Only 17 years old, the local from Yamba, who was featured as an ‘unknown kid’, beat surfers such as Nat Young to the honour.

Over the years, numerous surfing legends have been on the covers of SW. International retro stars such as Simon Anderson, Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew, Terry Fitzgerald, Mark Richards and Nat Young featured as cover surfers.

In the late 1990s the new age surfing of Matt Hoy, Kelly Slater and Barton Lynch, and futuristic free surfers such as Craig Anderson, Dane Reynolds and Ryan Callinan also featured on the cover.

The magazine frequency has varied significantly, at times featuring as a bimestrial and monthly publication in different years.

Starring an Ozzie Wright hand illustrated Jesus riding a barrel, this represented Vaughan's new outlook on the way the publication was heading, whilst understanding its heritage and style.