Wayne "Rabbit" Bartholomew (born; 30 November 1954) is an Australian world champion surfer, surf sports innovator, community advocate and politician. Bartholomew is the former CEO and president of the Association of Surfing Professionals and the creator of the Dream Tour format of professional competition surfing.
Surfing career
Early years
Wayne Bartholomew was born 30 November 1954 in the New South Wales township of Murwillumbah to father Donald 'Bart' Bartholomew (dec.) and mother Betty Bartholomew. He grew up in Coolangatta, Queensland, alongside his four sisters Wendy (dec.), Cindy, Heidi, Louise, and two half-sisters Tanya, and Leah. He attended Miami State High School throughout his upbringing.
Bartholomew began surfing at age 13, during the Australian summer of 1967-1968, at his home-town beach Rainbow Bay on the Gold Coast, and the Bay's popular surf break, Snapper Rocks.
His first surfboard was a gift from local surfing brothers Wayne and Robye Deane who had heard of the young Bartholomew and his interest in surfing through their parents' friendship with the Bartholomew family, with both families involved in the local Lions Club. The board was a cut down nine foot six inch 'Ron' longboard that had been reshaped by the Deane brothers who were aspiring carpenters at the time, and re-glassed for $20 at a local factory to produce a new seven foot long board. Once complete, the brothers gave the re-designed board to Bartholomew.
Wayne has often credited his mother for supporting his surfing interests at a time when surfing was considered an outsider's pursuit and surfing's image was controversial.
Early on, Wayne showed a natural talent for surfing which became his daily activity of choice during his later school years, along with any competitive pursuit he could partake in including soccer. Whilst it is often reported that he was given the nickname 'Rabbit' when he was young because of his speed as a soccer player, and his prominent front teeth, it was actually due to his demonstrated hopping style he adopted when famously attempting to play two pinball machines simultaneously at Gill's Cafe, a favourite beachside haunt in his youth years.
As a teenager, Wayne would often surf before, after and occasionally during school hours, perfecting his wave knowledge and tube riding skills on the famed Coolangatta point breaks of Kirra, Greenmount and Snapper Rocks.
Wayne once recounted of his youth surfing days living next to the beachfront at Kirra, "It was a magical existence. We lived in this little cottage 50 metres from the sea. At night my heart would beat to the rhythm of the tide. And in the morning I'd simply climb out of the window and walk into the surf."
Professional competition
Wayne began surfing at a competition level as a junior in the early 1970s, where he quickly made a name for himself as a fierce competitor and stylish proponent.
His first major title came when he was crowned the Australian School Boy Champion in 1972. He would go on to win multiple Queensland Men's Open titles as a semi professional surfing competitor over the next few years.
In 1977, Wayne turned full-time professional and finished second behind South African surfer Shaun Tomson in his rookie year. In that same year, he contested the first Stubbies Surf Classic at Burleigh Heads, regarded as the first man-on-man style surfing event ever contested, but was eliminated from the contest by Michael Peterson in the semi-finals.
Returning to compete in 1978, Wayne dominated the competition on the world tour and secured his first World Surfing Champion title.
Spanning a decade, Bartholomew competed on the world professional surfing tour until 1987, ranking in the top five surfers for seven consecutive years. In his professional surfing years, he was widely considered one of the greatest surfers of the period — famed for his bold attitude, flamboyant style, fearless competitive drive and tactical insight.
Post world surfing tour
In 1985 Wayne founded the Wayne Bartholomew Academy of Surfing, a pioneering surfing school and frontrunner to today's popular surfing school global movement. The Academy operated until 1992 with Wayne personally providing expert instruction, training and advice to many children and aspiring surfers in Australia.