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Your backstage pass to the world of surfing, hosted by MC and commentator Terry “Tappa” Teece. From pro surfers and legends of the sport to shapers, innovators and anyone with an epic story and a love for the ocean—The Green Room dives deep. Expect tales of epic wins, brutal wipeouts, and behind-the-scenes moments from life in and out of the water. Whether you’re chasing waves or just some inspiration, this podcast will leave you stoked to paddle out.
00;00;07;19 - 00;00;29;09
Tappa
Welcome to the Green Room. Your backstage pass to the world of surfing. I'm your host, surf emcee and commentator, Terry Tapper diving into epic winds, crashing fouls and wild stories with surfing's biggest names, as well as the legends working behind the scenes to keep that state alive. A big shout out to our sponsor for this episode. The official break out with their new Jersey lager.
00;00;29;11 - 00;00;51;15
Tappa
So wax up, paddle out and join us in the green room with a surf chat. Never guys flat. Get high fives. Welcome to the green room. New year, new head. Welcome back for 26. And it's our new series. But for today's guest. The first time I met him, I was a frothing 13 or 14 year old grommet a long time ago, and getting my contest's singlet out of the ice IQ that's surfing Queensland now.
00;00;51;22 - 00;01;26;08
Tappa
Caravan, where the man in charge was the man doing nearly everything. Robert Bushy Mitchell in his element too. Now this guy's dedicated his life to surfing and able to best nine from Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, the home of the Great Wind and say Boardriders or surfboard club man is also I found out recently double surfing Queensland life man by double surfing Australia life medal and over half of years of cinch after half a century of service, I should say he ran the Billabong Pro, our cherry blue, back in the dream to advise and part of surfing well since ever I can remember.
00;01;26;15 - 00;01;32;01
Tappa
To me he's a legend, a mentor and an inspiration. Welcome to the green room, Robert Bushy Mitchell.
00;01;32;04 - 00;01;43;19
Bushy
How are you? Tampa. Great to be here, man. It's, it's quite a surprise and quite, quite awe inspiring to be seeing you again after all these years. It's been a while, fella.
00;01;43;21 - 00;01;53;12
Tappa
Might. It has been a while. You know, you been away in France and, in Tahiti and that. But, Mike, let's get to the start. My. Where did you did you grow up on the Sunshine Coast?
00;01;53;12 - 00;02;12;06
Bushy
No, I didn't, I grew up, Aubrey Wodonga. Wow. Around the Hume, where, on the border of New South Wales and Victoria. We actually had a property near Ebdon. Beef cattle and sheep, Shetland ponies, among other things. Our phone number was Ebdon.
00;02;12;06 - 00;02;15;21
Tappa
The seven to the seven. I never heard of that. Fine.
00;02;15;24 - 00;02;33;23
Bushy
Abdi in one side of the Hume Dam was basically Ebdon and we had contacts over the other side. Tanganga. Berlanga say that in a hurry, but these names and towns still exist. Yeah. But as I say, I, I number is Ebdon seven.
00;02;33;26 - 00;02;44;07
Bushy
From memory, I think there's about between 12 to 15 homesteads around that area. Yeah. And everyone knew everything because of the operator on the switchboard, the, you know, the old school.
00;02;44;10 - 00;02;47;02
Tappa
Yeah. And I can hear every name as every conversation.
00;02;47;02 - 00;02;47;22
Bushy
00;02;47;25 - 00;03;13;18
Bushy
And our mile came in, a big duffle bag with a brass belt lockable and put into a a milk churn down the front of the driveway. When we lived in the big house up on the hill, the grandparents house and our mailbox address was p b 49 Wodonga p b, meaning private bag and the mail come delivered and you had the key to the lock and it was put in and you walked in.
00;03;13;18 - 00;03;37;23
Bushy
Then over the cattle. Right. Grab it. And so yeah. So that's where I went and grew up. We had a farm. I went to school at Mr. Junction School. It still exists, but it is in our, home state itself, converted from the school. As I say, we live near the Hume Dam, and some of our property was where the Hume Dam racetrack was.
00;03;37;26 - 00;03;50;11
Bushy
And my elder sister, Helen and I, when Jack Bevan actually raced there one day, we sat on a fence post because it was so. When I say fence post, gate post, one on each gate. Yes, it was Stroup and Sakata.
00;03;50;11 - 00;03;53;23
Bushy
Get in. Oh, I say yeah.
00;03;53;26 - 00;03;57;00
Bushy
And of course not all the sponsors went back to the racetrack.
00;03;57;04 - 00;03;58;02
Bushy
Of course. Get a.
00;03;58;03 - 00;03;59;04
Tappa
Get takes a taxi.
00;03;59;05 - 00;04;01;08
Bushy
I right, it was a good childhood.
00;04;01;08 - 00;04;27;10
Bushy
It was great. I've got two, two sisters, two brothers. They're all still with us. Helen is married and lives down at, Lennox Head, so lives in in Israel. Peter lives in Miller Miller on the type of land above Cairns. And Stewart, the youngest brother, lives in McCauley and myself here on the Gold Coast, I see.
00;04;27;12 - 00;04;31;04
Tappa
Well. And how did you find yourself to the Sunshine Coast from all of that night?
00;04;31;10 - 00;04;56;24
Bushy
Really good question. My grandparents were from Chorlton in Victoria, the Wangaratta area, and they actually well before that. They were from road River up around where the, you know, Snowy Mountains, Audrey scheme here. And I used to take holidays in Callander and as kids we'd go up and spend time in Callander and that's how we got to know Callander and I saw surfing for the first time at Moffat Beach.
00;04;56;26 - 00;05;00;11
Bushy
I said, oh, I wonder, I'll try that.
00;05;00;13 - 00;05;17;13
Bushy
Anyway, to cut a long story short, yeah, we used to go up there and spend and they had a holiday home at Shelly Beach. On the other side. Them off at headland. And, you'd, we'd watch the trawlers come in and we'd duck down to where they came in and got fresh produce, fresh, fresh and that from the day.
00;05;17;14 - 00;05;19;09
Bushy
And I'd go back to the place and cooking up.
00;05;19;09 - 00;05;20;24
Tappa
Yeah, that's pretty idyllic, right?
00;05;20;24 - 00;05;21;26
Bushy
Yeah. It was idyllic.
00;05;21;27 - 00;05;23;09
Bushy
00;05;23;11 - 00;05;30;02
Bushy
The big shock, as I was saying to Ziggy earlier before we got started, he.
00;05;30;04 - 00;05;39;29
Bushy
After being away for so long and coming back and seeing the changes everywhere, it's just it's it's phenomenal. It's. Does your hitting actually.
00;05;39;29 - 00;05;45;06
Tappa
It certainly does. Might. And so so did you move to the Sunshine Coast as a.
00;05;45;06 - 00;05;47;01
Bushy
Yes as a kid or.
00;05;47;04 - 00;06;13;24
Bushy
After we left the farm. Yeah. Things didn't go well on the farm. We had to sell the farm. All my parents did. We moved to Sydney. I went to school of Barrenjoey High School, Northern Beaches, Avalon. I was one of the first intake and pupils at Barrenjoey High School, the first ever year lived there for finish schooling and Sydney started an apprenticeship as a mechanic at Mount Bartlett.
00;06;13;26 - 00;06;20;01
Bushy
Arch Black notice. Then we moved to Springwood, just south of Brisbane.
00;06;20;03 - 00;06;20;24
Bushy
Yeah.
00;06;20;26 - 00;06;30;00
Bushy
And I worked at Zaps Holden at Mount Gravatt, and I used to write a pushbike from Springwood to MacRobert and back every day, which that's.
00;06;30;00 - 00;06;31;07
Tappa
A decent right.
00;06;31;09 - 00;06;40;04
Bushy
Yeah. And there was no houses. There was nothing there, not every day. It's just totally. And there's four lanes of highway and yeah, it was.
00;06;40;06 - 00;07;00;27
Bushy
It was great. And then mum quickly got the impression it wasn't a good place. Springwood you know. And yeah we moved to Auckland a very, very quickly after moving to Springwood and love the Sunshine Coast. It was just so easy. I mean you could go surfing and there was no one around and.
00;07;01;00 - 00;07;05;11
Tappa
Yeah. How was it? In the, it was that would have been the 70s or late 60s.
00;07;05;14 - 00;07;06;20
Bushy
That was the 70s. Yeah.
00;07;06;25 - 00;07;09;03
Tappa
Oh my. It would have been I just amazing.
00;07;09;08 - 00;07;24;18
Bushy
It was crazy. Like northerly is a blur. And you go to Kings of Kawana or you drive up to Gemba and, you know, Peter Street and all those places, and you pull up and there's no one in the world, and you go, oh my God, surf that bank.
00;07;24;21 - 00;07;26;06
Bushy
Or all that.
00;07;26;09 - 00;07;45;20
Bushy
And nowadays you drive up to Noosa on it round about city, and it was by sea. I remember actually living in Callander for my then wife Jan. To get to work or to get to Mooloolaba, you had to drive out to the Callander turnoff and then go in and back over the hill at button down to get to the.
00;07;45;22 - 00;07;48;04
Tappa
Back of that. Yeah. Because that. Hello, this is.
00;07;48;07 - 00;07;53;04
Bushy
The Nicklin. Why wasn't it. Yeah. When I opened it I remember it being dirt.
00;07;53;07 - 00;07;55;06
Bushy
Yeah. So yeah. And it was.
00;07;55;11 - 00;08;07;08
Bushy
Just we used to go to a place called Shangri-La, which is a long, tallow area and that it was, it was, a good thing because it was a nudist area.
00;08;07;08 - 00;08;09;16
Bushy
No. Let's,
00;08;09;19 - 00;08;10;01
Tappa
Taste of.
00;08;10;01 - 00;08;11;12
Bushy
France. It tends to friends.
00;08;11;13 - 00;08;17;03
Tappa
It might. How did you first come to surfing? Like you're a neighbor that you still still get now?
00;08;17;05 - 00;08;46;02
Bushy
Yes. I haven't surf from a considerable time, to be honest. But we can discuss that later. How did I get into it? Jeez, I have to think that, it'll be Simon Curlew. I might I grew up within Calabria. Beg your pardon? Leveler. He was a neighbor, and he had a board shaped by Simon Rice from memory.
00;08;46;02 - 00;08;54;28
Bushy
Anyway, Simon shaped as a board or a board? A board of Simon, one of the two. And that's how it got in to surfing. Surfing? North Avalon, little Avalon.
00;08;55;00 - 00;08;55;16
Tappa
Great little.
00;08;55;16 - 00;08;58;27
Bushy
Wiseguys out there while beach Palm Beach, all those sort of thing. Yeah.
00;08;58;28 - 00;09;01;02
Tappa
You need a mortgage for a car parked in him.
00;09;01;05 - 00;09;03;21
Bushy
You know, the mortgage on the Gulf Coast?
00;09;03;24 - 00;09;13;03
Tappa
Yeah, yeah. No, I like that. And so. So then did you did you start your own business? Oh, actually, before we had a bush. Where did you get bush from.
00;09;13;05 - 00;09;38;20
Bushy
Barrenjoey High School. It originally started at Bush and it just expanded to bushy, when, as I said, our farm was Hebden and, I mentioned where we grew up and other towns around it. And I said, is that this is a school a bit. Yeah. Right. Because the first intake of pupils, most of the other kids came from built Golan Heights, Newport, etcetera, etcetera around the area.
00;09;38;22 - 00;10;01;28
Bushy
And I was sort of the, the stand out from another area and I said, well, where's Hebden? I tried to explain it. Well where's that near the angle. Where is that? And I said, is it near the bush? And I went, oh, I guess we'll call it Bush. And I at the time it's expanded, to Bush. You can see in the background here there's a thing Bush did that was my business at Callander.
00;10;02;01 - 00;10;05;04
Bushy
It was only set up to go surfing.
00;10;05;07 - 00;10;10;13
Tappa
So I'm mechanics, that that you guys, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So when it's nice, if you can get your car.
00;10;10;13 - 00;10;12;16
Bushy
Fix it early, but you have.
00;10;12;17 - 00;10;12;28
Bushy
To make an.
00;10;12;28 - 00;10;17;00
Bushy
Appointment in advance. If the ways of,
00;10;17;02 - 00;10;33;07
Bushy
That I did my apprenticeship, I finished my apprenticeship in Callander, then work for the like the, that was at Kings Beach and then. Yeah, got what.
00;10;33;09 - 00;10;34;02
Bushy
Got.
00;10;34;04 - 00;10;39;07
Bushy
They use the word retrenched or made redundant. Yeah. It's a nice way of saying you say.
00;10;39;09 - 00;10;40;00
Bushy
Yeah, yeah.
00;10;40;03 - 00;10;58;28
Bushy
Let's get to the crunch. And anyway I thought, well, what am I going to do? So Peter Boyd, who won the Australian junior champion, the goofy photo still says really good lives. A Calandra with his wife Jenny actually lives in the old home we used to rent, and I bought it this small world.
00;10;59;01 - 00;11;03;09
Bushy
Anyway, his dad, had built.
00;11;03;11 - 00;11;24;01
Bushy
Some sheds at along, William Street in the industrial area in Calandra. And I went out there and saw him and said, oh, I'd like to change that. And I said, this is how much it is a week that I know that, can you afford it? And I said, oh, I dunno what's. So we shook hands and that's how Bushy Shed started.
00;11;24;04 - 00;11;26;21
Tappa
I don't know, I say that you're on a subframe left there.
00;11;26;21 - 00;11;27;24
Bushy
Yeah. How good is it?
00;11;27;27 - 00;11;30;12
Tappa
That's not that left. That's somewhere in Hamilton, right.
00;11;30;14 - 00;11;32;13
Bushy
Yeah. Yeah, that's the one.
00;11;32;15 - 00;11;37;04
Tappa
Mike. As I say, the young black Surfer now. But you were surfing that. When were you surfing that.
00;11;37;04 - 00;11;39;04
Bushy
Left off bloody.
00;11;39;07 - 00;11;39;26
Bushy
70s.
00;11;39;26 - 00;11;40;05
Bushy
Yeah.
