Peterson Surf Shop
In September 1974 Peterson started his Michael Peterson Surfboards business, with a factory in Currumbin next to the Burford Blanks factory, and a shop in Musgrave St, Kirra, right opposite the Kirra beach. His name by then was so big it seemed a sure winner. A caption in the Brisbane Courier Mail wondered if he could be "Australia's first millionaire surfer".
He had a rather inflated idea of his own business acumen, but did have the sense not to try to go it alone, he brought in Peter Hallas as a partner. Hallas was a fellow Kirra surfer and had worked alongside Peterson at Hohensee's factory. They had a total of seven staff and would sell boards up and down the coast, often delivered by Peterson himself in his panel van.
Orders for boards soon flooded in, more than they could fill. The boards they supplied were actually more designed for Peterson's level of skill than the average surfer, but the "MP" label certainly made them sell. The problem was that Peterson wasn't very business minded and would too often sell stock out the back door or treat the business like a personal bank when it was going well.
Eventually Hallas despaired and by mutual agreement let himself be bought out by Peterson's mother Joan for just $1000. If run well the business should have been a gold mine, but he thought getting out was the smartest thing to do, and he remained friends with Peterson. Joan took charge, but couldn't much improve the overall operation. She ended up walking away in 1977 when Peterson brought in a girlfriend who Joan strongly disapproved of, and shortly after that the business folded.
Read more about this topic: Michael Peterson (surfer)
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