Denmark resident and world citizen Warren Thompson remembered as a kind and generous surfing mentor

The Denmark community is celebrating the life of shaper, surfer and mentor Warren Thompson, who died suddenly, aged 75, as the result of an accident in New Zealand last week. Born in New Zealand, Mr Thompson, a lover of the ocean, was well known in the surf community. Leaving home at 19, he travelled the world in the 1960s and 70s, visiting the surfing hotspots of California and Hawaii, where he learned the art of shaping surfboards from some of the big names in surfing history. His legacy runs deep in the surfing world, with author Tim Winton saying he loosely based the character, Sando, in his novel, Breath, on Mr Thompson. Mr Thompson’s Denmark property was used as the location for Sando’s shack in the 2017 film adaptation of the novel. A resident of Denmark for 20 years, Mr Thompson and his wife, Karen, were well respected in the community. Mr Thompson could often be found by the ocean, helping out the surf club and fixing rescue boards “basically for free”. A mentor to many young Denmark surfers, including activist Lucy Small and shaper Pat McCarthy, he will be remembered for his humility and kindness. Karen Thompson described her husband as “75 going on 25”. “Not only was he an adventurer but he was a really kind person,” she said. “Warren was a person with a huge influence on a lot of people. “He had a massive capacity to make friends and never seemed to lose any. “On Facebook, his oldest friend was 99 and his youngest was 19. “In his later years in Denmark, he made it his mission to teach girls to surf. “He really worked hard to try and promote women’s surfing.” Small said in her time surfing and learning from Thompson, she never felt like surfing was a male-dominated sport. “It’s a really difficult thing to explain the profound impact that Waz had on so many of us young surfers in Denmark,” she said. “He was such an understated person and he just offered such gentle guidance. “Now, the world I exist in is about gender equality in sports and in surfing and before I left Denmark, I didn’t realise that issue existed to the extent that it does. “Under Waz’s guidance, I always felt like being a girl in surfing is just as important.” Surfboard shaper McCarthy said he was very lucky to have Mr Thompson’s mentorship and support. “He was generous with his time, generous in his work, patient and lived his life by his own principles but never forced anything on other people,” he said. “He loved the romance of surfboard building and loved the joy a board could bring to people. “We were all incredibly lucky to have his knowledge and experience brought to our town.” The Denmark community will be holding a tribute and paddle-out for Mr Thompson at Ocean Beach on Sunday, starting at 11 am.