MP, a true a legend. How’s your cutty? Photo: Morning of the Earth
Surely it has to be best judges’ panel ever seen in surfing; Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Dingo Morrison, Steph Gilmore, Tom Curren and Mark Occhilupo. Filmmaker Simon “Shagga” Safinga has assembled, Avenger-style, these icons to judge a new social media competition called The Only One MP Classic Cutback Competition.
“It came about because we wanted to celebrate Michael Peterson, and the overlooked maneuver, the cutback that he made famous,” Shagga told The Inertia. “The idea was to get the best of the past 50 years of cutbacks, plus a whole lot of fresh footage and let those legends decide which ones are the best.”
Shagga, who grew up with Mick, Joel and Dingo at Coolangatta and has filmed their whole careers, approached Michael Peterson’s mum Joan about the idea and to get her support of the event that carries her son’s name. “I initially said what Michael would have said, ‘You’re all mad,’” laughed the 92-year-old. “But it’s a great way to remember Michael. I just hope a girl wins it.”
The one caveat is that the entries must be a forehand cutback. That, we assume, leaves room for a backhand version of the competition down the track. There are prizes for the winning surfer and the winning filmer, plus other categories like Best Guy Grom, Best Girl Grom and more. The winner will receive a freshly shaped replica of the surfboard that MP was riding when he did his famous cutback at Kirra in 1970.
The frame grab of that image was used by Alby Falzon for his seminal movie Morning of the Earth and quickly became iconic. At the time that photo and that turn was the embodiment of a new type of surfing – extremely radical, super-fast and always on edge. Fifty-four years on, it has lost none of its mastery.
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Yet with surfing’s progression, the humble cutback has lost some of its cache. It remains one of the most fundamental parts of surfing, but be it competition or free surfing, it hasn’t got the love it deserves. “Watching the footage just shows there are so many different ways to do a cutback,” said Joel Parkinson, himself a flag bearer for the classic carving turn. “When done right, it is about as pure and technical as surfing gets. And there’s plenty of scope for flair too.”
The event started in June and the deadline for the last online submission is September 24. Each week Shagga puts up a selection of the best entries. The Insta account is an epic trawl of historic footage, legends of the sport, forgotten icons, kids and unknown locals. The most recent compilation featured Terry Fitzgerald, Vetea David, Taj Burrow (with a vicious tail slide variant), Trent Munro, Ry Craike and some frothing groms.
Previous submissions have featured Taylor Knox (obviously), Margo, a 16-year-old Rasta, Laurie Towner on an Alaia, and a stunning rebound by Ben Bourgeois. Eclectic doesn’t cover it. Other highlights include archival footage of Andy and Bruce Irons and their trademark takes on the roundhouse which can’t be timestamped. Which is part of the beauty of the move, and a reason for the popularity of the competition. Like Kelly Slater, Benjamin Button, quarks and gluons, the cutback is ageless.
“It doesn’t matter what board you ride, doesn’t matter what style you have, what age or gender, if you have done a roundhouse cutback in your life and it’s been filmed, submit it,” urged Steph Gilmore, who has one of the best in the business.
Entry is a simple affair; follow @only_one_mp on Instagram and upload your forehand cutback reel to your Instagram mentioning @only_one_mp and #mpccc24. You can only submit one entry per post but are able to enter as many cutties as you want. And this being an event started on the Gold Coast, there will be an Awards Ceremony and almighty piss-up at the Balter Brewery on October 4.
