locked –of the Inland SUP surfer
inside the mind
Words and photos: Chris Kenyon
Getting our fix
There were many other ways in which we
got our fix; skateboards became a firm
favourite so that we could carve up the
tarmac. Snowboarding was another one as
the Tamworth Snow Dome happens to be
right on our doorstep, or just plain old
watching surf movies and making up stories
about the massive waves you got when you
were in Cornwall last. None of them would
ever make you Kelly Slater of course, but
that didn’t really matter. I do think that this
land locked mentality has had a huge
impact on SUP – I have had countless
conversations with individuals who are now
full on SUP converts due to that whole initial
interest in surfing, the ocean and so forth.
coast on a regular basis. In fact being
centrally based means that we have equal
access to all coasts, not just the south. So I
would say that is what it is to be a land
locked surfer; you are not actually ‘land
locked’ at all. The UK is an island after all
and the furthest point inland is only 75 odd
miles from the coast, so when you look at it
that way it’s not really far at all. Mind you