Andrew Cotton’s on board to deliver a key note chat at the UK Surf & Skate Expo on September 12th-14th in Newquay. Ahead of that, we caught up with the UK’s most famous big wave surfer to have a little peek behind the curtain about what he’s going to talk about. Here’s all he let loose. Cover shot of Cotty at Cortes Bank, by Pedo Bala / Red Bull Content Pool
Andrew Cotton:
“For the most part, I think the UK Surf & Skate Expo is a great chance and opportunity to tell my story. And to have a conversation about, what actually is professional surfing, and how do you go about making it work? I guess by relaying my experience, it might help someone along the way.
“Because, at the moment, pro surfing’s in a strange place where there isn’t a blueprint. There isn’t a defined way of doing things. Basically, you can totally make it up and take a swing at something and it ends up working. I think for me, I’m super thankful I’ve been a pro surfer. But I chased this dream for a long time, and during that, there’s moments it would have been easier to just pack it in.
Cotty’s in for a chat about how he got to where he is now. Photo: Leo Francis / Red Bull Content Pool.
“Kept plugging, and went pro at 34-years-old, signing with Red Bull. This was at a time when everyone I was surfing with had given up or gone on to different things. And there were some key pivotal moments and lessons learned along the away. What I know is, you don’t have to be rich or have rich parents, you can just do it.
“But just in case, go get a trade to fall back on. Which is what I did as a plumber. So basically, I left school at 15, worked in the industry until I was 25, realised it was going to be tough to make a living. That narrative came from my parents too, who said I should do a trade. I did that, missed surfing. But I had a proper salary, a life, but only one day off a week. And I was either too tired or too hungover to surf.
“I had a massive epiphany moment where I thought: ‘I’m approaching 30, if I’ve got to do this for the next 35 years, I don’t know if I can.’ And there was nothing wrong with the job at all, it was a great thing. But it wasn’t for me. I remember the moment, I was working on a house in Poole and I thought, ‘I’ve got to do something’.”
What Cotty did next, find out during his keynote at the UK Surf and Skate Expo on September 12th to 14th, grab your tickets here!
