Bob McTavish (born 1944) is an Australian surfboard designer and member of the surfing hall of fame. He is often credited with the invention of the V-bottom surfboard and was one of a number of pioneering surfer/shapers considered instrumental in the development of shortboard surfing.

Feb 20, 2025 · That great and garrulous character of Australian surfing, Bob McTavish, comes from the golden era of Australian surfing, when Midget Farrelly and Nat Young made Australia “the tops”, as was infamously announced by surfing journo John Witzig in 1966.

Raised in Queensland, McTavish rode his first waves on hollow plywood paddleboards at age 12. He dropped out of high school at 15 and, moving to Sydney at 17, began shaping under the wings of renowned board makers such as Joe Larkin of Larkin Surfboards and …

Bob McTavish joined Keyo in 1967 where he shaped his Vee bottoms, wide-backed nine footers - which in part kicked off the shortboard revolution. The McTavish designed ‘Keyo Plastic Machine’ vee bottom models were soon selling at the astonishing rate of 70 per week.

Despite some dispute during the last 30 years about Bob McTavish's design ideas and his surfing performance ('the Spin-out King' - 1968), in the field of Surf Philosophy his contribution has been unequaled.

Mar 19, 2010 · AT AGE 19, four years before he reshaped the sport of surfing with a handsaw, Bob McTavish had the darkest night of his life. It was 1963. On his quest to find the perfect wave and shape the perfect board, McTavish surfed all day and slept in cars.

We got some great young surfers on single fins and mid-lengths. Guys like Alex Knost – I enjoy watching his surfing very much as he is so spontaneous. But he’s riding very modern surfboards with intelligent rails and tail rockers.

Sep 27, 2023 · When it comes to the Shortboard Revolution, Australian shaping legend Bob McTavish has had a heavy hand in it all. Last week, I published a piece with countryman and fellow icon Nat Young discussing the genius of George Greenough .

While today Bob McTavish is considered one of the most influential figures in surfing history, at the time he was just a young surfer and shaper living on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

Aug 15, 2018 · The Wisdom of Bob McTavish The shortboard revolution pioneer from Byron Bay, Australia shares the lessons he learned throughout his surfing life in the latest “Wisdom.” Matthew B. Shaw August 15, 2018