[5] He also became an early surfboard shaper in California, working for the likes of Dale Velzy,[5] Reynolds Yater, and Tom Morey.
After his first visit to Australia in 1959, Cooper began working with Barry Bennett[5] and Gordon Woods, where he introduced Californian manufacturing techniques.
Around 1963.,[5] he moved to Queensland where he worked with Bob McTavish, Russell Hughes and Algie Grud at the Hayden Kenny[3] factory on the Sunshine Coast.
Cooper was the first in the surfing industry to promote Indigenous Australian surfers,[5] featuring a few in advertising campaigns of the late 1970s.
[citation needed] Cooper was a life-long and sixth-generation member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with his faith being central to his life and teachings.