Rich surf culture
Professional surfer Sam Bleakley marvels out how surfing culture has developed in the UK during his lifetime.Surfing democracy
Today there are more surfers in the UK than ever before. Writer and surfer Sam Bleakley puts it down to changes in board design.Spiritualism vs sponsorship
As a professional surfer, Sam Bleakley considers the difficulty in balancing the pressures of being sponsored with the more spiritual side of the sport.SAS – Britain’s pride
Surfers have a close relationship with the natural environment, but boards are made of petrochemicals. Writer and surfer Sam Bleakley considers how attitudes to the environment have changed over the years and how Britain leads the way.Flashy young hotshots
Writer and professional surfer Sam Bleakley remembers some of the surfers that influenced him when he was younger.Skinny to baggy and back
Sam Bleakley recalls how fashion has changed over the time that he has been surfing.A sense of place
Writer and surfer Sam Bleakley considers his love for his home break - Gwenver near Sennen in West Cornwall.Fear and adrenaline
Professional surfer Sam Bleakley recalls surfing a reef with his father as a child, and the value of fear.The Gwenver goddess
Professional surfer Sam Bleakley has a close relationship with his home break, Gwenver, near Sennon. But he describes here how he still has a healthy respect for the wave.California 3 years ahead
Writer and surfer Sam Bleakley describes the how the exchange of ideas and equipment with the Californian surf scene was a formative part of both his surfing and the sport in general in the UK.Sent electricity through me
Although Sam Bleakley regards Cornwall as his spiritual home, his first solo wave was in California.Hanging five
As a professional longboard surfer, Sam Bleakley talks about the unique sensation of riding with his toes over the nose of the board.The smell of the surf
For writer and surfer Sam Bleakley, surfing is a sensory experience. Here he talks about some of the smells that evoke happy surfing memories.