00;11;40;08 - 00;11;41;29
Tappa
You lose much back on that thing.
00;11;41;29 - 00;11;42;09
Bushy
Yeah.
00;11;42;14 - 00;11;47;03
Bushy
Like you can say a mark here. Yeah. Either side. Yeah. That sums it up.
00;11;47;08 - 00;11;51;03
Tappa
Wow. Because it's just, it's, it's a that's basically a slab. I say yeah.
00;11;51;05 - 00;11;51;10
Bushy
Yeah.
00;11;51;11 - 00;11;58;13
Tappa
Yeah yeah. Young came a he's a bit of a master at it can McDougall. But yeah it's a it's an amazing wife.
00;11;58;16 - 00;12;01;10
Bushy
Hectic. Oh it's very hectic. It's like.
00;12;01;12 - 00;12;01;24
Bushy
00;12;01;24 - 00;12;23;00
Bushy
That's something I cannot get my head around today. I can I appreciate foil surfing. And in other words, I appreciate the technology of all, like, boats, the whole boats out the water and the whole big wave surfing is phenomenal. What the boys and girls and men and women are doing today. But to comprehend being out there.
00;12;23;02 - 00;12;28;16
Tappa
No, you're not that not that. You know, like that's right. And I just, I that doesn't into my brain.
00;12;28;23 - 00;12;55;27
Bushy
It doesn't I just go and I know we're digressing lot of things but that's in big waves. Sort of got into me in Tahiti. And some of that they call it code red, which is a thing for shouldn't. But anyway, that's another story. And Dylan Longbottom and a lot of other the early big wave service.
00;12;55;27 - 00;12;56;22
Bushy
Yeah.
00;12;56;25 - 00;13;01;23
Bushy
They're out there at dusk and if anything happened.
00;13;01;26 - 00;13;02;27
Tappa
You know, I can't even say.
00;13;02;28 - 00;13;29;20
Bushy
The contest was over. There's no medical there gone. I mean, how it started. And I'm sure you know why it started long before tidy, in fact, did as we know, the amateurism that was about when it first started with we're going at the charge, which they did, but there was very minimal backup if something happened. Yeah. And that scared me a lot in Tahiti.
00;13;29;22 - 00;13;40;08
Tappa
Well, I remember hearing that when you ran, JP, that the pro that you had every competitors and probably some of the staffs blood types and that you have that.
00;13;40;14 - 00;14;06;22
Bushy
We had, we had blood types, we actually had a vaccine for stonefish poisoning. The vaccine turned out different that stonefish in this area to Tahiti. We got that from the Medical Serum Laboratory in Melbourne, shipped it over the, we had numerous doctors from globally as well as locally. Yeah, it was a pretty, pretty uninspiring event to be involved in.
00;14;06;22 - 00;14;07;14
Bushy
Yeah.
00;14;07;16 - 00;14;10;09
Tappa
Yeah, you did that that for a lot of years. But we'll.
00;14;10;09 - 00;14;12;22
Bushy
Go back. Yeah. Go back. So I might go on it but.
00;14;12;22 - 00;14;19;12
Tappa
Might say and. And when did you first hook up with the wind and sea. But it's between wind and sea. Surfing club is.
00;14;19;15 - 00;14;20;27
Bushy
When they say borders or.
00;14;20;27 - 00;14;26;01
Tappa
Wind and seaborne. Right. It's I want to get it right because the snapper surf riders like Boardriders and.
00;14;26;05 - 00;14;33;21
Bushy
Actually the eldest I think for longer. Exactly. That is the oldest surfing, registered club in all.
00;14;33;21 - 00;14;34;19
Tappa
Of the DIY surfing the.
00;14;34;19 - 00;14;35;17
Bushy
Internet. Yeah, yeah.
00;14;35;19 - 00;14;38;01
Bushy
And isn't it cool that they use the word for eternity?
00;14;38;01 - 00;14;39;19
Bushy
Yeah, I love it. I know, but.
00;14;39;19 - 00;14;50;08
Bushy
There's a bit of trivia. Had no get involved once again in the early 70s. You had to be invited along and attend so many meetings as a probation.
00;14;50;12 - 00;14;52;27
Tappa
Yeah, yeah, I remember that. Yeah. With Miami Boardriders.
00;14;52;29 - 00;14;54;02
Bushy
Yeah. There you go.
00;14;54;04 - 00;14;59;21
Bushy
And I achieved the probation. And the next thing I know, I was president.
00;14;59;21 - 00;15;10;03
Bushy
Of the, And I went, oh, okay. Having said that, it was a good apprenticeship.
00;15;10;05 - 00;15;24;00
Bushy
To do that and learn from really astute people around that time that and then after Wind and Sea, I became Sunshine Coast president. And then I, ACTU president after Gordon Phillipson down.
00;15;24;00 - 00;15;25;29
Tappa
There in the Miami Hotel for meetings every month.
00;15;26;01 - 00;15;27;13
Bushy
Oh was it. Well, yeah. Some of.
00;15;27;13 - 00;15;33;18
Bushy
Those. Well actually we used to in the early days have the meetings at Orbison's Cafe in Coolangatta.
00;15;33;18 - 00;15;34;08
Bushy
Oh wow.
00;15;34;09 - 00;15;35;27
Tappa
Yeah I remember well but since. Yeah.
00;15;35;29 - 00;15;44;20
Bushy
And I drive from Caloundra via Redcliffe. Oh over the old Hornibrook Bridge which has got more waves in.
00;15;44;23 - 00;15;46;04
Tappa
I four hours nearly.
00;15;46;04 - 00;15;48;02
Bushy
Yeah. Well it was all single line then.
00;15;48;03 - 00;15;48;14
Tappa
Oh yeah.
00;15;48;14 - 00;15;52;22
Bushy
That's right. Yeah. And I pick up Diddy then we go through Brisbane.
00;15;52;23 - 00;15;54;20
Tappa
Oh so you get him at Cleveland correct.
00;15;54;20 - 00;15;55;18
Bushy
Yeah.
00;15;55;20 - 00;15;58;08
Bushy
Yeah. And yeah.
00;15;58;09 - 00;16;24;18
Bushy
Mission. I think Bridgetown came a few times and there was others who excuse me, but yeah, we'd leave Callander go via Redcliffe only bridge which you got. Why I did it. I believe it's been replaced now. Then you get into Brisbane because you had to go through Brisbane. Yeah. I the story bridge and you get to the five wise I think it was.
00;16;24;22 - 00;16;35;18
Bushy
Yeah, yeah I got the story bridge. And then on the other side it became double lines to the Gold Coast and I calling it the tannins place in Stapleton.
00;16;35;21 - 00;16;35;29
Bushy
Yeah.
00;16;36;03 - 00;16;50;15
Bushy
And Mrs. Townsend. Hazel, she was wonderful. You'd walk in the entrance hall and there's zip black all the all time phone there. And she. She'd usually bake something and she'd give you a copper and a scone.
00;16;50;17 - 00;16;54;04
Tappa
And this is paid tannins. Correct. Yeah. Yeah. Wouldn't that.
00;16;54;04 - 00;16;54;21
Bushy
Yeah. Yeah.
00;16;54;21 - 00;17;06;01
Bushy
Exactly. Well Barry ended up because when I became ACTU, which is now serving Queensland president Barry was my secretary.
00;17;06;03 - 00;17;07;27
Bushy
And some.
00;17;08;00 - 00;17;12;01
Bushy
Some really good salt of the earth family. The tandem family.
00;17;12;05 - 00;17;13;06
Bushy
Yeah.
00;17;13;08 - 00;17;22;20
Bushy
And then, yeah, we go down to Orbison's and in that di down the end of, what's the main street in Griffith? Griffith street? Yeah. And the end of it used to be a fun parlor.
00;17;22;27 - 00;17;25;11
Tappa
Oh, yeah. Which is where Boggs used to get employees pennies.
00;17;25;11 - 00;17;30;15
Bushy
We'd go down there and play pennies. Yeah, and then drive all the way back.
00;17;30;17 - 00;17;53;27
Bushy
On the same night, and you get home. Ridiculous. Say, I was in the morning and then go to work the next morning, but one time got back about 230. No mobile phones. Yeah. And before I get to that part, as you were driving back and you came to Clanton, there used to be a sign Klan to turn off one mile.
00;17;53;29 - 00;17;55;06
Bushy
This is all language, but.
00;17;55;09 - 00;17;55;21
Bushy
Yeah, yeah.
00;17;55;21 - 00;17;56;04
Tappa
One more.
00;17;56;04 - 00;17;56;10
Bushy
Yeah.
00;17;56;10 - 00;18;03;00
Bushy
And if you do mile a minute, you got to do 60 mile an hour. Yeah. And I had no v a valiant.
00;18;03;00 - 00;18;11;11
Bushy
And I'll go right. And I'd have the Doobie Brothers or something playing on the track and how do you get to the turn off in and out of. 60s.
00;18;11;11 - 00;18;32;12
Bushy
Second. Yeah. If I could do one minute. Anyway, anyway, I got home one time from one of those many very late, at 3 a.m. in the morning, walked in the phone ring in the home that we'd say, yeah, picked it up. And that's daddy from Redcliffe died. He's a diabetic. He'd left his insulin kit in the valiant.
00;18;32;12 - 00;18;34;21
Bushy
Under the night, so.
00;18;34;23 - 00;18;40;14
Bushy
I need it. So back in the car, back down to Redcliffe, give daddy's insulin kit and then.
00;18;40;14 - 00;18;43;08
Bushy
Back to class the next morning for work. Yeah.
00;18;43;10 - 00;18;44;03
Tappa
Oh, my.
00;18;44;03 - 00;18;51;11
Bushy
That must. He's carried. You fix that. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Not many I tell you that.
00;18;51;13 - 00;19;07;27
Bushy
And all that. We used to as you mentioned earlier, the Azikiwe caravan, we used to tow that all the way when we had south of the border region, we had Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and south of the border. At the time when we had south of the border, it was the right thing to do.
00;19;08;00 - 00;19;15;19
Tappa
Yeah, it was because basically the kind of border really is Ballina of surfing, because after Ballina it sort of the landscape changes. Yeah.
00;19;15;22 - 00;19;34;21
Bushy
Yeah. Well the border went down to Evans Head, which was our region and we Roger Clements came up with the idea from Newcastle and he had a big talk to me at, as I say, our surfing Australia one day and said we've got to do this. And so many people missing out. Anyway, we set down another day at a few things.
00;19;34;21 - 00;19;46;01
Bushy
That's how South of the border came, and it was just as important. After significant years in timeframe that it went back to surfing New South Wales. Yeah, because of the developed.
00;19;46;01 - 00;20;02;21
Tappa
Yeah. And the and the roads are correct. Yeah. So and now I believe in New South Wales I break it up into regions because it's pretty tough for someone from Balme by saying you got to go to Sydney for the state title. Exactly. You know, but I still I still love to remind Phil Myers that he actually is part of the Queensland team.
00;20;02;21 - 00;20;06;26
Tappa
Phil, Phil, you are in Queensland. I might.
00;20;06;28 - 00;20;08;24
Bushy
I'm sure when he he he's.
00;20;08;24 - 00;20;11;19
Bushy
Very prevalent very active on Facebook.
00;20;11;26 - 00;20;14;25
Tappa
Yes. Particularly state of origin and politics.
00;20;15;01 - 00;20;16;06
Bushy
Yeah. Politics I love it.
00;20;16;08 - 00;20;17;24
Tappa
Oh I love it. I have a great I love Phil.
00;20;17;26 - 00;20;24;21
Bushy
I, I ran into him at an airport one time. I was heading to China and we had a catch up. It was like, oh.
00;20;24;26 - 00;20;27;03
Bushy
Hello, Phil. Olive Bush.
00;20;27;05 - 00;20;31;16
Bushy
We popped up in each other's leg. Lovely man. Heart and soul.
00;20;31;16 - 00;20;40;03
Tappa
But that's south of the border was. It was I remember like, I think my last state title sustained a ballot when I said Dave Smith paddle, I was someone. And I went like, I, I.
00;20;40;09 - 00;20;41;02
Bushy
Didn't, I don't know that.
00;20;41;02 - 00;20;41;22
Bushy
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00;20;41;27 - 00;20;44;23
Tappa
You have to have that killer ticket survive in contest.
00;20;44;25 - 00;20;45;07
Bushy
Totally.
00;20;45;10 - 00;20;49;09
Tappa
But the south of the border region, I think really fitted well. And and it and it was good. Oh you.
00;20;49;09 - 00;21;12;09
Bushy
Did. And when it, when we first started, it got a going. There was only 1 or 2 boat or this club. And with the impudence I, it's like you and the other like minded people, the area developed in here not only in surfing talent, but administration, judging indigenous. It was brilliant. It's great.
00;21;12;16 - 00;21;21;09
Tappa
That works really good. It's I might you as surfing Queensland's president. I think forever if I can remember my well how many years did. Well you're president of surfing Queensland.
00;21;21;15 - 00;21;22;28
Bushy
I think 19.
00;21;23;00 - 00;21;27;00
Tappa
Wow. Because I did two years. That was an.
00;21;27;03 - 00;21;27;13
Bushy
Yeah.
00;21;27;13 - 00;21;49;09
Bushy
It's at one stage, as we mentioned earlier, I was president. When did say boat artists president of the Sunshine Coast Surfing Association, which is now defunct. Yeah. Folded or collapsed however you want to term it. And also I became actu or surfing Queensland president. And I looked at myself and I said, well, something's got to go.
00;21;49;11 - 00;21;49;28
Bushy
Yeah.
00;21;50;00 - 00;21;52;07
Bushy
It's just, it was too much.
00;21;52;10 - 00;21;55;04
Bushy
Yeah.
00;21;55;07 - 00;21;57;25
Bushy
You can only spread yourself. So I've seen all that.
00;21;57;25 - 00;22;07;20
Tappa
That's it. My. But but you did a great job in actually because I remember, you know, just as a grant me, you know, like you had it, had it running really well. And for the minimum, all resources we had back.
00;22;07;23 - 00;22;08;23
Bushy
Oh, we.
00;22;08;25 - 00;22;10;20
Tappa
You know, Queensland was the premier state.
