Wayne Lynch, Kelly Slater and Michael Peterson, 1999 ASL ball

Yesterday, the surfing world lost its original rockstar, Michael Peterson, following a heart attack at age 59. MP set standards in competitive surfing every time he hit the water and was respected by all who knew him. Especially by world champ Kelly Slater.

“Here’s a beautiful image that I took of Wayne Lynch, Kelly Slater and MP in 1999 at the ASL ball,” says Steve Sherman. “Kelly came over to me and asked me if I could do him a favour and shoot this shot.” The result is a snapshot of surfing generations that couldn’t be further apart from one another, but dripping in mutual respect.

Sherm is one of many who’ll miss MP: “I was a big MP fan, so this image means the world to me, especially now,” he says. “Kelly and I were supposed to go over to MP’s house with (MP’s sis) Dot while we were on the Goldy, but it never worked out.”

“I felt like we had a special friendship,” Kelly said yesterday. “I was nervous to meet him and I’ll be recounting my memories of him and looking up old photos I got to take with him.”