The Rearview Mirror

Think Simon was the first surfer to stick three fins on a board? Swellnet goes in search of Thruster pre-history.

" It might seem simple in hindsight but a quantum leap needs to happen before people realise that three fins are better than two." - Nev Hyman

They made Bad Boy clothing, splashed it all over Johnny Boy Gomes' arse, then found their natural home in UFC fighting. Life's A Beach clothing company made an art of cashing in.

"Rip Curl did it later with a much bigger budget, but in a way Headworx started the Search thing," says Murray Bourton about his pioneering surf brand.

It's a little known fact that MP, the greatest surfer of his generation, was a keen windsurfer. By all reports he was equally gifted with a mast and boom, though it's hard to say because very few photos exist of MP windsurfing. In fact, these may be the only ones.