Retire first, pay later
SURF industry pioneer Bob McTavish said he saw his dad slaving away for 21 years at the Commonwealth Bank being overlooked for promotion before packing up and taking the family to Darwin.
The 12-year-old Bob said to himself, "Right, there's something wrong with the way this system functions. To me, the whole thing of school, career, wife, kids, mortgage, finally pay off your mortgage when you're 65 and then have a brief retirement then drop dead, is a very suspicious way of living."
After seeing how "the system" had absorbed the energies of his hard-working father, Bob chose to "take retirement first, and pay the price later".
He decided to focus his energy on surfing and established a sometimes bumpy career to become a master craftsman of surfboards and the company he founded in 1962 is still going. He's one of a rare bunch of long-term surfboard riders who have managed to eke out a living, while successfully following his true passion.
A Jehovah's Witness who has studied the Bible and survived the counter-culture movements of the 1960s and 1970s, Bob McTavish will tell his incredible story to respected ABC journalist Mick O'Regan in the second inside story discussion at the Bangalow Historical Society Tearooms next Tuesday, May 29, from 6.30pm.
For bookings, phone 6687 2183.
