Tributes are flowing for surfing icon and former Australian champion Rick Neilsen, who has died aged 74.
Neilsen was born on the Gold Coast in 1948 and went on, with his brothers, to form the Brothers Neilsen surf brand in 1971.
He died yesterday after a battle with stomach cancer.
Gold Coast World Surfing Reserve chairman Andrew McKinnon said Neilsen would be remembered as a legend in and out of the surf.
"He was one of the nice guys of surfing, he didn't really have an ego," Mr McKinnon said.
"People really loved being around Rick, he oozed charisma and he embraced that special 'aloha Hawaiian spirit'."
Neilsen won the 1970 Noosa Open and travelled to some of the world's most famous surf breaks.
In his highest ranked international performance he made the semi finals at the 1971 Smirnoff Pro on Hawaii's O'ahu north shore.
"He was a tall lanky guy, 6'2" with long arms and long legs so he could paddle into huge waves," Mr McKinnon said.
"He often said the pinnacle of his career was surfing 18 feet waves at Sunset Beach."
Brickie boardrider becomes shaper
Mr McKinnon said Neilsen's smile would likely live on in the memories of those who met him.
"He had a beautiful smile that would light up the room or launch a thousand Hawaiian outriggers," he said.
Fellow surfer and Burleigh Boardriders member, Mal Chalmers, said Neilsen's personality won him friends around the world.
"He loved a party and in the late 60s, early 70s they were well-known for being party people and social," Mr Chalmers said.
"All the surfers would come up from down south and even overseas."
Mr Chalmers said Neilsen worked hard at his day job which then made it easy for him to transition from boardrider to board shaper.
"He was a bricklayer by trade and he quickly adapted that to be able to learn how to shape surfboards," he said.
"He had a good eye, the creativity and could test the boards himself … he will be well remembered for his contribution to the development of the modern surfboard."
A huge legacy
Mr Chalmers said Neilsen would be missed as a surfer and a friend to many.
"I always had had a soft spot for Rick," he said.
"I used to love being out there surfing with him and he used to encourage me."
Mr McKinnon said Neilsen and his brother had left a huge legacy on the surfing world, particularly on the Gold Coast.
"It's always going to be a great memory for me, pulling up at Burleigh headland and watching Rick and Paul go out there and get barrelled at Burleigh."
