From: Scotland
Local spot: St Andrews and the East Neuk
Favorite wave: Anything that goes Left like the one in Chicama
My contribution to Scottish Surfing:
Hi, my name is Grant Swinden but better known as Swany by my friends, I came to Surfing late in life (mid 40s) from a background of skateboarding, snowboarding and anything else that made my heart beat faster. I thought Surfing would be easy and I was quickly proved wrong, very wrong !!! I paid my dues early with a few unlucky injuries and as frustrating as that was it led me back to taking photos which I’ve always loved doing but this time of folks Surfing as it helped keep me in the loop and I really enjoyed trying to capture pics of moving subjects and nice waves.
My choice of surf craft is longboards and I’m currently trying to figure out the art of cross stepping on my boards which is proving difficult but also a challenge that is both fun and rewarding when any progress is made. I love watching new people come into this pastime and watch them get hooked like I did, I try to offer any helpful advice I can to newcomers to my local spot and encourage both young and old to get involved. I try to make myself approachable on the beach and in the water.
Surfing can be a little intimidating and daunting to begin with but I suggest just asking questions at the beach as most of us are nicer than we look and keen to help people out.
Oh and get a lesson, always a good place to start.