00;22;10;21 - 00;22;28;00
Bushy
Oh, totally. Definitely. Back then I would say closely followed by Victoria. And then you. So Mike did a lot for New South Wales and then Greg, Fred surfing Western Australia came on. Yeah, we were definitely the, the top dog.
00;22;28;02 - 00;22;35;16
Tappa
And mate who were the surface. It really impressed you back in the days like the 70s early 80s. So. Well who are your favorite surfers from your time?
00;22;35;21 - 00;22;36;15
Bushy
I knew you'd ask a.
00;22;36;16 - 00;22;40;10
Bushy
Question about that. Just a few.
00;22;40;11 - 00;22;42;27
Tappa
Just just, you know, about 500 million.
00;22;42;29 - 00;22;46;06
Bushy
You know,
00;22;46;08 - 00;22;52;15
Bushy
One of the nicest guys. And he could surf was Gary Timperley.
00;22;52;17 - 00;22;53;12
Tappa
Oh, yeah.
00;22;53;14 - 00;23;25;14
Bushy
Yeah. Brilliant. Lovely top family. Sunshine Coast, I'd say Lee. Lee Hamilton. Definitely a in demand. The Perry family encompasses the Pringle family. Fitzgerald, Elkington, the list goes on. Jardine's all those type of people. There was a two twin girls from Brisbane. The Henderson sisters, Gillian and Gillian. If my memories. Right. They they were excellent surfers.
00;23;25;22 - 00;23;30;06
Bushy
Simon Day from the Sunshine Coast. Look, there's a lot of mist out there.
00;23;30;11 - 00;23;31;27
Bushy
Yeah.
00;23;31;29 - 00;23;35;07
Bushy
Then you get to the Gulf. Well, Brett Peacock. Brett.
00;23;35;11 - 00;23;41;28
Bushy
What a man. Oh, yeah. Yeah, what a ripper. If if you had to put.
00;23;42;01 - 00;23;52;22
Bushy
Someone in a trench with you, you'd pick him. He was just. He was just encompassed everything and did it with such tender, loving care.
00;23;52;22 - 00;23;55;15
Bushy
It was just brilliant. Guy.
00;23;55;17 - 00;24;04;10
Bushy
Yeah. Got a lot of time for Brett. The Gold Coast for, Where do you start the doing family.
00;24;04;12 - 00;24;05;25
Tappa
What a great man.
00;24;05;27 - 00;24;06;10
Bushy
Ryan day.
00;24;06;12 - 00;24;08;19
Tappa
And Colleen. What a whole family.
00;24;08;21 - 00;24;32;13
Bushy
Even Robbie's a great bloke, man. I mean, win this trophy over here from 97, win. And Colleen, that year, they did the trophies for the Billabong Indigenous events and the Billabong Pro here in Australia. But don't underestimate the trophies that Robbie the brother made. Also, so also an excellent surfer, that, Anthony Paul's great surfer.
00;24;32;16 - 00;24;37;06
Bushy
A guy that gets overlooked. And he won the Tony built off the Jarett Murray.
00;24;37;08 - 00;24;39;09
Tappa
All right, all right. Great, sir.
00;24;39;10 - 00;25;04;25
Bushy
Right, surfer. Let alone all the females that just rip the bags at Timmy body. I remember Timmy, blond. Sorry to be disrespectful, but I think she's actually passed away. Right. But look, of course, the Petersons and Donna estimate that Tommy could.
00;25;04;27 - 00;25;17;29
Tappa
You know what I. Tommy Peterson, my, the surfing Queensland's 40th. I think it was in was that, 2004. And Tommy was the only surfing Queensland life member with these life members.
00;25;17;29 - 00;25;19;07
Bushy
Badge.
00;25;19;10 - 00;25;28;12
Tappa
It was also I borrowed one of the all boys parts and stuck a couple bobs in it. The smack that on the balcony. But that was Tommy, you know. But he he had a memory like a still trapped man.
00;25;28;15 - 00;25;33;27
Bushy
You mentioned that. And that's a really good point. Every time. He never called me bullshit. Bushi always called me Rob.
00;25;33;28 - 00;25;34;19
Bushy
But
00;25;34;22 - 00;25;36;28
Bushy
And and I people go.
00;25;37;00 - 00;25;39;01
Bushy
He's Rob, I do you two.
00;25;39;04 - 00;25;48;07
Bushy
It's a bit like grave. Mitchell. Wonderful man. He and his wife, Lisa Greville calls my dad and I call him son.
00;25;48;10 - 00;25;49;15
Bushy
Okay, but anyway, that's another.
00;25;49;21 - 00;26;07;03
Bushy
But. Yeah. Tommy, getting back to Tommy, his memory was making it all over. Hello, Robert. And you could hear and smell Tommy before. Yeah, but amazing human and very kind hearted. But he'd always say now has layer on collie and they're my daughter's here.
00;26;07;06 - 00;26;09;21
Bushy
And I go, yeah, every.
00;26;09;21 - 00;26;26;21
Bushy
Time with that file. And I don't know where it came, but there's a host of other surfers from the Gold Coast that impressed me. I mean, Dominic Whybrow and his staff. Yep. All those type of surfers, even romantic carrots, I remember.
00;26;26;21 - 00;26;28;04
Tappa
Right? Yeah. Yeah. Right. Right.
00;26;28;06 - 00;26;31;16
Bushy
So. And one of the great gentlemen was Paul Po cross.
00;26;31;23 - 00;26;37;07
Tappa
Oh, Pi. Yeah. Got he used to scare me when you'd say, why have you just this huge I got Roy.
00;26;37;13 - 00;26;39;24
Bushy
Oh, I'm out of here.
00;26;39;27 - 00;26;51;23
Bushy
Just great. And, then, I mean, you go down around south border. Craig. Holly. I used to call Craig Holly. 750 double pumper. And he goes, what do you mean? I said, Holly's car by 750.
00;26;51;25 - 00;26;55;20
Bushy
So was double barrel go Bell.
00;26;55;22 - 00;26;58;13
Bushy
Back to the Gold Coast course. Peter, you know those type of.
00;26;58;13 - 00;26;58;23
Bushy
Yeah.
00;26;58;27 - 00;27;01;14
Bushy
That era that was the era I grew up in.
00;27;01;17 - 00;27;02;05
Bushy
Yeah.
00;27;02;07 - 00;27;22;22
Bushy
And it's having said all that and the surfers all around that a little end the great country that we live in. There's a new breed nowadays and I haven't seen her surf other than on movies inside. So very impressed with Serena Kerr. I think she's the Erica.
00;27;22;22 - 00;27;23;08
Tappa
Yeah. Yeah.
00;27;23;08 - 00;27;24;03
Bushy
She's really she's.
00;27;24;03 - 00;27;33;12
Bushy
A great, great surfer. And you've got to doff your hat to the current world junior Dion Henry. He's surfing is amazing.
00;27;33;12 - 00;27;35;11
Tappa
And that oh I have but still she's a.
00;27;35;14 - 00;27;35;23
Bushy
She's.
00;27;35;23 - 00;27;37;01
Bushy
Another burly layer so. Yeah.
00;27;37;01 - 00;27;41;22
Tappa
Well she's originally from Torquay but like you said she's been a six years. Well that's.
00;27;41;22 - 00;27;45;12
Bushy
An old timer there. Yeah.
00;27;45;15 - 00;27;57;14
Bushy
Look, Australia, I see there's something going to happen on the Gold Coast very shortly that happens down around snap at the international club, the Asia Cup.
00;27;57;15 - 00;27;58;15
Tappa
Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
00;27;58;18 - 00;27;59;09
Bushy
How good is that?
00;27;59;17 - 00;28;06;26
Tappa
Yeah that's great right. Yeah I'm involved with that as usual. Box boxes right in in that and yeah I Phillips as well. It's great to see them involved.
00;28;06;29 - 00;28;27;23
Bushy
Well I mention that simply because. Without the bordering clubs the, the depth of Australian surfing wouldn't be what it is today. And it's so good to see that that impetus has been picked up, picked to pieces utilized by other clubs overseas to come here. I think that's a great event.
00;28;27;29 - 00;28;44;17
Tappa
And and you know what? That's why Australian Heads Australia had such great success at surf from 2000 when I when I was a little kid in Miami, Boardriders, I learned a lot from the great late, great Dennis Callinan. You know, and it's a sign from the side from saying what you do. I've learned a lot from you over the years and other people.
00;28;44;17 - 00;28;50;16
Tappa
But, you know, Boardriders club is a training ground not only for surfers but for people who officiate. Yes.
00;28;50;18 - 00;29;06;26
Bushy
Everything. Yeah. As I said earlier, if it wasn't for wind and sea, that was my apprenticeship. Yeah. To move forward to be the next bit of the Sunshine Coast. I thought that was stepping stones. Now you go for an interview. So I'm led to believe I could be wrong, which I am often.
00;29;06;28 - 00;29;08;15
Bushy
00;29;08;18 - 00;29;11;11
Bushy
You have to have a degree in marketing or sports management.
00;29;11;12 - 00;29;14;04
Tappa
Yeah. To get into one of the things here. Yeah.
00;29;14;07 - 00;29;22;09
Bushy
Like just because you got that bit of paper and no disrespect to those men and women that have got that paper. Have you been on the beach?
00;29;22;11 - 00;29;37;06
Tappa
Well, yeah. We'll say I'm a bit of, I'm a bit of a classic there because I've done radio. Television. Yeah. Print media, I've done everything and I've got no journalism degree. I don't exactly. I've just been. I just did.
00;29;37;06 - 00;29;38;13
Bushy
It. Did it? Yeah.
00;29;38;16 - 00;29;58;10
Bushy
And I learned by watching. Yeah. The likes of Eric Kelly, Eric Aberdeen, Gordon Phillipson, Barry Tannin, Brian Austin, all those people before me, I watched, I learned, and you cannot teach that at a at a university.
00;29;58;10 - 00;30;04;02
Tappa
Degree, not because you need the paper skills. I said type of skills. It's it's something it's inherent in some people.
00;30;04;09 - 00;30;08;27
Bushy
And people I've been asked before.
00;30;08;29 - 00;30;29;20
Bushy
Why you were so good at what you did. And my simple answer is that I surround myself with good people that knew their jobs. They made me look good. And if it wasn't for the likes of you, I didn't, and many others earlier that you could pick the eyes out of people you wanted to work with at an event.
00;30;29;25 - 00;30;31;11
Bushy
Yeah, for argument's sake.
00;30;31;14 - 00;30;47;07
Bushy
I'd take a different group of people offshore. Yep. Then I work with here. Yeah, because I knew those people that you took off sure would fit into a different culture, different language, different foods. It's a big thing when you travel overseas.
00;30;47;13 - 00;30;47;19
Tappa
Oh, I.
00;30;47;19 - 00;30;50;17
Bushy
Need to accept all that sort of stuff.
00;30;50;19 - 00;30;56;02
Tappa
And be able to do your job as well, like amongst the like. Because if you can't fit in with the rest in your jobs, jobs.
00;30;56;02 - 00;30;57;27
Bushy
Jobs done, so.
00;30;57;27 - 00;31;08;09
Tappa
Might you go in like you did a lot for Billabong events back in the I that was after you surfing Australia, I suppose you, you went to surfing Australia after surfing Queensland.
00;31;08;15 - 00;31;10;25
Bushy
What a shocking thing to say.
00;31;10;27 - 00;31;14;09
Bushy
Let's, Yeah.
00;31;14;11 - 00;31;21;06
Bushy
After the surfing Queensland president I actually chair. No. Yes. I stepped down from.
00;31;21;06 - 00;31;21;26
Bushy
There.
00;31;21;29 - 00;31;31;17
Bushy
And I became I was vice president at Surfing Australia for about 30 years with Mel Gregson, from Phillip Island. Yeah.
00;31;31;19 - 00;31;34;18
Bushy
And.
00;31;34;20 - 00;32;01;05
Bushy
I then became president after Rod Brooks. Actually, Rod Brooks is the longest serving Surfing Australia president. He's actually chairman of the surf world down. All right. Lovely bloke. Roxy, you work with Quiksilver and piping hot, no doubt. And I became Surfing Australia president. I was all star, was Surfing Australia president. I was approached by Billabong to go and work for them and I knocked them back.
00;32;01;08 - 00;32;16;20
Bushy
I was really happy with what I was. So anyway, I got asked a second time. I knocked them back and then Paul came and saw me or asked me to come and it and she said, our Butchie Gordon's only going to ask one more time.
00;32;16;22 - 00;32;19;12
Bushy
I got one more and I went.
00;32;19;14 - 00;32;29;06
Bushy
Okay, I get the picture. And I'll be honest, part of the reason I didn't want to take the position was because I've been slow to. I didn't want to step on his toes.
00;32;29;11 - 00;32;30;05
Tappa
It's just tough. Yeah.
00;32;30;05 - 00;32;31;03
Bushy
Hey.
00;32;31;05 - 00;32;48;16
Bushy
I didn't know he wasn't any longer Billabong and call it. I've spoken to Vince about this recently actually. And call it said to me, call it Paul that he said to me, don't worry, Butchie, Vince will be okay. And that's when I said, you like the job. So I went for an interview.
00;32;48;18 - 00;32;49;12
Bushy
With.
00;32;49;14 - 00;32;58;02
Bushy
Dougal Walker and then, head of Billabong trainer Scott with this and this. And they said.
00;32;58;02 - 00;32;59;22
Bushy
Talking about things.
00;32;59;25 - 00;33;07;22
Bushy
And what time do you want me to start? And they looked at each other and said, all about ten after you finish your surf.
00;33;07;25 - 00;33;11;04
Bushy
I don't want. Yes. So that I started early.
00;33;11;04 - 00;33;19;15
Bushy
But anyway and then they said, we haven't got an office for you. And I said, Gordon doesn't come in. This is at.
00;33;19;15 - 00;33;22;05
Bushy
The other big hole.
00;33;22;05 - 00;33;26;12
Bushy
That looks like resorts. And they said Gordon and come in.
00;33;26;14 - 00;33;33;06
Bushy
So you he's over. So see, I met you. So I hung up in Gordon's office.
