![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/IMG_9767_80869-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The couple would eventually marry and have three children \u2013 Leigh, Corey and Liza.<\/p>\n
Graham teamed up with Doug Warbrick and Brian singer and became the manager of Rip Curl\u2019s surfboard factory, glassing shapes for the likes of Wayne Lynch, Doug Rogers and Maurice Cole, among many other big names of the sport.<\/p>\n
He later went out on his own with Moonlight Laminating.<\/p>\n
In the book\u00a0Deep Water,\u00a0<\/i>author Brendan McAloon wrote that at its peak, Moonlight Laminating was producing more than 1,000 boards a year.
\n\u201cRussell has spent the best part of 50 years inhaling resin fumes and consequently he\u2019s a bit of an eccentric,\u201d McAloon wrote of the revered shaper in the book.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen photos of him trimming across the face of six-foot waves at Bells Beach bolt upright in the sirsa-ashana pose, more commonly referred to as a headstand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese days he\u2019s taken to wearing a floppy black beret, giving him the appearance of a French intellectual, with his long grey hair tied back in a ponytail and delicately trimmed moustache and goatee.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/IMG_9765_77071.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
McAloon wrote that Graham had more recently spent his time on old-school restorations \u201crather than churning out bleached white shortboards\u201d.
\nOutside of surfing, Graham was a keen car enthusiast who won multiple Victorian Hill Climb championship titles.<\/p>\n
When it comes to shaping, his son Corey is proudly continuing the family tradition hand shaping and designing boards under the business name of Corey Graham Shapes which is located in Torquay.<\/p>\n
In a heartfelt social media post on March 17, Corey said there were no images words he could conjure up to do justice to the man he called Dad.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m privileged to be your son. I\u2019ve built my life off the knowledge you have imparted on me. Thank you; just isn\u2019t a big enough word sometimes. Rest up now Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Facebook post by the Australian National Surfing Museum recalled Graham as being \u201cbeautiful, funny, charismatic bloke\u201d with a quirky nature and \u201cimpish sense of fun\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLong before collecting surfboards became a thing Russ had an extensive collection of vintage boards, he loved them, and would shove them in the rafters of the factory or stash them at home, realising that each was a piece of the surfing puzzle,\u201d the post said.<\/p>\n It also acknowledged the significant contribution Graham made the formation of the museum.<\/p>\n \u201cHe built many of the permanent display elements when the museum was being set up. Stumped up his own cash to help see the museum become a reality, and produced every tribute surfboard in the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame, such a great legacy just within the four walls here.\u201d<\/p>\n Surfing Victoria also posted a tribute on social media to Graham.<\/p>\n \u201cAn icon of Victorian surfing, Russ was a mentor for many of the surfboard shapers on the Surf Coast for five decades,\u201d the post said.<\/p>\n \u201cSurfing Victoria sends our love and condolences to his family and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Legendary shaper and Torquay surfer Russell Graham has been remembered as an icon of the surfing industry following his death last month. Tributes have rolled in for Graham, affectionately known as \u2018Rusty\u2019, who was farewelled at a memorial service and paddle out held at Cosy Corner on Monday, April 4. It was in the early […]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/IMG_9764_50957-1.jpg\")