Being a surf lifesaver, also known as a "clubbie", was unpopular during Peterson's youth; but he received access to a locker and warm shower at the beach and therefore maintained his involvement over subsequent years.
The price for Peterson's lifesaving perks was a half-day commitment on surf patrol every month, with a requirement that he wear "sluggos" and monitor the safety of swimmers.
Peterson commenced surfing on "surf-o-planes" (an inflated rubber mat device invented in 1932)[4] and then graduated to a board called a "Coolite" (constructed from a form of polystyrene beaded foam and first introduced at the beginning of the 1970s).
[5] During Peterson's upbringing, his family experienced difficulty with income security and his mother worked extremely long hours in a variety of jobs (such as peeling prawns) to support the children.
As leg ropes had not yet been introduced, surfers would lose their boards relatively easily and frequently, leaving people like Peterson to collect what remained.
In September 1967, around the time of Peterson's 15th birthday, the family moved to units in Tweed St, Coolangatta, and the boys set up a board shaping bay underneath.
On the premise that surfboards would be less expensive to make than buy, the brothers sought out resin and fibreglass offcuts from local factories.
[citation needed] The shortest length that they ever constructed was 4 feet, 3 inches, for their friend, Kerry Gill, who actually found that the model suited him.
In February 1971, Australian surf filmmaker, Alby Falzon, was filming for Morning of the Earth on the Gold Coast; the time period is known for some of the most significant swell ever seen at the history of the location (12 continuous weeks in which the waves rarely measured below "head height").
The result of the February 1971 filming session was a three-minute sequence that was included in Morning of the Earth, while numerous were printed in Tracks.
Meanwhile, in Coolangatta, the police had commenced an unofficial campaign to change the standards of the beaches according to orders that they had received; this involved getting rid of marijuana and the undesirable types who were not compatible with the family-oriented image that the local chamber of commerce sought to promote.
The win enabled Peterson to compete in the Australian titles again; however, he almost didn't get there due to the under-handed actions of the "Windansea" surf club.
The meeting eventually descended into chaos and the selections were subject to a vote by the club members; Billy Grant was ultimately omitted from the competition.
In the first few rounds, under difficult surf conditions, Peterson performed poorly and his total points score left him outside the top ten positions.
The 1973 Australian titles were held at Margaret River, Western Australia, and the contestants were required to contend with big surf conditions.
Although Peterson scored highly in the early rounds, fellow Queenslander, Richard Harvey, emerged victorious and Townend was runner-up.
The fang-like flyers at the back of the board and the finger-deep channels also made it a glasser's nightmare, a role held at Peterson's factory by Peter Evans at the time.
The board was later passed to Peter Harris, a young male who worked at Peterson's factory, and was given in lieu of wages owed following the closure of the business.
In 1995, Tommy Peterson made a replica of the board and it was presented as the prize for Kelly Slater's win in Australia's Surfing Life magazine's peer poll that year.
[citation needed] Peterson was phobic regarding hypodermic needles and his preferred mode of administration for heroin was insufflation (commonly known as "snorting").
Tommy Peterson, who also experienced dependence upon the drug over numerous years, has stated a belief that his brother's fear of injections led to a greatly reduced overdose risk, due to the limited amount of heroin that can be used when employing the insufflation method.
In retrospect, the symptoms exhibited by Peterson have been identified as typical of the surfer's mental disorder; at the time, though, friends and acquaintances attributed the unusual behaviour to excessive drug use.
[citation needed] At the start of 1976, Peterson went to New Zealand for the first event in the new IPS professional world tour; although, many of his well-known fellow surfers chose to participate in Hawaii's more prestigious Duke contest.
Peterson reportedly camped at the base of Mount Warning, along with health food, to achieve a period of abstinence and detoxification.
He pulled up at Beenleigh, south of Brisbane, to sleep but was startled by a police car with its siren blaring; the occurrence set Peterson into a panic and he speedily drove away.
The car was eventually sent to the wreckers and Peterson received a year-long prison sentence, in addition to being banned from driving for life.
A poor diet, combined with the psychiatric medication (especially Clozaril), caused Peterson's weight to increase to a point where he was scarcely recognisable.
Peterson had been healthy enough in the years previous to attend several surf functions, including a contest organised by the Kirra Surfriders club in 2002, called the "MP Classic", held in his honour.
The "MP Classic" raised approximately AUS$10,000 with the proceeds distributed to various local mental health services, including those that had supported Peterson.