00;33;33;08 - 00;33;48;16
Bushy
And at that time we were doing the Gold Coast, events. Billabong Pro Billabong. And as you know, we did it a mobile event for Cleveland charge taking it Stradbroke, Gold Coast and Redland Shire plus the
00;33;48;19 - 00;33;49;04
Tappa
To a.
00;33;49;06 - 00;33;52;26
Bushy
Tweet goes right away. Yeah. Right. Yeah, yeah. So I had to have all.
00;33;52;26 - 00;33;54;02
Bushy
These permits and all this.
00;33;54;02 - 00;33;57;06
Bushy
I had all the papers laid out on that.
00;33;57;10 - 00;33;58;13
Bushy
Guess who walked in the door.
00;33;58;13 - 00;34;01;27
Bushy
That's all I got. Just me.
00;34;02;00 - 00;34;07;15
Bushy
And he says, what are you doing in it? And I went, well, he says, you know, they're in here today.
00;34;07;17 - 00;34;08;13
Bushy
So I.
00;34;08;13 - 00;34;10;18
Bushy
Went in, walked around Billabong, walked in the.
00;34;10;18 - 00;34;11;12
Bushy
Art department.
00;34;11;12 - 00;34;15;03
Bushy
Damn thing. And I film a workshop in the.
00;34;15;03 - 00;34;15;26
Bushy
Back.
00;34;15;29 - 00;34;23;28
Bushy
That was empty. I looked at it and I'll be egotistical. I went, what a great place for a.
00;34;23;28 - 00;34;27;07
Bushy
Bunch of shit. So I said.
00;34;27;10 - 00;34;34;16
Bushy
I set up Dan on the back and one thing grew from another. In the end, we had containers that we shipped equipment to tide.
00;34;34;18 - 00;34;36;08
Tappa
I remember I drain lye to nose up.
00;34;36;14 - 00;34;37;02
Bushy
Exactly.
00;34;37;02 - 00;34;38;01
Tappa
Yeah. If I drained Dan.
00;34;38;06 - 00;34;39;17
Bushy
Yeah, what a bloody legend.
00;34;39;17 - 00;34;43;07
Bushy
Oh. Fantastic. Mate. You used to play at his home.
00;34;43;10 - 00;34;54;14
Tappa
Yeah, well, he jammed at ideas for years. Yeah, I can, yeah, I think for 5 or 6 years. My guitars in that lift in there because every Thursday we'd go down there and make some noise. Yeah.
00;34;54;19 - 00;34;54;28
Bushy
So to.
00;34;54;28 - 00;34;56;10
Tappa
Leave the room while we were in the.
00;34;56;10 - 00;34;57;14
Bushy
Room on levels.
00;34;57;17 - 00;35;13;07
Bushy
Well, we did a, a junior event at Casaba and we called the event off one day. So we went into town and we came to a, I think it was at some venues and at the front on the footpath, they had a keyboard.
00;35;13;07 - 00;35;14;12
Bushy
Organ. Yeah.
00;35;14;14 - 00;35;25;10
Bushy
And you press this button, you get trumpets and all this, I think beauty. So I got the Pantech track. We had all the gear in it, put the hydraulic back there and put the organ in.
00;35;25;12 - 00;35;25;23
Bushy
And.
00;35;25;26 - 00;35;42;06
Bushy
I know had to head further south after that event and I was going to meet him down there the week following, I went back to the Gold Coast because we had to change things in the truck and the bus. So I would drop the organ off at his place at Krebs Creek, and I put Grateful Organ Donor.
00;35;42;06 - 00;35;44;02
Bushy
Site for my.
00;35;44;02 - 00;35;49;11
Tappa
Son. I actually got to know an organ for my jam. And as I said, he's the organ donor.
00;35;49;14 - 00;35;52;17
Bushy
Yeah, I love it. It's so good, so good. But, you.
00;35;52;18 - 00;35;57;16
Bushy
You mentioned Sam, and he just is sadly missed.
00;35;57;19 - 00;35;58;00
Bushy
Yeah.
00;35;58;05 - 00;36;17;17
Bushy
As I said, our car in France, with a Renault Kanga, diesel. And, one morning in the garage, I went there and, the number plates with the I. And in France, you surnames, like they'd say, Monsieur ts.
00;36;17;19 - 00;36;18;01
Bushy
Yeah.
00;36;18;01 - 00;36;20;02
Bushy
And then I put Terry.
00;36;20;04 - 00;36;21;06
Tappa
To tell you it'd be more and then.
00;36;21;08 - 00;36;22;02
Bushy
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00;36;22;02 - 00;36;27;28
Bushy
So it was dent and his first name. Adrian. Yeah. And I went. I don't think so. We called their.
00;36;27;28 - 00;36;29;25
Bushy
Car, I don't. Oh, that's not so.
00;36;29;28 - 00;36;36;12
Bushy
Actually the car I've got here, which is that red beast at the outside that, I call I don't too.
00;36;36;14 - 00;36;38;08
Bushy
I, I traded to that night.
00;36;38;11 - 00;36;46;17
Tappa
Oh, those times at Billabong that was, that was the heyday of surfing. It was a lot of money. And so if you're lucky, kids could make money out of being a pro. Joe.
00;36;46;18 - 00;36;47;06
Bushy
Oh, totally.
00;36;47;08 - 00;36;49;20
Tappa
I think it's a bit too spoiled, in a way.
00;36;49;21 - 00;36;56;10
Bushy
Yeah. They were, there's a couple of good stories. As you know, we had the Billabong bus and.
00;36;56;13 - 00;36;56;16
Bushy
I.
00;36;56;16 - 00;37;00;07
Tappa
Remember there was writings, surfers, skateboarders. That's not.
00;37;00;13 - 00;37;03;27
Bushy
Oh yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.
00;37;04;00 - 00;37;07;22
Bushy
And there were some you could imagine the shenanigans.
00;37;07;24 - 00;37;11;26
Bushy
Oh, God. That it was.
00;37;11;29 - 00;37;25;16
Bushy
It was money for jam. That bus. Okay. Cost money to purchase. Yeah. At the at the time, Phil would had the foresight to do it, and.
00;37;25;18 - 00;37;26;01
Bushy
It was.
00;37;26;01 - 00;37;27;07
Bushy
Advertising wherever you.
00;37;27;07 - 00;37;30;25
Tappa
Are. Yeah. That the Billabong bus river win and it was, it was.
00;37;30;27 - 00;37;31;23
Bushy
It was frothing.
00;37;31;23 - 00;37;56;25
Bushy
And I mean, you go into a and we we'd go for quickness on that shortest route. But coming back with bossy road board the driver and man the Pantech truck. We'd take inland routes and go to little country towns and where there'd be coffee and tea breaks for long drives and we'd stop there. And if you had kids on board, they were given their posters and everything promo for nothing.
00;37;56;27 - 00;38;00;03
Bushy
And we've been used to a honeypot. Kids are come out of the school yard.
00;38;00;04 - 00;38;13;06
Tappa
And so in the writing side, mate, which who played up the mice? Was it? Hey, they got the award. The snowboarders, skateboarders and surfers. Hey, which guru were the most notorious skateboarders?
00;38;13;09 - 00;38;15;17
Bushy
Well, it is this guy is, that.
00;38;15;17 - 00;38;31;19
Bushy
The, are now a couple of still. I still stay in touch with him via social media and look are all very icons. Yeah. It doesn't matter whether you're a snowboarder or snowboarders. I found it more polite.
00;38;31;22 - 00;38;34;20
Tappa
I mean, I admit to many Canadians. Yeah.
00;38;34;22 - 00;38;35;19
Bushy
00;38;35;21 - 00;38;48;04
Bushy
But, the Billabong boss was brilliant. What we did with it, that era, was we there being negative about it? Money wasn't an object.
00;38;48;05 - 00;38;57;05
Tappa
Now, was it? Not? Because I just might. I used to go the thing like glob used to look after. We did get a cardboard box like this full of shoes from God.
00;38;57;05 - 00;38;57;15
Bushy
Yeah.
00;38;57;22 - 00;39;02;09
Tappa
And like, there was not. I don't get it from my mum, my dad, my kids. Everybody got shoes.
00;39;02;12 - 00;39;03;01
Bushy
Well.
00;39;03;03 - 00;39;20;11
Bushy
At the Billabong Pros here on the Gold Coast when globe sponsored it. And Kahlua. Yeah. Drink and Casio watches. People got watches. Bottle of Kahlua. Pair of globe shoes, some sunglasses, a polo shirt, two pairs of boardshorts. This is if you worked at the.
00;39;20;14 - 00;39;22;29
Tappa
You got a full outfit and you needed more than a dice.
00;39;23;01 - 00;39;25;15
Bushy
You got 2 or 3 correct.
00;39;25;17 - 00;39;27;16
Bushy
And then you outfitted the judges.
00;39;27;16 - 00;39;28;19
Bushy
And then there's.
00;39;28;24 - 00;39;29;04
Tappa
On.
00;39;29;06 - 00;39;30;04
Bushy
Yes.
00;39;30;07 - 00;39;43;18
Bushy
So and there was no oh, what are you got no books. Oh. It's the same as mine. That was the key. Everyone got the same. So there was no saying, oh, you favoritism to that person or that, but.
00;39;43;18 - 00;39;51;28
Tappa
There was good money in there for the kids to taking that pride. You know, some of those years, the pride junior at Burly Head. So that's some of the best. So if I've ever seen it, burly heads for a contest.
00;39;51;28 - 00;39;53;03
Bushy
You look at that era.
00;39;53;05 - 00;39;53;23
Tappa
Rasta.
00;39;54;00 - 00;39;55;24
Bushy
Rasta. Zion. Harrison.
00;39;55;25 - 00;39;57;08
Tappa
Yeah. Zion. Yeah, yeah.
00;39;57;10 - 00;40;11;26
Bushy
Dean Morrison, Taj McLeod, Joe Parkinson, Mick Fanning, the list goes on, let alone the girls. Beau. Eminem, sister. Yeah, all those type of people. But the surfing was. I remember Jaime Castillo.
00;40;11;28 - 00;40;14;21
Tappa
Oh, yeah. Johnny Gort, a great surfer and musician there. Yeah, yeah.
00;40;14;23 - 00;40;27;15
Bushy
And good artist as well. One of the first Billabong pros at Berkeley. One day I said to him that a chat to him. I said, what do you think? And he.
00;40;27;18 - 00;40;29;21
Bushy
As you know, said he's bloody.
00;40;29;21 - 00;40;30;20
Bushy
Good surfer in his own.
00;40;30;20 - 00;40;34;03
Bushy
Right. Oh, he said, bushy, I can't believe how fast they going.
00;40;34;05 - 00;40;40;12
Bushy
And which they were. But coming from him, who is a good surfer this year. And then you look at today and they faster.
00;40;40;14 - 00;40;53;22
Tappa
Well that's what I noticed when I do the contests, when I do a cuz they're fast. But then you do the say take as I just go for surf before it's like it's like another ten miles an hour. I was talking to him I Brian about he said yeah, everybody is like another.
00;40;53;22 - 00;41;21;03
Bushy
Level, another level up. It's like car racing. You see the Commodore, you saw the UK's up at the Gold Coast and I miss the wall boy. This far. But the pros miss it by this one. They're with the millimeters. It's just a different level top top professional sports with men and women. And today, I mean, I remember Robbie Bain's interview one day after surf from Waimea.
00;41;21;08 - 00;41;24;24
Bushy
He came in, got panned, and I noticed cigaret.
00;41;24;26 - 00;41;25;26
Bushy
But now.
00;41;25;28 - 00;41;29;26
Bushy
Today, his entourage will turn up at the beach.
00;41;29;28 - 00;41;30;03
Bushy
And.
00;41;30;06 - 00;41;43;11
Bushy
They'll be the surfer. Whether it's a male or female, they'll have their coach, like, could I have the family or husband or wife? And I have a baby these days. They've got a manager, they'll get a masseuse. There's a whole entourage. Where?
00;41;43;13 - 00;41;44;17
Bushy
Yeah.
00;41;44;19 - 00;41;46;17
Bushy
Let's go down the pub and have a lunch.
00;41;46;20 - 00;41;59;21
Tappa
There is the reverse, too. Now, like the last Eddie that ran Ross Clark Jones cat himself a cat. And he said that I'm watching the video at the footage and he's getting sign up and I'm going, oh, he's got the green whistle now. He had a Darren.
00;41;59;21 - 00;42;04;09
Bushy
He's mad. So that's still out. It's still out for all sassy. Yeah, yeah.
00;42;04;11 - 00;42;10;28
Bushy
Well I mean you cock back to rugby league. You could remember Wally Lewis said.
00;42;11;01 - 00;42;11;29
Tappa
Activites and meat.
00;42;11;29 - 00;42;15;24
Bushy
Pies. So the whole.
00;42;15;26 - 00;42;40;16
Bushy
Level of professional sport in surfing particularly, it's taken the impetus. I know the coach I know demanded to. I ate and made to manage the Warriors like, you look at, I daresay some of the surface do it, but professional drivers in Formula one by sleeping hours on the next time different to when they rice and all this type of thing.
00;42;40;18 - 00;42;44;00
Bushy
It's it's amazing how.
00;42;44;03 - 00;42;47;04
Bushy
In that short time of space it's it's changed so much.
00;42;47;07 - 00;43;05;05
Tappa
Oh my. So you know like I reckon once you had to do chippy what was that like. That would have been daunting when you first say it like okay, we're going to surf this wave. We're taking the world's best surfers there, and you're the black. That's got to make sure everyone's all right. Everything, guys. That must have been a bit of a daunting task, but.
00;43;05;08 - 00;43;22;09
Bushy
I remember doing any of you on that. Riding the sharks back with Steve O'Farrell from channel ten. Yeah, I know I said exactly that. This is the biggest event organization I've been involved in and it I cried some days, there's no doubt because it was overwhelming.
00;43;22;15 - 00;43;24;25
Bushy
Because there's a lot, a lot, there's so much.
00;43;24;27 - 00;43;31;12
Bushy
It's you go down to snapper to do the event. Yeah, that'll start this year I believe.
