite a variety of videos. I’m such a believer in giving back, even when you are young, because it’s often better for the giver than the recipient. Giving is good for your spirit, it’s good for your soul and it is just great to make a difference, no matter how you do it.
CleC: Are you aware of the massive nuclear fallout from Fukushima Daiichi in Japan that continues to pollute the Pacific Ocean since 2011?
ST: Yes I am. I have very strong views on nuclear power which I think is incredibly risky. You have one accident and its consequences are generational. It has generational side-effects, long-lasting effects. They have just closed a nuclear plant in Southern California due to public action.
CleC: Do you still paddle for waves?
ST: I surf whenever it’s good. I’ve just got back from Brazil and I surfed every day when I was there. I try to get out and surf a good few times a week. I still surf pretty hard. If I come to Jeffrey’s Bay I can stay out for eight hours if the conditions are good.
CleC: You’ve surfed some huge waves. Could you explain in a few words what it feels like to make it through the barrel and get blown out the other end?
ST: There are a number of unusual things about surfing when you are deep inside the barrel … it feels like time has expanded, like the wave is breaking in slow motion around you. You have no consciousness of sound, you have this unique connection to where you are placed in the universe because you’re in this capsule, this tunnel, this tornado of water, completely hidden from everyone else, and it’s just you, the board and the wave. And, you have the sensation of time passing slowly, because time is something that we are not conscious of in our normal day-to-day life. In the barrel of the wave, the present is where you are standing, right between your feet, the past is a wall of water just behind your shoulder, and the future is just in front of you. By stretching forward, towards that future, striving for that future, as tons of water pound around you, this amazing peak experience occurs and you feel you are absolutely in the right place, at the right time, surrounded by this danger, this exhiliration, this fear and this happiness. Then the wave blasts you out and the compressed air shoots out behind you, lifts your board right up off the surface of the water and you are flying. You are shot out of the tube at high velocity and then … you go and do it again. (laughter) That’s what surfing gives us, the opportunity of staying right on the edge and being able to go back and do it again. It’s a existential experience.