Shaun Brooks 1975 - 2012 By his father, Rod Brooks
Shaun was raised in Jan Juc among the Ironbark trees and Wattle scrub on a 10 acre
bush block on Bells Boulevard. We owned a surf product manufacturing company, Piping Hot, at that time. HQ was in Boston Road, Torquay, opposite the old primary school.
Shaun went to school across the road from our factory with his younger brother, Troy, and sister, Alana.
Photo: Shaun with one of his Piping Hot brightly coloured wetsuits.
He started surfing at an early age with me at Torquay Point in a bright custom made wetsuit. Shaun’s first competition results came in a local junior event run by Peter Wilson (Damian's father) and sponsored by Apex and the Torquay Rotary Club.
Photo: That first APEX contest, held at Rincon, Bells Beach. From Left to Right: Carlo Lowdon, Shaun Brooks, John Robertson and Milan Thompson.
Also in those events were Nathan Edwards, Carlo Lowdon, Mark Rayner. Johnny Robbo, Milan Thompson and lots of other locals. Shaun told me that Damian Wilson was his biggest influence in his early surfing days.
In 1985, Torquay Primary school won the Victorian Schools Team Surfing Championships, still until now the only primary school to ever do so. Shaun (10yr) was in that team, with Nathan Edwards (12), Susan Ashley (11) and John Robertson (10). From there, Shaun and Nathan were selected for the National Titles in WA and many years of national competition before turning Pro-Am Juniors.
It was in the international Pro Jnr events in Hawaii and Europe where Shaun had his most success, winning the Lacanau Pro Jnr, and the Capbreton event to take out the ISA Pro Jnr World Title in 1993.
After returning home from the international surfing tour, Shaun developed a love for bigger wave surfing along the Victorian South West Coast. He would drive south every time the swell came up, sleeping in his car and being in the best place for the storm swells.
By this time he was being helped by Greg Brown at Gash Surfboards with semi-experimental long narrow pintail surfboards that could handle powerful Victorian swells.
Photo: Shaun and Brownie about to paddle out at Two Mile.
He developed a skill on these boards that allowed him to manoeuvre on the face of these bigger waves in a way that was outstanding for that time. His performance on these boards, his go for it attitude in and out of the water, and a big cheeky smile is what most surfers like to remember.
Unfortunately along the way, Shaun was suffering from the most serious mental health condition. It started out slow, and his unusual behaviour confused everybody he knew.
Because he was so ‘go for it’ anyway, his condition went undiagnosed for many years and only got worse with time and the wrong diagnosis and medication. Eventually after 8 years, his condition was correctly diagnosed as Paranoid Schizophrenia by the 80 year old head of mental health in North Sydney where we had recently moved in 2002.
Shaun lived at home with us for the next 10 years. He was quite withdrawn, due to being on strong medication. In 2007 we moved to the Gold Coast where Shaun continued to try to manage his mental health conditions. Eventually in January 2012, he tragically took his own life.
The impact of Shaun’s loss on our family, and all of his friends, felt like a shockwave. We searched for answers, and in time received detailed reports from the Queensland Coroners Court. As a result of the analysis of factors leading to Shaun’s last moments, and identification of risk management around his mental health history, the Coroner recommended improvements to Procedure for discharge from hospital, Risk Management and Discharge Planning and Discharge Planning Documentation. All recommendations were endorsed by Gold Coast Hospital and Health Services. Improvements are constantly being made to mental health management, and it's a big subject with many different types of conditions.
We are very proud of the 50 Year Storm event. It has come about due to Shaun’s mates wanting to pay tribute to him and create conversations about mental health issues. Shaun flourished in big waves, and whilst the idea was originally to run a big wave contest in his honour, it has grown into an event that aims to bring the community together, generate conversations, create awareness and break down the stigma behind mental health wellbeing. Our family has experienced the worst possible outcome in losing Shaun. If one conversation or referral to a health professional can help someone in need, it may be lifesaving, because you never know who’s facing their own ‘50 year storm’.
If you need help with your mental health, please reach out and talk to a mate. Let someone know you’re not coping very well, and talk to your GP or a health professional to get the right help. If you are a parent of a child that you think has mental health issues, there are great resources online at headspace to get the conversation started and guide you to professionals that will help.
If you’re thinking about harming yourself or ending your life, contact Lifeline, call 131114 24/7.