00;43;31;14 - 00;43;35;27
Tappa
In my oh no no what's bells is first okay bells we then snapper.
00;43;35;28 - 00;43;40;13
Bushy
Okay so we're at snap. Oh bells basically you're in a compound.
00;43;40;16 - 00;43;42;05
Tappa
Yeah.
00;43;42;07 - 00;43;48;15
Bushy
And that compound in that compound you've got your commentators, your judges, your catering etc. you got security.
00;43;48;15 - 00;43;49;20
Tappa
Security.
00;43;49;23 - 00;43;56;19
Bushy
You got medical. You've got things that control. You've even in this day and age in some events got plumbers and electricians.
00;43;56;25 - 00;43;57;26
Tappa
Yeah. On.
00;43;57;28 - 00;44;00;23
Bushy
On cool.
00;44;00;25 - 00;44;19;23
Bushy
And to open up the area we took in was, a six kilometer circle. And even when you add on the tower, Woody, woody security, he had a booster station or box for the walkie talkies because the signal wouldn't.
00;44;19;23 - 00;44;21;14
Bushy
Go for you guys. Yeah, yeah.
00;44;21;17 - 00;44;47;06
Bushy
So not only do you have the construction of the tower out in the lagoon, which is now been built out of aluminum, which is amazing in itself. We built the tower. Then we had the point. The Marina, the village and all this area. Then where we stood. Oh, we need this bushy. And it was down at any place down at the Marina.
00;44;47;08 - 00;45;07;14
Bushy
Pass a Marina. And then sometimes. Oh, we need this. And it should in the town of. Oh, for, for the can car. Can car remains. Is in French for hard way, by the way. And you're going to Tara though. And people you call you on your two way or your phone on it and you had to have coverage.
00;45;07;16 - 00;45;13;21
Bushy
I remember Matt Griggs. One day the contest was called off. This is when he was with repute.
00;45;13;24 - 00;45;16;17
Bushy
Yeah. Anyway, bushy.
00;45;16;20 - 00;45;18;28
Bushy
The boat sinking.
00;45;19;01 - 00;45;23;06
Bushy
Oh, hang on, hang on, hang on. Yeah, well, I was I was on the way to tire.
00;45;23;06 - 00;45;26;16
Bushy
Though, and I said, well, where are you? Oh, we're a big pass. I said.
00;45;26;16 - 00;45;34;16
Bushy
Well you got things. Bail it out, but it's sinking too fast. So I said, well, surfboards float might help.
00;45;34;18 - 00;45;40;22
Tappa
Oh no. I drew and used a guy I think something like six weeks out. How long did you have to get there before that? To make sure I went.
00;45;40;22 - 00;45;41;25
Bushy
Two months in advance.
00;45;42;01 - 00;45;44;03
Tappa
Two months in advance? In what, about a month?
00;45;44;05 - 00;45;46;11
Bushy
A month there and another month to pack it all up?
00;45;46;18 - 00;45;48;13
Bushy
Wow.
00;45;48;15 - 00;45;51;27
Bushy
Yeah, it was, And not only that. Yeah.
00;45;51;27 - 00;45;53;18
Tappa
So three months of your life, basically.
00;45;53;21 - 00;45;54;20
Bushy
Basically.
00;45;54;22 - 00;46;01;14
Bushy
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The.
00;46;01;17 - 00;46;18;21
Bushy
Just the logistics of feeding people on any given day because you've got some you've got the further boats, you've got the, the, the Marshall boat, they're all out in the lake. Then you've got the tail, then you've got the point, then you've got the Marina, all these other places just to get food out on jet skis, on rubber duckies.
00;46;18;24 - 00;46;21;13
Bushy
Pardon me.
00;46;21;15 - 00;46;30;05
Bushy
Was just a logistics nightmare. Then you take in, we've got all these vehicles down, but there's no service stationed in it.
00;46;30;09 - 00;46;31;28
Tappa
I say you gotta have some I, I get petrol.
00;46;31;28 - 00;46;56;07
Bushy
So I used to go into the port Oto Nome, which is the harbor area, in Pepe de Harbor. And there was the company shell and you'd arrange for them to bring down the, the big tank suspended. So it was gravity feed that was for the boats. And then have another one for diesel because you couldn't just type fuel because they were diesel cars.
00;46;56;07 - 00;46;57;18
Bushy
Da da da da da.
00;46;57;21 - 00;46;58;00
Bushy
Yeah.
00;46;58;00 - 00;47;04;19
Bushy
So all that logistically then the big thing, the scary thing was the medical.
00;47;04;19 - 00;47;06;15
Bushy
Yeah.
00;47;06;18 - 00;47;13;15
Bushy
You're a long way away. And in those early days, there was only one medical helicopter available in Tahiti.
00;47;13;21 - 00;47;15;07
Tappa
One for the whole of Tahiti.
00;47;15;09 - 00;47;17;21
Bushy
For the whole French Polynesia. Wow.
00;47;17;28 - 00;47;19;02
Bushy
And it could.
00;47;19;02 - 00;47;47;22
Bushy
Have been, for example, of Mariah. And if you had to call it, you had to rely on normal vehicle transport and to evacuate someone from Tripoli by normal vehicle transport to get back to, say, the hospital. I don't pronounce h in French hospital meaning hospital. Tony, which is now the new hospital, would take. I'd say about an hour from to.
00;47;47;22 - 00;47;49;16
Tappa
Someone in a critical condition. That's.
00;47;49;16 - 00;47;50;25
Bushy
Yeah. Well, I, I.
00;47;50;26 - 00;47;54;22
Bushy
Actually drove I can't remember is CGI or the other one. How good one of the two.
00;47;54;27 - 00;47;55;18
Tappa
Yeah. Yeah. Damien.
00;47;55;18 - 00;47;56;06
Bushy
Yeah.
00;47;56;09 - 00;48;15;21
Bushy
And he was out surfing out there. But anyway, I had to shell really bad, cut himself up, and I drove him up to the hospital, put a mattress in the back, strapped him down, got to the hospital, and there's, it's. Yeah, you're on the other side of the road driving, and I got there, and I just.
00;48;15;21 - 00;48;22;18
Bushy
Drive to the wrong side of the tracks and the big, big decisions come out. Rhetoric meaning stop.
00;48;22;20 - 00;48;34;05
Bushy
Yeah. Anyway, so the condition of him and, Yeah, I can't remember which one it was, but I checked him out, or he checked himself out. Get, expert advice back in America.
00;48;34;05 - 00;48;34;28
Bushy
Yeah.
00;48;35;00 - 00;48;42;28
Bushy
Just the medical food, let alone the amount of boats you had to have. I think it was three camera boats back then.
00;48;43;00 - 00;48;45;29
Tappa
They even organize in the. They don't run into other satellite.
00;48;46;01 - 00;49;08;25
Bushy
Yeah. And then we put in, What, a boat you or a buoy system? Fritz. And one of the chaps we used to stay with, he and his wife, Emma. Wonderful people. And we stayed most of the work crew down with them, which was a fair distance from the point, for the simple reason, to get them away from.
00;49;08;28 - 00;49;10;24
Bushy
Oh, you still here? Can you do this?
00;49;10;27 - 00;49;11;23
Bushy
Oh, yeah. They.
00;49;11;26 - 00;49;14;18
Bushy
Yeah. That there was method in the madness.
00;49;14;20 - 00;49;17;24
Bushy
Anyway,
00;49;17;26 - 00;49;48;05
Bushy
Fritz helped put in the the blocks for the buoy line. They along for the boats big chain. And we got the chain from the Navy and other sources up in Pepe all day, and they off the barge, line were used. And the blue badge, the big concrete box, we drop em in with a parachute on them, and they dropped in on the parachute in the water, and they move them into position, and we put the chain through them.
00;49;48;07 - 00;49;59;04
Bushy
And it was about, I think, 30, 30 or 40 made it stand papers, all that and some of the comments you oh 30 that's nothing I got. Yeah. But that's 30 or 40m up.
00;49;59;04 - 00;50;01;29
Bushy
Also it, it they don't.
00;50;02;02 - 00;50;06;27
Bushy
It's like oh we drive into the beach. It's only ten KZN and people forget you got to come.
00;50;06;27 - 00;50;10;03
Bushy
To England I say. So just to.
00;50;10;03 - 00;50;33;08
Bushy
Put that Bowie liner in place with the assistance from the Federation, or the Haitian Surfing Federation and Pascal and Phillip Klemmer and an ex-Navy diver. It was just a massive boost to the for the for the safety. We could keep spectators behind it and have the camera boats. So you're right. What you asking about positioning the camera boats?
00;50;33;14 - 00;50;43;04
Bushy
How are they not bumping in? There were times when the swell got up. It was mayhem in the line up, the boats smashing into one another. I know some.
00;50;43;04 - 00;50;44;11
Bushy
Doctors.
00;50;44;13 - 00;50;45;14
Bushy
That shan't be named.
00;50;45;14 - 00;50;47;05
Bushy
Sorry, fellows.
00;50;47;07 - 00;50;57;22
Bushy
That one died. The swell came out, I a surf and I said, okay, just when you tie off, leave enough. So when the boat the wave comes, I tore it off to show it. And what.
00;50;57;24 - 00;50;57;29
Bushy
On the.
00;50;57;29 - 00;50;59;11
Tappa
Line down the bottom.
00;50;59;17 - 00;51;02;07
Bushy
And she was going. I was going,
00;51;02;09 - 00;51;04;29
Bushy
And.
00;51;05;02 - 00;51;11;13
Bushy
You have to understand Tahitians. They know the water. They know they know that.
00;51;11;13 - 00;51;12;11
Tappa
I know boats.
00;51;12;11 - 00;51;20;20
Bushy
Yeah, they know boats. And what? And the ACL saying in Tahiti, those who say they haven't hit a coral head. I telling you a lie.
00;51;20;22 - 00;51;23;07
Bushy
Everybody hates me. Yeah.
00;51;23;09 - 00;51;34;18
Bushy
Just getting the jetskis over there. And that was a huge problem with the dune or the customs, particularly coming back into Australia the.
00;51;34;20 - 00;51;35;22
Tappa
Because of the water in some.
00;51;35;22 - 00;51;38;20
Bushy
Order, in the sand to get that clean.
00;51;38;21 - 00;51;47;05
Tappa
Well, because I know I drew and used to spend he said it took him. I just cleaning every bit of thing off his speakers. Yep. Can't have anything on them now.
00;51;47;08 - 00;52;07;24
Bushy
And we lost some gear that was incinerated by Australian customs. It used to come back into Brisbane. I'll go back up there and inspect it with them, and I got through it. The first year was first couple of years was the hardest. But then I got to understand it was coming back in. They were pretty easy to get on with and then then to get shipped back to Billabong.
00;52;07;24 - 00;52;22;24
Bushy
But I remember one year to oh boo flooded and it floods in a flash. Then it really does. And the container I bet halfway through packing and of course the containers got flooded.
00;52;23;01 - 00;52;24;06
Tappa
Oh, so I start again.
00;52;24;06 - 00;52;45;22
Bushy
Start again and I get a phone call. Why is it taking so long? Yeah, and I'm trying to hear him because I won't mention the name because, you know, the rains pissing down. I mean, the drops would knock your head off. Yeah. And the dragon just came down from papaya and said, oh, my show bushi. Impossible. In other words, you have to clean.
00;52;45;22 - 00;53;03;25
Bushy
It cannot go. It can't be wet. But they don't. Management talking about people with a bit of paper getting a job don't necessarily understand all this or comprehend it. It's like someone saying, oh, you can retire at 70. Well, what have you done? You laugh. Picked up a pin.
00;53;03;27 - 00;53;06;14
Bushy
Yeah.
00;53;06;16 - 00;53;20;12
Bushy
To get all that dry and clean again to the like of acceptance for the Dwan and Pappy Ida. It was a massive undertaking. It added weeks to the thing.
00;53;20;12 - 00;53;21;16
Bushy
So yeah, so there's a.
00;53;21;16 - 00;53;23;14
Tappa
Lot more to it than people realize. Just show.
00;53;23;15 - 00;53;24;18
Bushy
Oh, yeah.
00;53;24;20 - 00;53;48;09
Bushy
You just don't realize it. We did a documentary. I think the channel on here on the Gold Coast about, as I said when Gordon said, I said, well, you're not working in this office tonight. And I went in the back and I found this vacant workshop. We set up racks in there for all the contest gear, the pop up, you name it, generators, skis, the whole bit, the, the, the,
00;53;48;11 - 00;53;52;23
Tappa
Outside of Billabong had so many events back and stuff, it wouldn't have stopped.
00;53;52;23 - 00;54;02;15
Bushy
We didn't. And I know we're changing direction somewhat, but that's a good point. You mentioned also used to take days in lieu.
00;54;02;18 - 00;54;05;04
Bushy
Oh, yeah. Yeah. What a what a hoax. So I, he.
00;54;05;04 - 00;54;09;19
Tappa
Coined saying guys that that to our. Yeah yeah I know and I yeah yeah.
00;54;09;19 - 00;54;33;10
Bushy
And it just like for argument's sake, I have a giggle today with some of the, the current surfing and the, the the headline I w and an s I don't know what a name anyway, but that's only my opinion. I don't agree with it personally. But our junior events had fields of 294.
00;54;33;17 - 00;54;35;26
Bushy
Yeah. That's huge. Yeah.
00;54;35;28 - 00;54;50;21
Bushy
Yeah, boys and girls of course. Massive. And they'd take five days and you had to surf no matter what. Some took four and some days should work. And that was a long weekend. So going back to the days in low you technically.
00;54;50;23 - 00;54;50;28
Bushy
Got.
00;54;50;28 - 00;54;51;14
Tappa
Two days.
00;54;51;14 - 00;54;51;23
Bushy
Yeah.
00;54;51;25 - 00;54;58;11
Bushy
And all this sort of stuff. But then you had to do an event the following again and then another one and your days, you know, just you never got to time.
00;54;58;12 - 00;55;17;06
Tappa
Yeah. It just all melds into one one. Yeah. But yeah, it was a really, all that was so much money and it was so much every everything was amazing. They've compared to today. But I've got to say that today's surfers, the young crew are amazing. They're on bugger all money. Yeah. Compared to what they were in the early 2000s.
