Gallery: Red Bull Sessions Dazzle for Lost Shore

All images by Alex Jeynes.

Some of the UK’s top surfers made their way to Lost Shore over the weekend, to dial in their autumn after a long, desolate summer of tiny waves and extreme heat.

The Red Bull Sessions, hosted by Ben Larg and Andrew Cotton, were held, given anyone the chance for a bit of a tune up before the September swells get cooking. Cotty and Ben were on hand to give feedback and generally chat over all things surfing too.

Did you think you’d see a soft top nose ride? No?

“It was such a good atmosphere,” said Ben. “Cotty and I are normally together when there are some pretty serious waves around, so it was nice to have a session where the focus was just on having fun, sharing waves and helping people push their surfing.

“When the Atlantic really gets going everything becomes a lot more serious for us, so this was a great way to get in the water together before that starts. To be able to do it here in Scotland and see everyone feeding off each other made it even better. There’s so much passion for surfing in Scotland. Hopefully nights like this get more people excited about surfing and show what’s possible.”

Ben Larg is a Lost Shore ambassador, big wave surfer, Nazare staple; frequenter of a turns to barrels setting.

In case you didn’t know, Ben and Cotty are teammates when Nazare goes into Hulk mode, placing third in the Big wave Challenge last year. Also, one of the first times Ben put himself on the Nazare circuit was when he had to lie to his dad about where he was surfing, getting after Portugal’s insane wave from an early age.

“There’s always that point towards the end of summer when you start thinking about what the Atlantic is going to do and what the season ahead might bring. Before all of that kicks off, this was just a really fun way to get in the water with Ben and lots of other surfers,” said Cotty, who has just recovered from shoulder surgery.

How’s the little layback, drop wallet hack on the left?

“What I love about Lost Shore is the amount of surfing you can get done. You know the waves are coming, so you can try something, make an adjustment and go again. For anyone who wants to progress, that repetition is so valuable.

“Ben and I have shared some pretty intense experiences in the water. He’s still incredibly young and has so much ahead of him. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does when the big-wave season gets going again.”

Malakai Hagley, following a season in Ireland that saw him shatter a whole bunch of expectations.

Lee Wood, Managing Director of Lost Shore Surf Resort, said: “This is exactly the kind of event we want to see at Lost Shore. You’ve got Ben and Cotty, two surfers who are comfortable taking on some of the biggest waves in the world, sharing the same line-up with people who simply want to progress and get more out of their surfing.

“One of the great things about having consistent waves is that you can try something, learn from it and go again. When you combine that with having surfers of Ben and Cotty’s experience in the water, it creates a pretty special environment for progression.

“Scotland already has an incredible surf culture and our ambition has never been to replace what happens in the ocean, it’s to add to it. We want Lost Shore to be a place where the surf community comes together, where people can progress and where some of the best surfers in the world want to come and surf. Red Bull Sessions captured that perfectly.”