"Shano" has spent his life at the forefront of surf culture and today (January 26) he is being recognised for his service to the surfing industry with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM).
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Owner, designer and manufacturer of world-renowned Shane Surfboards since the 1960s, Anthony "Shano" Stedman, who calls Crescent Head home, is 'honoured' to receive the medal.
"It's a great honour to be recognised for my contribution to the surf industry," he said.
However, he remains humbled by his younger brother previously receiving an OAM for fostering 74 children.
"Basically, I think [David] deserves his more than I do," said Mr Stedman.
"He got his hard work, mine's all just been for fun."
Mr Stedman plans to put his medal on display, saying he is proud of his life's work and everything he's done for surfing.
Shane Surfboards was the biggest board manufacturer in the Southern Hemisphere from the late 1960s for "at least a decade", says Mr Stedman, and while he holds fond memories and is extremely proud of this feat, all those years of sanding boards without a mask has a price to pay.
Mr Stedman has spent the last month in and out of Kempsey District Hospital.
"The doctors say I have enough fibreglass in my lungs to make two boards," he said.
"It's because of the surf industry I'm getting the gong, but it's because of the surf industry that I've spent the last month in hospital."
Mr Stedman will celebrate his 83rd birthday in April (2024), but says his diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) will eventually kill him.
"Dying is a part of living," he says.
In the meantime, Mr Stedman is staying positive, coming up with his own acronym for COPD.
"We've changed it to (the) Considerate Optimistic Positive Dependable (Disease)," he said.
With acronyms on the mind, Mr Stedman says he is thrilled to be able to put OAM after his name, but made sure to note he already has three letters.
"OBE, it stands for Over Bloody Eighty."
