David “Shaka” Macgregor, 55, who lived for surfing, died in the surf on Monday, apparently of a heart attack.
Under a blanket on Kelly's Beach in Port Alfred, surrounded by rescuers, surfers and lifeguards, lay a man who encouraged hundreds of others to enter the ocean and relish in its euphoria.
David was a friend and journalist colleague at East Cape News and the Daily Dispatch.
Once a story grabbed him, he would not stop until it was done.
Authority of any kind did not sit well with him and while at ECN he rewrote the office dress code: baggies. Just baggies.
His pieces were published as page leads in many mainstream publications.
By the time he left the industry he had built a majestic three-storey home for his family from a log cabin or two bought for a few thousand rand.
It became the foundation for the incredible, repurposed, recycled, reimagined Shaka Lodge, Surf Camp and Surf School in Port Alfred.
This was a magical place, surrounded by surfboard history, sculpture, art, a skateboard pit — every part expressing his boundless enthusiasm and creativity.
He spent 15 years building the treehouse home, 8m up on stilts, one dune from the beach.
David was raised in a surfing family. His father, Stuart Macgregor, joined David and his sons Cuan, 26, and Kye, 20, on wave riding trips.
His mum, Anne Collinge, speaking from Trim, Ireland, said David was a “sweet, really clever boy” who fell in love with horses and the ocean as a five-year-old.
At 10 he would take plates of food to homeless people. By 11 he had saved enough money working at stables to buy a horse.
His essay application won him a scholarship to the nonracial independent Natal Midlands school Treverton, where he refused to ride first class on the apartheid SA Railways and travelled third class with his two coloured schoolmates.
At Pinetown Boys High he refused to wear the uniform or take part in the militarised cadet programme and was caned every Friday for this.
His ex-wife and mother of their boys, Jill, said David had such a passion for the underdog he would listen to anyone's story, and bring any stray home.
Born July 25 1968 died February 26 2024
David “Shaka” Macgregor In a stormy ocean, Shaka surfed a wave of love and kindness
Image: SUPPLIED
David “Shaka” Macgregor, 55, who lived for surfing, died in the surf on Monday, apparently of a heart attack.
Under a blanket on Kelly's Beach in Port Alfred, surrounded by rescuers, surfers and lifeguards, lay a man who encouraged hundreds of others to enter the ocean and relish in its euphoria.
David was a friend and journalist colleague at East Cape News and the Daily Dispatch.
Once a story grabbed him, he would not stop until it was done.
Authority of any kind did not sit well with him and while at ECN he rewrote the office dress code: baggies. Just baggies.
His pieces were published as page leads in many mainstream publications.
By the time he left the industry he had built a majestic three-storey home for his family from a log cabin or two bought for a few thousand rand.
It became the foundation for the incredible, repurposed, recycled, reimagined Shaka Lodge, Surf Camp and Surf School in Port Alfred.
This was a magical place, surrounded by surfboard history, sculpture, art, a skateboard pit — every part expressing his boundless enthusiasm and creativity.
He spent 15 years building the treehouse home, 8m up on stilts, one dune from the beach.
David was raised in a surfing family. His father, Stuart Macgregor, joined David and his sons Cuan, 26, and Kye, 20, on wave riding trips.
His mum, Anne Collinge, speaking from Trim, Ireland, said David was a “sweet, really clever boy” who fell in love with horses and the ocean as a five-year-old.
At 10 he would take plates of food to homeless people. By 11 he had saved enough money working at stables to buy a horse.
His essay application won him a scholarship to the nonracial independent Natal Midlands school Treverton, where he refused to ride first class on the apartheid SA Railways and travelled third class with his two coloured schoolmates.
At Pinetown Boys High he refused to wear the uniform or take part in the militarised cadet programme and was caned every Friday for this.
His ex-wife and mother of their boys, Jill, said David had such a passion for the underdog he would listen to anyone's story, and bring any stray home.
Shaka Surf School gives stretched lifeguard services a helping hand
“He could talk to kings and paupers, it didn’t matter -- as long as you had a story to tell he would listen.”
He was a great supporter of poor young black surfers in Kowie, and former WSL surf champion Greg Emslie said he trained a number of black surfers who had come through David's coaching.
Macgregor's travels, actions, words, and encounters with people have left a large impact and the social media posts are many and moving.
Legendary SA surf forecaster and journalist Steve “Spike” Pike said: “Dave was a deep thinker and intellectual, constantly questioning and debating right from wrong in a world driven mad by fake news and a lack of accountability.
“A champion of the upcycled, he was constantly on the hunt for sustainably sourced building and other materials.
"He spoke proudly of his dad, Stuart, and tried to emulate him by being a role model to his own multitalented kids. He was many things to many people, but always a trusted friend.
"He was rather good at surfing too. RIP Dave.”
Roving Reporter director and journalist Fred Kockott said: “Dave was one of those rare journalists who got out into the field to write real-stuff-of-life stories.
"Had the media industry enabled Dave to make a decent living as a journalist, he would have become as legendary a writer as he was a surfer.”
BREAKING | Legendary surf coach David Macgregor dies in Port Alfred
NSRI's spokesperson Craig Lambinon said Macgregor experienced a problem in the surf, was recovered to beach and received extensive cardiopulmonary resuscitation to no avail.
“All efforts were exhausted and sadly the man was declared deceased.”
Jill said a health setback a month ago had been diagnosed by a doctor as a panic attack.
It is rare that one writes an obituary for a friend, and I say farewell to man with whom I worked, surfed, fought and communed.
Your help, when my mother lay on her deathbed in Kowie, wiped away all froth and revealed the inner core: a wave of love and kindness.
Aloha bra.
No details were available for a memorial.
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