00;55;17;08 - 00;55;19;11
Tappa
But they're so more professional.
00;55;19;16 - 00;55;51;02
Bushy
So professional, amazingly professional. These kids I as we said earlier, they've got and I, I think there's been a turnaround why they've become more professional our era to a lot of cases. And we saw this as IQ was we used to do databases for membership. And most of the members live near the beach in that time. And then we started to see, oh, really, Creek that I did that and it became too expensive to live near the beach.
00;55;51;03 - 00;55;54;23
Bushy
Yes. And.
00;55;54;25 - 00;56;15;08
Bushy
A large majority of surfers, both male and female, were from a one person family, like a mom or a father. Today, though, that is somewhat change where families are becoming more orientated to assisting their kid, which I think is helped in their professionalism, I really do.
00;56;15;08 - 00;56;23;26
Tappa
Yeah, well, you know, if Mom and Dad put in all this money, you don't want to be mucking around. Yeah, exactly. Because that's a lot of the, you know, that's sort of oh, that was a diving dive melon.
00;56;23;26 - 00;56;24;27
Bushy
Was it from that melon.
00;56;24;27 - 00;56;25;02
Bushy
Yeah.
00;56;25;02 - 00;56;36;19
Tappa
I remember he dropped, got a sponsor dropped. He got dropped by sponsor. So on the nice he had big Nike open put mum and I love so much because I thought that is so bloody true.
00;56;36;21 - 00;56;37;15
Bushy
It is, it is.
00;56;37;15 - 00;56;41;11
Tappa
You know I like some of the cage shootings if I haven't got stick issued. Right. Mum and dad on there.
00;56;41;12 - 00;57;10;11
Bushy
But it's true. And in my sport really is when, when they first start out and then there's been a turn I noticed in surfing from the 70s, early 80s to more family orientated involvement in the in the boy girl's upbringing in the surfing. Yeah. And I do believe it's becoming or it's starting to become, I should say. And I don't, in my opinion, a more elitist sport too.
00;57;10;14 - 00;57;11;22
Bushy
I'm a bit concerned about that.
00;57;11;22 - 00;57;32;08
Tappa
Yeah, because you kind of got to have money to, to be able to do some things about them. What they've got the junior ridings now with Surfing Australia, so kids are going to get the Tosh more fries ever and why. And then then they got the camps already right. So they can get those writings and all right I'll do a bit of traveling but go in a derby way.
00;57;32;11 - 00;57;37;16
Tappa
You take the kid mom or dad even that. That's that's a fair bit of coin to be taken.
00;57;37;16 - 00;57;45;06
Bushy
And the biggest thing, no matter where you travel in the world, whether you're just getting around yourself, the biggest thing if you want to stay somewhere is the price of accommodation.
00;57;45;06 - 00;57;47;06
Bushy
Yeah, it's it's.
00;57;47;08 - 00;57;53;12
Bushy
Outrageous. Like so. Yeah, I'm a bit concerned with how the cost factor is going.
00;57;53;14 - 00;57;54;20
Bushy
00;57;54;23 - 00;58;08;04
Bushy
I don't really know what entry fees are now. But our fields, when they say, oh, we've got a field of 96 for this challenger event, I go, wow.
00;58;08;07 - 00;58;18;09
Tappa
Like, well that's limited. Yeah, that's limited to get in it. Yeah, it. But yeah, that, that's just the one. That's a thing. Now it is coming up. Yeah. It's going that way.
00;58;18;11 - 00;58;19;22
Bushy
Yeah.
00;58;19;25 - 00;58;24;02
Bushy
I don't necessarily but in saying that how do you change it to.
00;58;24;02 - 00;58;29;13
Tappa
Yeah. Well that's and the so many more people surfing from all around the world now too. So it's not.
00;58;29;13 - 00;58;31;28
Bushy
Just I stick out by our hands. We're guilty for that.
00;58;32;00 - 00;58;33;03
Tappa
Yeah. It's Australia's fault.
00;58;33;06 - 00;58;35;15
Bushy
Yeah. We did too.
00;58;35;15 - 00;58;36;17
Tappa
Good of a job. You did too.
00;58;36;17 - 00;58;38;08
Bushy
Good of a job.
00;58;38;10 - 00;59;05;13
Bushy
I remember our first CEO, Alan Atkins. Alan actually worked well when he got convinced to take the job. There was no guarantee of wage. Yeah, for the first. And if we got the government funding in a national level, which we eventually did. But Alan worked gratis. And then as you know, we developed administration things, coaching so forth and coaching.
00;59;05;13 - 00;59;11;02
Bushy
We licensed schools all over the world, throughout Europe, all all.
00;59;11;02 - 00;59;13;20
Tappa
Sorts. That's all started from Australia. Yeah.
00;59;13;22 - 00;59;46;29
Bushy
And forget all the people who say, oh, the first fiscal, the full real organization globally started in Australia with a professional outlook on it. And it's largely, I think, to Ellen Atkins who put that in place, rod books also, they were a dynamic duo of, the AEC. Actually, I remember. When we changed our name from ISI, Australian Surf Writers Association to Surfing Australia.
00;59;47;01 - 00;59;48;00
Tappa
That was a big thing. So I.
00;59;48;00 - 00;59;48;17
Bushy
Thought it was.
00;59;48;17 - 01;00;05;27
Bushy
Massive. I actually chaired the last meeting of the ISI and it was quite well. It was quite historic for that. I mean, because we were we folded the ISI legally, constitutionally, and we became a board of directors where a chairman and. Yeah, director is.
01;00;05;28 - 01;00;06;28
Bushy
It that was a.
01;00;07;01 - 01;00;22;03
Bushy
That was a big, big, a big thing. And the name surfing Australia, the name got changed by pressure. Not good pressure in my head from a and Ted Boutrous.
01;00;22;05 - 01;00;22;15
Bushy
Ted.
01;00;22;15 - 01;00;24;14
Bushy
Used. I lived at Phillip Island.
01;00;24;17 - 01;00;29;19
Bushy
Good, good plumber. That's another story. We've all got a little background.
01;00;29;22 - 01;00;31;20
Bushy
Ted lived. Victoria.
01;00;31;23 - 01;00;32;12
Bushy
01;00;32;14 - 01;00;44;14
Bushy
I'm not mistaken. I don't think in saying Phillip Island. And his family were involved in netball, and of course it was Netball Australia.
01;00;44;14 - 01;00;45;01
Bushy
It.
01;00;45;04 - 01;00;56;27
Bushy
And like you put it and your search engine netball Australia strong top and he said we should change Surfing Australia and there was that much angst about that.
01;00;57;00 - 01;00;59;28
Tappa
Yeah I can understand. There's been so many years totally.
01;00;59;28 - 01;01;11;02
Bushy
Yeah the historic and everyone and eventually came through. But thanks to Ted and his his subtle push, push, push, that's how surfing in Australia came about.
01;01;11;05 - 01;01;15;21
Tappa
Well, as you say, to search and and if you were looking up ISI Q isi you'd be down.
01;01;15;21 - 01;01;16;02
Bushy
What a.
01;01;16;02 - 01;01;16;18
Bushy
Mouthful.
01;01;16;18 - 01;01;17;08
Bushy
Yeah.
01;01;17;10 - 01;01;19;05
Tappa
But surfing is stress surfing a shot.
01;01;19;07 - 01;01;20;15
Bushy
Bang, bang. But it's there.
01;01;20;16 - 01;01;30;07
Bushy
It's great. So yeah, there's been a lot of things change. I mean, you look back and you look at the Australian titles. They used to be the premier event.
01;01;30;07 - 01;01;31;20
Bushy
Yeah, yeah.
01;01;31;23 - 01;01;32;23
Bushy
Unfortunately they're not.
01;01;32;23 - 01;01;37;00
Bushy
So these days, which, which is a bugger.
01;01;37;03 - 01;01;41;11
Tappa
Yeah. I think there needs to be more carrots for, for them to go in it because a lot of these days.
01;01;41;12 - 01;01;41;20
Bushy
Yeah.
01;01;41;27 - 01;01;49;01
Tappa
The, the big thing is like to make the, the challenger and then the c t yeah needs to be some sort of carrot.
01;01;49;03 - 01;01;49;27
Bushy
Carrot. Yes.
01;01;50;01 - 01;01;55;13
Tappa
To make that title worthwhile for both what men and women they.
01;01;55;16 - 01;02;03;17
Bushy
I'd like to see you mentioned the challenger series, the Australian title for open Men and women, part of that challenger series.
01;02;03;17 - 01;02;05;03
Tappa
And you can do that for all countries.
01;02;05;03 - 01;02;15;14
Bushy
Yeah, I really would, a national title as part of the challenger series. Not sponsored by the WSL. Not owned by them. Yeah, owned by the the.
01;02;15;14 - 01;02;16;14
Tappa
Surfing body, the.
01;02;16;14 - 01;02;18;26
Bushy
Surfing body of that national.
01;02;18;26 - 01;02;19;20
Bushy
Yeah.
01;02;19;23 - 01;02;34;28
Bushy
Outlook or a surfing Australia, surfing France or whatever it may be. But under the auspices of ISP, I should say for the challenger series, point share. And, you've got a good point there that might work for.
01;02;34;28 - 01;02;41;20
Tappa
The kids to have it back in the day when, in surfing Queensland, when we had the, the QC you.
01;02;41;22 - 01;02;42;13
Bushy
Yes.
01;02;42;15 - 01;02;43;00
Bushy
That was.
01;02;43;07 - 01;02;47;26
Tappa
The the actual big bite was a sport in the a wild card to the.
01;02;47;26 - 01;02;48;28
Bushy
Trials. Yeah.
01;02;49;00 - 01;02;51;13
Tappa
And we used to have huge fields because everybody.
01;02;51;13 - 01;02;52;22
Bushy
Wanted everybody wanted that.
01;02;52;22 - 01;02;55;01
Tappa
Thought if Queensland champion got the spot.
01;02;55;02 - 01;02;56;13
Bushy
That's right. Yeah.
01;02;56;16 - 01;03;01;09
Bushy
It's a, it's a good thing.
01;03;01;12 - 01;03;03;14
Bushy
Look, I haven't got a magic one.
01;03;03;14 - 01;03;04;13
Bushy
Title, and,
01;03;04;15 - 01;03;08;21
Bushy
And I would have, having said that, I'd like.
01;03;08;21 - 01;03;14;13
Bushy
To have, Yes.
01;03;14;14 - 01;03;26;15
Bushy
It's it's been pretty cool to see how surfing's going. Progressed. I'm blown away with Surfing Australia that it now employs at least 50 people.
01;03;26;15 - 01;03;27;11
Bushy
Yeah.
01;03;27;14 - 01;03;30;05
Tappa
Considering it when you it was more volunteer or thing.
01;03;30;12 - 01;03;43;05
Bushy
Well, we were all volunteers. I remember when we had the ice I q my and Bush did my, my accountant Ron Rowe big man, big man. My dog hated it.
01;03;43;08 - 01;03;43;27
Bushy
Anyway.
01;03;43;29 - 01;03;55;19
Bushy
He came in and, the first thing he said, bushy, we've got to discuss putting your library right up. And I went, oh, yeah. And at then I kid, you know, it was 12, $12 an.
01;03;55;19 - 01;03;56;17
Tappa
Hour for mechanic.
01;03;56;18 - 01;04;01;19
Bushy
Mechanic. Yeah. And he said, I think you should put it to 15.
01;04;01;22 - 01;04;02;03
Bushy
Anyway.
01;04;02;04 - 01;04;09;24
Bushy
Which we did. But he said, I'd like to query you about this. Withdraw from your account into this bank account.
01;04;09;26 - 01;04;10;25
Bushy
And I went, oh yeah.
01;04;10;29 - 01;04;29;28
Bushy
And I looked and it's when we employed Steve Bogan, had the office up at, a little bar and starting to come on, had to pay superannuation and tax and all that. And I said, that's money from bushes to cover to keep going.
01;04;30;00 - 01;04;30;21
Bushy
So I actually.
01;04;30;21 - 01;04;32;17
Tappa
Put your own money. Oh, to keep.
01;04;32;20 - 01;04;42;06
Bushy
A number of his did not only from Queensland, a number of the other state branches and and no should I, I don't expect any of the staff member to do.
01;04;42;06 - 01;04;42;24
Tappa
Tonight. Yeah.
01;04;42;24 - 01;04;55;06
Bushy
Nuh And nor should I, because it's become that professional that. Yes, there's a lot of times people put hands in their own pockets to keep things going.
01;04;55;06 - 01;04;59;17
Tappa
That's pretty cool. Yeah. Well, might you end up do you end up living in Tahiti for a while?
01;04;59;18 - 01;05;18;12
Bushy
Yes, I did, I moved to Tahiti. De Mille Treize 2000, 38. Married, married pool. We got married in SA. Mary Paul was a scientist. She passed away four years ago, December last year.
01;05;18;17 - 01;05;19;00
Bushy
Yeah.
01;05;19;02 - 01;05;43;18
Bushy
Actually, a mum passed away the day before. Mark. That was heavy. I honestly believe her mum, even though I wanted marry Paul to tell him. But she didn't want to, that she was crook. And I believe her mum knew and wanted to pass before I do today. That's my opinion. Wow. Yes. Lived in Tahiti.
01;05;43;20 - 01;05;50;19
Tappa
Was that living in Tahiti? Matt? Look, I know this going to the event. Yeah. And this running the event, that's a total different to living.
01;05;50;21 - 01;05;57;04
Bushy
It's, That's a brilliant question. You might go on a holiday tomorrow.
01;05;57;11 - 01;05;57;19
Bushy
Yeah.
01;05;57;20 - 01;06;07;20
Bushy
Let's say you go to Turkey. I've got two weeks to Turkey. Around Turkey is that. I'm here for two weeks. I'm home, you know, it's a holiday.
01;06;07;25 - 01;06;08;09
Bushy
Yeah.
01;06;08;12 - 01;06;16;13
Bushy
It's a big difference. Massive, extraordinarily massive difference to arrive in a place and know, you know, coming home.
