“I want to be so dominant in a heat, that the only outcome is I win.” Alys Barton is one of the UK’s best surfers at the moment. A fierce competitor, with tack sharp performance surfing, a true athlete mentality which revolves around, surf, train, surf, sleep, repeat. There is no off switch. There is just do.
But out of the water, Alys hides a quiet humbleness, forged from a surfing career of mostly ups with a smattering of downs. Which is a lot, considering Alys is just getting started at 21 years-old. There’s a steeliness that feels right at home with her Welsh warmness, as she describes herself as a self-professed chatterbox. That competitive edge is always present though, likely coming from a dream to perform on the highest surf stage in the world.
Earlier this summer, Alys’ Rip Curl contract came to an end. After three years under the brand, one of the UK’s best surfing talents is now a free agent – and while Alys remains graceful about the decision, think the rest of the surfing world let out a collective ‘WTF Rip Curl.’
“I want to be really clear,” she said, when we meet in Newquay, over the chaotic Boardmasters week in town. “It was a lovely run to be part of that team. It’s just a situation that happened and you’ve got to take the positives and go forward from it. I didn’t leave Rip Curl, not being sponsored by them any more was out of my control.”
Alys, earlier this year at the ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador. Photo: Sean Evans.
It’s an interesting look at the mechanics of surf brands. On the one hand, balancing books is what pays the bills, but on the other, and especially in Alys’ case – this is a surfer dedicated to the cause, producing results, a talent while maintaining a decent social following (yeah, yeah, but you need this nowadays for brands to take notice). “I thought everything was going well,” she said. “But now I’m in this season, all by myself. I’m still here, still dedicated and still want to dominate.
“Now, I want to work with people who look at me, and my surfing and say, ‘yeah I want to work with you for the next five, 10 years and we build something together.’”
That shouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. Right now, Alys is focussing on further upping her competitive game, in a bid to make the LA Olympics in 2028. “Yeah. I think I could 100% make it to that,” she said. “It feels like there is lots of opportunity with GB Surfing. In this sort of world perspective, people look at the Olympics and it’s got a respectable name to it. So, making the Olympics is huge and that is definitely a goal of mine for the LA games.”
If you’re thinking what’s the likelihood of that for Team GB, let’s look at some other factors here. Alys has competed and won heats against the like of Yolanda Hopkins , Erin Brooks and Janire Gonzalez Etxabarri. So it is not the fact the talent level isn’t there from a GB perspective. It’s more harnessing and focussing and supporting that talent to make sure they’re a their best.
Any other Olympic team on the planet has this resource available. And Team GB is making a few changes to better facilitate this on a wider scale – more on this soon.
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“I think no one really sees how many round of 16, round of 32, quarterfinals you have to make before you get to the top stages,” said Alys. “And it’s funny, because I actually think the Challenger Series, on an overall perspective is easier than the regional European QS. If you look at it on a whole, the level is different. The European girls can surf very, very well. And the Challenger, there’s a much bigger gap between certain regions. And then sometimes, it’s not even about the surfer. It’s about the conditions that you have to battle with.”
A former self-professed ‘music kid’, Alys grew up playing the clarinet, before moving over to surfing at 12-years-old. “You don’t realise what could come of anything at that time. And then I just found the competitive bug and it unlocked something in me. Made me want to win and take out heats and everything.
“To persevere through everything surfing throws at you, takes some sort of mental resilience that’s unheard of for example, I’m trying to build myself to go out and like win these situations. Or even if the result, or the waves, don’t come, you can see the dominance in my presence and the athlete that I am and how I’m surfing. I just want it to be exciting. I want people to see that, I’ve come from someone who’s learnt to surf just like everyone else.”
As for the mental gymnastics, Alys notes: “There’s times where you’re really, really great and you’re winning and there’s times where you’re really, really losing you’re going like, ‘am I actually good enough to do this, am I wasting my time here?’ And it’s difficult, because the contests are so short. There’s no second chance. You’ve got 20 minutes to just go, “This is who I am, and I’m going to dominate this situation in 20 minutes.’
Committed. Alys, El Sal, all in.
The pressures of social media on rising surf talent also take their toll: “You scroll through your phone, going, ‘oh, she’s doing that.’ It’s a nightmare. It just it makes you feel small. If I can go out there and I can surf confidently, accurately, and how I want to win the heat, I’m happy.”
Down-time? Out of the question. “I am really bad at resting a lot. I like to get up and train, surf at least once and just get in there. And even if it’s a short surf, just to work on something.Because there’s always something to work on.
“For me, there’s nothing that compares to the feeling of winning contests and making finals it’s honestly one of the best experiences in the world. My journey started with the UK Pro Surf Tour, where I first got a taste of competitive surfing. From there, I went on to win every GromSearch title, and that momentum has brought me to where I am now: making multiple QS WSL finals and chasing my next big goals qualifying for the Challenger Series next year and representing my country at the 2027 Olympic Games in LA.”
While Alys’ sponsorship future is now up for grabs, her competitive edge and streak is in no question. “I’m going to do this. And I’m going to do it for me, work with great supporters and hopefully sponsors, and take British surfing to the next level.”
Not a bad goal, that.
