Inspired Surfer- Nick Corkill

Inspired Surfers is a 10 part series – in partnership with Jimmy’s Iced Coffee. We uncover the stories of characters who have taken their passion for surf into their day to day lives and done big and amazing things.

In this episode we are in conversation – Nick Corkill. A surf photographer who has battled addiction.

Nick’s story and his relationship with surfing are distinctly different to that of our other guests, like world champion Carissa Moore or business folk Richard Walker and Andy Medd, who used surfing as a supplement alongside a more conventional life on land.

Nick has always worked in the ocean, from years in the Navy to stints on superyachts as a diving instructor. However, alongside these varied roles, he’s fought a long battle with drug and alcohol addiction.

Throughout his journey, he’s been offered lots of different support. But it wasn’t until he realised the positivity he could draw from his time in the sea that he began to find a way through his troubles – something he now describes as his ‘higher power’.

Today Nick focusses on surf photography and its abundance of positive influences on his life. When he is in the sea or focussed on photography, he is able to show people his love for the ocean and its this which he credits with helping control his addiction.

Nick has managed to make a career out of something that has arguably saved his life. Today he is an established photographer who works for different clients and sells shots to others who share a passion for the ocean and surf.

Checkout his website here > https://www.nickophoto.co.uk/

Instagram here > https://www.instagram.com/nicko_photo/

We have been fortunate enough to get to know Nick over the last few years. We met him at the Local Hero photography exhibition that we ran last year. This was an event that aimed to take the stigma out of mental health – in partnership with the RNLI and CALM. 

From this event the Calm Camera Club was born – a monthly meetup for men to discuss photography and mental health in an open and friendly environment. Nick has been an integral character to the success of this group and would no doubt welcome anyone out there with any sort of struggles to get in touch and/or get involved with CALM Camera Club.

We hope that this story inspires you to Keep Your Chin Up, do good and take on the challenges in front of you.

If you enjoyed this episode you can find more conversations on our Wavelength Community Radio channel.

Listen in to conversations with inspired surfers here.

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