01;06;16;15 - 01;06;17;13
Bushy
Yeah.
01;06;17;16 - 01;06;23;09
Bushy
That took a lot of getting used to having said that.
01;06;23;11 - 01;06;27;17
Bushy
If you don't assimilate when you move to a country into the culture.
01;06;27;24 - 01;06;28;09
Bushy
Yeah.
01;06;28;11 - 01;06;34;01
Bushy
The food, the language, just the daily life. Yeah. You stupid.
01;06;34;07 - 01;06;34;17
Bushy
Yeah.
01;06;34;17 - 01;06;35;19
Bushy
You shouldn't be there.
01;06;35;22 - 01;06;35;29
Bushy
Yeah.
01;06;35;29 - 01;06;39;04
Bushy
And if that's your case, get out of it.
01;06;39;06 - 01;06;43;20
Tappa
How did you find that? Yeah. Adjusting to the the will. French culture.
01;06;43;20 - 01;06;49;22
Bushy
Really French culture. Yeah. Well, there's a lot of people that only still speak to Haitian in Tahiti.
01;06;49;22 - 01;06;57;19
Tappa
Oh, that's good. Yeah. That's good. I actually saw you at the back. You have to like three languages.
01;06;57;22 - 01;07;21;25
Bushy
They're very world iterations. Yeah. And I'm sorry, digress, but it is. It can be a very aggressive place from male to female to which is quite triste, in other words, said, but it's a fact of life that unfortunately, whether weather people hearing this podcast. What a debate. That is beside the point though. So I saw it firsthand.
01;07;22;02 - 01;07;31;10
Bushy
Yeah. And experienced it. But that's another story. It's funny, when people are talking in us.
01;07;31;12 - 01;07;36;22
Bushy
You think, oh, yeah, arguing with one another, but it's a tone. It's a tone.
01;07;36;22 - 01;07;39;28
Bushy
In the oral thing. And that can be telling a joke.
01;07;40;00 - 01;07;40;16
Tappa
And you think they're.
01;07;40;16 - 01;07;41;20
Bushy
Having a voice? Yeah, yeah.
01;07;41;23 - 01;07;54;16
Bushy
But it's cool that they're beautiful people in in majority cases, married people could speak better English and write better English than I could, which wouldn't be,
01;07;54;18 - 01;07;57;05
Bushy
So.
01;07;57;07 - 01;08;13;19
Bushy
And yeah, when she came home from work, we'd speak French. So it get my better, and just I really enjoyed traditional Thai food. Poi, which is like,
01;08;13;22 - 01;08;15;09
Bushy
And,
01;08;15;12 - 01;08;19;22
Bushy
Like a dessert. And you put coconut milk with it. It's just banana.
01;08;19;22 - 01;08;23;02
Bushy
Poi. All right. But.
01;08;23;07 - 01;08;26;27
Bushy
Yeah, very French culture in Tahiti.
01;08;27;00 - 01;08;28;22
Bushy
It's.
01;08;28;24 - 01;08;39;17
Bushy
You can drive around the island even if this is without stopping. If you left Papi, I and drove around without stopping. Just cruising. You'd do it in three hours. Easy. Although.
01;08;39;17 - 01;08;42;04
Bushy
How long island? How long island were there?
01;08;42;06 - 01;08;51;26
Bushy
Spend a lot of time with Maria and some other parts. We'd fly to New Zealand because it was cheaper to Florida, New Zealand and then fly up to the two motos, which is regional Tahiti.
01;08;51;29 - 01;08;53;06
Bushy
Oh, wow.
01;08;53;08 - 01;08;56;24
Bushy
And you'd spend a weekend in, in Tahiti.
01;08;56;27 - 01;08;58;14
Bushy
01;08;58;16 - 01;09;05;12
Bushy
Massive rainstorms. But they, they call lightning. The word for lightning is a clear like.
01;09;05;12 - 01;09;11;08
Bushy
Yeah chuckle the clear. Yeah. And they make some, clear the chocolate.
01;09;11;09 - 01;09;12;29
Tappa
Oh I'd be about this big.
01;09;13;00 - 01;09;14;23
Bushy
Yeah yeah yeah I know this is so good and you.
01;09;14;23 - 01;09;17;08
Bushy
Bite into one that you. Anyway, that's another story.
01;09;17;10 - 01;09;17;28
Bushy
01;09;18;00 - 01;09;44;09
Bushy
It's also funny we do marry Paul being born in Brittany, on the west coast of France. In lorry on, their region is famous for. Cripes. So we do a crape soiree or an evening at Cripes in Tahiti. And we did what you and some other people and, have 10 or 15 people have. It's really cool.
01;09;44;11 - 01;09;55;08
Bushy
And some people might live at Mahina, which is papaya. I am Mahina up maybe for 18km. They are not eight kilometers back. So and I.
01;09;55;08 - 01;09;56;14
Bushy
Go, oh.
01;09;56;16 - 01;10;00;21
Bushy
Oh, it's a long way to come.
01;10;00;23 - 01;10;02;12
Bushy
I think because it's.
01;10;02;12 - 01;10;03;25
Bushy
So small, the mentality.
01;10;03;25 - 01;10;05;00
Bushy
Is.
01;10;05;02 - 01;10;32;00
Bushy
Another time we went, sorry to jump in the day. Make way, way, The ambush. Pepino ambushes the river mouth at Pepino. Really good wave. Right. Left him right and. Hey. Right. Went for a surf one day, and we stopped at a little shop in the village of Pepino, and we set out on a bench seat outside, and I, we hadn't had a drink and just chew the fat.
01;10;32;03 - 01;10;56;29
Bushy
Just marry, pull them on. Some other friends came past the. Yeah. And we watched this station family across the road in their cut, cut, which is a four wheel drive. Yes. Big American cat cat that is getting a cat. And there's a shop two doors up. Get it back out of the car. Becca has a drive. I should say drive up to the shop.
01;10;57;02 - 01;11;06;16
Bushy
Two doors up. Get out. Go in. Put this stuff in. Got back in the car. Drive over to the shop. We're sitting outside and then drive.
01;11;06;16 - 01;11;09;22
Bushy
Back to the house across,
01;11;09;25 - 01;11;12;02
Bushy
That cement. That is a mentality thing.
01;11;12;02 - 01;11;25;12
Tappa
Well, yeah. Just everything so far away. Yeah. Now, Bush, you were talking about surfing. Right now everybody thinks chatter and I think I've seen some another right hand. What are the wives like in Tahiti. There's many, many wives.
01;11;25;12 - 01;11;30;15
Bushy
Yeah there is there's, there's a heap like I mentioned La Boucher. It's not this the fine.
01;11;30;16 - 01;11;31;24
Bushy
Like typo.
01;11;31;29 - 01;11;51;28
Bushy
This. Papa, there's so many wives. Damn passed you open around the part that you can't drive on. You got to take a boat. They are pretty sketchy as it is, but yes, there's a multitude of breaks. You go over to Mariah, there's a multitude of breaks. Mariah up around the two motos. Tiki. How it just it's extraordinary and so.
01;11;51;28 - 01;11;53;15
Tappa
And for all levels kind of thing.
01;11;53;16 - 01;11;59;15
Bushy
Oh, totally. Yeah. You go to well papa would be the.
01;11;59;17 - 01;12;00;25
Bushy
A real entry level.
01;12;01;01 - 01;12;01;09
Bushy
Yeah.
01;12;01;09 - 01;12;25;25
Bushy
It can get some good waves. It's not that like. Anyway. Oh. Most places. Instead of saying anyway Papa, I would say and it is, I can't remember the name and I say Skyping me. But you go further down the island on the east, what I call the east side, after Pepino. And there's another river mouth blast, if I can remember the name.
01;12;25;28 - 01;12;28;02
Bushy
And you drive that little bit extra and there.
01;12;28;02 - 01;12;31;06
Bushy
Is no one and there's just. This is less than one.
01;12;31;06 - 01;12;34;26
Bushy
Oh, wow. And you just park. Don't park on coconut tree. I don't.
01;12;34;27 - 01;12;35;18
Bushy
Yeah. No. Yeah, yeah.
01;12;35;18 - 01;12;38;03
Bushy
You look out before you park not I'll move the car.
01;12;38;09 - 01;12;39;29
Tappa
Yeah I hit big then you got.
01;12;40;01 - 01;12;40;29
Bushy
Yeah. Right. Yeah.
01;12;41;04 - 01;12;58;06
Bushy
Well the windscreen smashed in. Yeah. There's hate waves. Right. Like I had no trouble getting wise. Like I remember Danny saying to me, say you're going to live in Tahiti. I said, yeah. And he said, so what are you going to do? I said, Take Mary Paul to work and go surfing.
01;12;58;09 - 01;13;00;28
Bushy
That's not a bad was. It was a pretty good life.
01;13;00;28 - 01;13;28;21
Bushy
So, we ended up looking after boats. When I say boats, not super craft, boats up to 60ft in the language long, both catamaran and monohull motor vessels and people a they may be Canadians, Americans, Turkish, French and I more up in Pepe Aida. And I said, oh, we're going home for a month or two. Is I one to look after our boat?
01;13;28;23 - 01;13;30;19
Bushy
And we do that.
01;13;30;21 - 01;13;31;17
Tappa
Get paid for that.
01;13;31;17 - 01;13;45;16
Bushy
Get paid for that. And some people it's say, all we want you to do is go down and check the lines daily. And the yeah, that's not rubbing on the yeah the wharf or anything. Some people are st I want. You should not generate or run the motors. It's all different.
01;13;45;19 - 01;13;47;11
Bushy
It was easy.
01;13;47;14 - 01;13;52;04
Bushy
I loved it. It's. Yeah an ideal lifestyle. Walked a lot in tidy.
01;13;52;04 - 01;13;53;05
Bushy
Yeah. Heaps.
01;13;53;06 - 01;13;53;29
Bushy
01;13;54;01 - 01;13;56;01
Tappa
Didn't hop in your car and drive.
01;13;56;03 - 01;13;57;10
Bushy
Actually.
01;13;57;12 - 01;14;16;14
Bushy
Mary Paul could walk to work quicker than what I could drive. Wow, that's the traffic. When you mention top as a crow or even forgetting the crow flying Pepe. And, to top.
01;14;16;17 - 01;14;18;02
Bushy
01;14;18;04 - 01;14;20;19
Bushy
6872 KM.
01;14;20;19 - 01;14;22;17
Bushy
Yeah. And our.
01;14;22;17 - 01;14;27;05
Bushy
Andy Irons, bless his soul, holds the record from for the Joy.
01;14;27;09 - 01;14;31;23
Bushy
Oh, I get it, Matt. Yeah. Phil. Mac.
01;14;31;25 - 01;14;38;21
Bushy
Phil McNamara, not McNamara. McDonnell. It did very well, but Andy went and hard. And Alfa Romeo.
01;14;38;24 - 01;14;41;10
Bushy
Oh, God, I can't imagine.
01;14;41;12 - 01;14;43;14
Bushy
Bo Hamilton was right up there too.
01;14;43;14 - 01;14;46;00
Tappa
And also they used to do, like, a time trial. Yeah.
01;14;46;00 - 01;14;47;12
Bushy
Yeah, it was a time trial thing.
01;14;47;16 - 01;15;02;24
Bushy
Because we'd drive up and pick them up from the airport, and you time it, and you pass one another with stupid, dangerous flights. Right. So that is, Andy Irons,
01;15;02;26 - 01;15;04;01
Bushy
I think he.
01;15;04;04 - 01;15;16;28
Bushy
Ended up with The Tick for the record, for the distance, but back then had to take pull first year, the 99 2000 era. It's, up 50 minutes.
01;15;17;00 - 01;15;22;13
Bushy
Hey, I was a good, good drive. Yeah. Now.
01;15;22;15 - 01;15;29;03
Bushy
One day, speaking of paparazzi that I mentioned earlier at the beach beach break. Black sand. Really hot on your feet, too.
01;15;29;04 - 01;15;32;17
Bushy
Shocking.
01;15;32;20 - 01;15;37;14
Bushy
One day I'm sitting at paparazzi after I'd had a surf and I looked at and I went.
01;15;37;16 - 01;15;40;17
Bushy
How come? Where's the psyche come.
01;15;40;23 - 01;15;43;15
Bushy
That you know, I know that guy's paddling style.
01;15;43;18 - 01;15;46;24
Bushy
And I was a mate from Glendora. That hadn't stopped me.
01;15;46;27 - 01;16;03;28
Bushy
Anyway, it was Dave Kirby and he and his family. We came out and we had a yarn in Gillette Little Cafe. They had a sit down and all of that, and he said, oh, we're catching the plane in a couple of days. We're down at Taupo going to get the flight. And we said, when? What time you like da da da da da.
01;16;03;28 - 01;16;21;09
Bushy
I said, what time you'll oh, you won't make it today I sure do. Yeah. If to get to work from and a lot of people live in Tipu and viral and drive up, it'll take at least three hours to get from there to 70 guys.
01;16;21;12 - 01;16;23;06
Bushy
Three hours? Yeah, yeah. God.
01;16;23;10 - 01;16;25;01
Bushy
And I don't exaggerate.
01;16;25;03 - 01;16;31;10
Tappa
That that's that's harsh. Yeah. Especially when you have Paradise and palm trees. Yeah, yeah. And everything. And not. Not traffic.
01;16;31;10 - 01;16;33;06
Bushy
No traffic. It's quite the opposite.
01;16;33;06 - 01;16;35;02
Bushy
It's. Yeah.
01;16;35;05 - 01;17;03;06
Bushy
Anyway, Dave and his wife, kite, ended up staying with us in our apartment, and we dropped him to the door. It's, it's that sort of. Things change, and and the big thing is, like I say, I'm a quite knowledgeable in current technology, phones, etcetera, and but they have brought in I love America.
01;17;03;08 - 01;17;04;09
Bushy
01;17;04;11 - 01;17;09;08
Bushy
They'll fly over on a Thursday night or Friday and do the weekend and come back to America.
01;17;09;08 - 01;17;14;17
Bushy
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, toy. Yeah.
