Surfer and uShaka team up

BARBARA COLE

WHEN Shaun Tomson, Durban’s legendary international surfer, met Shawn Thompson, the chief operating officer of uShaka Marine World, they realised that they shared more than the same name.

They had been invited along to the recent annual SA Surfing Awards and discovered they had a common passion for the ocean and the creatures in it.

Now, the US-based Tomson has agreed to become the international roving ambassador for uShaka Marine World.

“I am absolutely thrilled. This is so closely aligned to what I do,” said Tomson, who is also an ambassador for the Surfrider Foundation, the world’s largest environmental group dedicated to protecting the globe’s ocean, waves and beaches.

When uShaka’s Thompson learnt that Tomson was publishing a children’s book about his adventures with the ocean’s inhabitants, he promptly offered uShaka’s Kids World attraction for the launch.

“There is no other place like Kids World in the country and it will be the perfect place for the launch,” Thompson said.

Tomson’s fun and educational book, Krazy Kreatures, contains 26 rhymes that he has written about the fascinating creatures that he has encountered under his surfboard.

It will be launched on Saturday, when Tomson will give a multi-media presentation and read his entertaining rhymes.

“Kids love it,” he said, explaining that he had already given presentations about the contents at the famous Smithsonian Institute in America, but that it had never been produced in book form before.

He has teamed up with fellow surfer Trevor Paul, a Durban-based graphic designer and illustrator. The book has also been published by a Pinetown company, making it a truly Durban publication.

Tomson, 55, will also be taking his wife Carla along to the launch as well their two-year-old adopted son, Luke.

He visited uShaka for the first time last week and said it was “wonderful and beyond belief”.

Tomson, who won six successive Gunston 500 titles (it is now called the Mr Price Pro), is also the author of the best-selling motivational book Surfer’s Code – 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life and also the producer of the award-winning documentary Bustin’ Down the Door.

He is a sought-after motivational speaker and gives talks to big corporations such as Disney and Google.

Five years ago, his 15-year-old son Matthew died after playing the “choking game.”

Tomson, who is back in South Africa with his family on an extended visit, gave a talk about his path to healing in Johannesburg earlier this month and 700 people turned up.

His Surfer’s Code book has also been recently updated to include their journey and how the tragedy made them stronger and more loving.

The arrival of little Luke – whose original birth date was September 25, the same as Matthew’s birthday – was a miracle, he said.

Asked if he had any advice for the families of the 13 people who were killed in last week’s double aircraft crash, he said: “The only thing people can say when others experience a loss is to tell them how sorry you are and to pray for them.

“The whole process of grieving takes several years… It is a big moment when you can accept the finality of it… when you say you are going to live in the world of what is and not what if.

“I have had success in my competitive life and also tragedy in my personal life and I have also had happiness. But I have always paddled out to catch that next wave.”

l Tomson will be at the book launch on Saturday from 10-11am, from 12-1pm and from 2-3pm.