Inductee Bio
Sam Egan.
I was born in Newcastle, east coast of Australia. I lived in Merewether two blocks away from bar beach.
In 1956 I joined cooks hill surf lifesaving club at bar beach as a cadet (under 16).
In 1957 I made a 16ft. Plywood on frame paddleboard to paddle in local club races.
I finished school and started an apprenticeship as a carpenter and joiner at Andrew Cook & Sons, a local joinery shop. Timber is my thing, along with surfing.
1958 I made 10ft 6" plywood on fram Malibu which I rode for about a year until balsa became available to me in Australia.
I bought a Bill Wallace balsa board and later a Barry Bennett with cedar rails.
I found a place in Victoria to buy balsa and made a few 9ft boards for myself and a few friends.
By, now 1960 foam hit the scene. So I bought a Barry Bennett 9ft 6 and later a Scott Dillon.
I began selling Scott's boards at my parents' house and began repairing boards to learn about fibre glassing.
Later, I made my first foam board and a few for friends.
In 1962 I finished my apprenticeship and started making boards full time, in a rented shed in a Lambton, a Newcastle suburb.
I opened a shop in Merewether beach with some friends and sold Scotties boards along with Sam surfboards.
I married my wife, Marg and we have two children, Nicole and Luke.
We then opened another shop at Bar Beach and later another in Hunter Street Newcastle in partnership with Barry Bennett.
Barry was very good to me and invited me to join him in a trade show in japan and show my boards and this led to export to japan.
Our son Luke became an outstanding surfer and later surfed on the international tour. He attracted customers from local and international surfers, including some of the best surfers in the world.
The factory was going well, and we were making 50 boards per week, but I contracted an incurable blood disorder and we decided to sell our business, to leave the chemicals and fumes of board making.
Later, I became a shaper only and worked for a number of factories, hand shaping 50 boards per week, shaping locally and internationally.
In 2000 shaping machines became popular in Australia, and I lost my job overnight, but later found enough surfers still wanted a hand shaped product.
Over the years I have shaped for many talented surfers and worked with the best board makers in the world.
Some of the labels I worked for include - aloha, channel islands, Simon Anderson, insight. Greg weber, Nirvana, Gordon and Smith, Gordon Woods, Barry Bennett, Scott Dillon, Dahlberg, Dhd, Js, Sld, Morris Cole and a lot more.
I now still hand shape my own label and make wooden surfboards and some fine furniture in my shed underneath my house overlooking beautiful lake Macquarie.
By Sam Egan
|
| For the complete biography, go to: |