01;17;14;20 - 01;17;20;23
Bushy
And a lot of them have got, like, the bride's tiny.
01;17;20;26 - 01;17;22;04
Tappa
Well, they got the yank tanks.
01;17;22;07 - 01;17;24;26
Bushy
Oh, right. It's just.
01;17;24;28 - 01;17;40;05
Bushy
Righteous. And, like, you just don't comprehend it. And you can see the home is sort of like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. There are more, but outside, there's a brand new yank tank with a big satellite dish. And the biggest TV you got.
01;17;40;08 - 01;17;41;07
Bushy
01;17;41;09 - 01;17;46;16
Tappa
It's, kind of American of us might say that. Bush. You're back here. What? What are you doing there? You just just.
01;17;46;16 - 01;17;49;27
Bushy
Retired. Apparently I'm retired. You're tired? Yes.
01;17;49;27 - 01;17;52;14
Tappa
How can you ever be retired? You're always doing something.
01;17;52;14 - 01;17;57;01
Bushy
Yeah, I'm doing something. I've actually.
01;17;57;03 - 01;17;59;09
Bushy
It's pretty cool. Puttering.
01;17;59;11 - 01;17;59;28
Tappa
Puttering?
01;18;00;03 - 01;18;10;21
Bushy
Puttering. And our home was rented for the time. We all right? Yeah. And what a scandalous thing. When the left handed the keys over.
01;18;10;29 - 01;18;11;24
Bushy
Yeah.
01;18;11;26 - 01;18;22;19
Bushy
After paying rented. And they gave an appraisal price. What a disgrace. The prices are for homes here on the Gold Coast. Like, give me a break. What about your generation of kids coming through?
01;18;22;19 - 01;18;23;00
Bushy
Yeah.
01;18;23;06 - 01;18;30;24
Bushy
It's disgusting. Like, how can a home that you bought for under 300,000 be worth over a million? Three now?
01;18;30;27 - 01;18;34;24
Tappa
Yeah. And, someone gave me a price on my price in a way. I wouldn't buy it for that.
01;18;34;24 - 01;18;36;16
Bushy
But, yeah, people do it.
01;18;36;22 - 01;18;42;11
Bushy
Well, I'll talking to Ziggy before, you know. And he mentioned the apartment they've gotten. It's been 700 grand, like.
01;18;42;11 - 01;18;43;09
Bushy
Yeah.
01;18;43;11 - 01;18;48;05
Bushy
Like our first home. And Calandra cost us 37.
01;18;48;08 - 01;18;53;14
Tappa
On cost 70, 70 grand at Bill. And I thought, I'm so far away from the base.
01;18;53;14 - 01;18;54;12
Bushy
Yeah, yeah.
01;18;54;14 - 01;19;04;02
Tappa
Rachel, that's what Warren Young said to me once. Warren. You guys said all of it, no matter the world is mine. A bit further west. Only this time artery anywhere east of Nerang is based.
01;19;04;02 - 01;19;06;29
Bushy
On, it's.
01;19;07;01 - 01;19;18;27
Bushy
Yeah, that that sort of thing. Once again, we're disgracing the conversation that even I was thinking of coming back here. I stopped in Tahiti to have a look.
01;19;19;04 - 01;19;20;01
Bushy
Yeah.
01;19;20;03 - 01;19;24;11
Bushy
I thought about living a lot of lot of connection. A lot of friends.
01;19;24;11 - 01;19;24;20
Tappa
Oh, yeah.
01;19;24;20 - 01;19;25;06
Bushy
You would have a.
01;19;25;06 - 01;19;31;25
Bushy
Lot of time. A lot of really good friends in Tahiti.
01;19;31;27 - 01;19;35;02
Bushy
I've got to be blunt. Which I normally am.
01;19;35;07 - 01;19;36;11
Bushy
Yeah.
01;19;36;13 - 01;19;38;07
Bushy
I wouldn't live in Tahiti today.
01;19;38;10 - 01;19;38;28
Bushy
No.
01;19;39;00 - 01;19;42;24
Bushy
It's it's going downhill.
01;19;42;26 - 01;19;46;09
Bushy
Yeah. It's it's.
01;19;46;09 - 01;19;57;16
Bushy
Depressing that you can be at the president's or whether I have the House to the Parliament. Yeah. And 50 my days outside. There's people living in cabochons.
01;19;57;19 - 01;19;58;06
Bushy
01;19;58;08 - 01;20;31;26
Bushy
There's no, there's Social Security, but not like how fortunate we are in this country that if you haven't got work, you get you can't get money to leave. And it's. Yeah. And Tahiti, in my opinion, I went, wow, it's become dirty. I won't mention the names that a couple of other people that went over there for the event last year stayed for an extra couple of days and they stayed in Pepe, Haiti, and I caught up with them not long after I got back and I said, oh yeah, what do you think of Tahiti?
01;20;31;26 - 01;20;34;28
Bushy
You and I said that, and I said, yeah, we were glad to do.
01;20;35;01 - 01;20;39;16
Tappa
And then what's the scourge, drugs, I spy. See, I said, well, that's still a trap.
01;20;39;18 - 01;21;02;13
Bushy
No massive, massive problem. Massive problem. I mean, just recently they apprehended a boat with millions of dollars of is coming into the upper islands of the French Polynesia. Airline pilot from 1880, the big airline. They have tried to import stuff.
01;21;02;13 - 01;21;08;11
Bushy
Well, I don't his classic one. This is a simplistic thing. Yeah.
01;21;08;13 - 01;21;17;06
Bushy
As I say, Mary Paula walked to work. Yeah. She worked. Worked at the Institut Louise Melody, which is the biggest medical laboratory in French Polynesia.
01;21;17;09 - 01;21;21;15
Bushy
Scientific background. Anyway, she she.
01;21;21;15 - 01;21;44;13
Bushy
Came home one night or afternoon and she just said, you're not going to believe this. She walked down the hill and there's a big, Gorgon skull and pull me up if we run out of time. And anyway, God, guy in school anyway, two doors up from the Gagosian school. There's, like a farm guy, you know, a metal guy with mesh on it.
01;21;44;15 - 01;21;56;25
Bushy
And the sign on the gate, and I'll translate basic English. I won't say it in French. It's it basically said, please respect the hours to collect your drugs and bring the right money.
01;21;56;27 - 01;22;02;28
Bushy
Why really just on this, on the thing head, you know. Anyway. And I went down.
01;22;03;01 - 01;22;16;18
Bushy
I walked in with a and and there it is. Anyway, two days later there's a lot of pish. It's a local newspaper there. It doesn't exist in print form. It. I think it's in,
01;22;16;20 - 01;22;20;05
Bushy
Digital digital format. Yeah. Anyway.
01;22;20;07 - 01;22;27;04
Bushy
Or the other one is Tahiti. Tahiti info. It's the most current now. Anyway, a couple of days later, there's.
01;22;27;04 - 01;22;31;20
Bushy
A paper on the cloud of fish with a photo of the guy with this site.
01;22;31;22 - 01;22;38;00
Bushy
And the people that got caught said, we don't know how they knew we would.
01;22;38;03 - 01;22;44;19
Bushy
Just want out. I'm not. But yeah, the signs like this on the guy you like, respect the errors, bring the right money.
01;22;44;19 - 01;22;46;27
Tappa
Well, I hope that doesn't happen here on the go.
01;22;46;29 - 01;23;10;01
Bushy
No, I hope it doesn't. But look massive. I'll be blunt again, huge problem with Rising Tide. Yeah. And it's in-your-face here. I dare say there's a big problem here with drugs, but because tide is so insular and small, you see it. Yeah. Whereas we're quite expansive now reach.
01;23;10;03 - 01;23;12;06
Bushy
Even the Gold Coast. Yeah.
01;23;12;08 - 01;23;27;27
Bushy
There'd be a problem. But you don't see it because it's so spread out. Whereas in Tahiti you saw it in your face daily and let alone, marijuana and crops. It's just like Bora Bora. I call it the capital touristic.
01;23;27;29 - 01;23;32;24
Bushy
This much sucks ground in Bora Bora. Enjoy. Hey, look at. Well, nice.
01;23;32;25 - 01;23;33;21
Tappa
That's not too bad.
01;23;33;21 - 01;23;34;21
Bushy
That's well, true.
01;23;34;21 - 01;23;38;17
Bushy
But the importation of the ice is is big enough.
01;23;38;18 - 01;23;40;16
Tappa
Yeah, and that's cause this money to be made.
01;23;40;17 - 01;23;42;24
Bushy
Cocaine and all that sort of stuff.
01;23;42;27 - 01;23;59;11
Tappa
Oh. At least we haven't got those problems. Hey, Bushman, I got a before we finish up. There's got to be one thing. I've got to tell this story. That that, this black. He's got a memory like a steel trap. Like, I think when my dad was alive, I'd take him to, like, the, like a die down at the billabong or.
01;23;59;13 - 01;24;17;19
Tappa
Yeah. That's right. And then one year we couldn't do it. But the surfing style hall of Fame or awards were there. And so we took that down and I saw abortion, and this bloke hadn't seen my dad for at least quarter of a century, 25 years. And my dad used to take me to the camps. This is when I was 12, and I said, oh, Bush dads, have you haven't seen him for a while?
01;24;17;22 - 01;24;23;03
Tappa
Come and say goodbye. And before he came and said, guys, your dad's name's Peter, isn't it? And I've.
01;24;23;03 - 01;24;24;24
Bushy
Gone what?
01;24;24;26 - 01;24;46;14
Tappa
And and then this bloke introduced, the Surfing Australia Hall of Fame awards and gave a big shout out to dad on his birthday. And I've never seen my dad. He was so pumped up on that parade, and and I got a thank you for that night. But I still was amazed that after 25 years, you remembered my dad's first name when there was, well, how many kids you've seen?
01;24;46;14 - 01;24;48;08
Tappa
I've realized years.
01;24;48;11 - 01;24;58;10
Bushy
Like I said, at the Burley evening the other night, there were kids coming up to me going, oh, Bushido! I had no idea who they are because now they have got their own families in their 30s and 40 years. It's a beautiful.
01;24;58;10 - 01;25;09;14
Tappa
Thing. What we we've done like my my is commentating and doing stuff and you is administrating everything else. It's like when you get all that and you realize all these life you've kind of been passed.
01;25;09;14 - 01;25;10;05
Bushy
Pretty cool in it.
01;25;10;05 - 01;25;13;23
Tappa
Yeah, it is. And it's it's a really satisfying thing for me and I'm sure it is for you.
01;25;13;23 - 01;25;32;26
Bushy
Oh, totally. Yeah. I'll look back. I gotta mention this, but yeah. And after Murray Paul passed away, if it hadn't been for Paul Sergeant, I would have been in a big hole. Good man got me out of a lot of trouble. I'll just leave that.
01;25;32;29 - 01;25;33;05
Bushy
Yeah.
01;25;33;09 - 01;25;51;27
Tappa
Oh, my. It's good to see you here on the Goldie. And it's great to see you back. Even though I. I want to see you in the neighborhood dimension at the pop band. Oh, because a pop band. Oh, I think I've had the on I like I've done. I think Margaret River's the only major contest I haven't committed it, but when I got to commentate, the part was like tick tears.
01;25;51;27 - 01;25;58;09
Tappa
Another. Yeah, because that's one of the most major. But they still have enabled division and it's bloody strong.
01;25;58;09 - 01;25;59;05
Bushy
It's strong. Yeah.
01;25;59;05 - 01;26;00;29
Tappa
It's slight like wins it all the time.
01;26;01;01 - 01;26;18;18
Bushy
Not Kelly actually Gary Slater who you mention after. Well after Gary Slided, it'd be possibly David and Spence would be the two most winningest surfers in the history of the power band.
01;26;18;20 - 01;26;19;23
Tappa
And won a great contest.
01;26;19;23 - 01;26;20;14
Bushy
So yeah. Oh, yeah.
01;26;20;14 - 01;26;21;08
Bushy
It's great. So I'll.
01;26;21;12 - 01;26;28;06
Tappa
I Bush, I expect you to be entering on the in the over 60 days. You can go in the naval. It's all right, all right. And we'll get you back out there.
01;26;28;09 - 01;26;34;23
Bushy
My last win was 2003 Australian champion. That's a well.
01;26;34;26 - 01;26;35;03
Bushy
That's.
01;26;35;03 - 01;26;37;21
Tappa
Pretty bloody good. That's some spring chicken in either.
01;26;37;21 - 01;26;38;11
Bushy
Yeah that's.
01;26;38;11 - 01;26;40;20
Bushy
What now 2023 years.
01;26;40;20 - 01;26;43;09
Bushy
Ago. That's awesome I will.
01;26;43;11 - 01;26;56;07
Tappa
I'll tell you what my it has been a pleasure catching up with you. And they get you here on the great Tapper. Amazing pleasure much. All right gentlemen, all eyes. And this is one thing is black. You should do it. Every contest. We'd finish out everybody's.
01;26;56;07 - 01;26;56;26
Bushy
Hand and see.
01;26;56;27 - 01;26;57;12
Tappa
Everybody's.
01;26;57;14 - 01;26;58;21
Bushy
And say thanks to the day.
01;26;58;21 - 01;27;01;25
Tappa
Yeah it might. Well done. Thank you Bush. Love you buddy.
01;27;01;26 - 01;27;07;06
Bushy
Thanks for the day. Depot two good sun actually lives.
01;27;07;09 - 01;27;24;08
Tappa
Thanks for tuning into the green room. Hey, thanks. Would you like to get your name in the Green Room podcast? Well, we are looking for sponsors, so if you want to get a sponsorship, check it out at Pod Fire. Lots of people can hear about your product on one of the best podcasts around the green room. So, check it out.
01;27;24;08 - 01;27;42;25
Tappa
Pod fire. Thanks for tuning into the green Room. A big thank you to our guests for sharing their stories and insights and Pod Fire for bringing this podcast to life. Don't forget to subscribe, like, leave a review and share the green room with your friends. We'll catch you next time for more conversations with the Legends of Surf and beyond.
01;27;42;29 - 01;27;45;00
Tappa
Until then, catch you in the waves.