SAS's 2011 Advertising Campaign

Had the pleasure of getting involved on various platforms with the new series of 'Rubbish, Sewage and Toxic' adverts for Surfers Against Sewage. Top creative advertising agency, M&C Saatchi, covered the creative angle, I just turned up with top bodyboarder, Jack Johns and watched him get covered in shit!

I was also accompanied by Celine Gerhert, professional female surfer and model, who got plastered in marine litter:

Luckily I was on the bill as 'Toxic' and simply had to wait until the sun was low enough to create a toxic glow:

It was a hilarious, but super productive day and the adverts are now being published through various print and digital publications. Stoked to be a part of it! Here's a few behind the scenes action shots...

Padina Pavonica

During my time with Bournemouth University I was lucky enough to get assigned on a research trip to Malta to study Padina Pavonica, an interesting floral species, more commonly known as Peacocks Tail. My assignment brief was to identify the key factors that characterise its habitat and make comparisons with those of the UK.

To cut a long story short I spent 10 days trekking the Maltese coastline with a quadrat, camera, snorkel, mask, swim fins and a damn good water proof note pad. I met a lot of interesting characters, some to do with the research and some for just passing by.

Along with the research I could not help but keep my eyes open for any potential surf, even though its positioned deep into the Mediterranean. However, look what I found. 

Oh yea, also ended up on the front page of the Malta Independent, whatever...

Away with it all

A key all round player in my life and product tester for Finisterre, Matt Smith, took me out and around our mother bay that separated the towns we grew up in. I've surfed every beach, rock and point in St Ives Bay, all year round and in all conditions. However,  I'd never actually sailed across it. Thanks Smithy, this was a good morning.

Me and Smithy share a lot of similar beliefs on the world. Follow Matt's journey here: http://www.mattsmithsurfing.co.uk/_/BONjOUR.html

Bournemouth Surf Festival

Following on from the summer Motivocean project I managed I pitched SAS into the Sorted Surf Festival in Bournemouth in Spring 2011. The weekend was a cracker, early spring, enough surf to compete and over 100 beach cleaners working with me and Adam Beare, Volunteer Officer of SAS.

Motivocean

Based on my various roles with SAS and the developing ideas and building knowledge of marine and coastal issues I somehow landed in a dream job between my second and third year of university. A few phone calls and a brief meeting later I was stripped from a summer of rain soaked surf coaching and behind the reigns of organising and rolling out a national beach clean and sports tour titled "Motivocean."

The project was backed and funded by V Inspired, a national youth volunteering agency specifically for 16-25yr olds, and Quiksilver Foundation.  The core of the Motivocean brief was to engage 1000 youth volunteers with environmental volunteering opportunties and new sports, so it was a no brainer for SAS!!!

CLEAN YOUR LOCAL BEACH AND GET A FREE SURF LESSON!

Too good to be true and I only wish a opportunity like this came around when I was a grom. Here are some photos and vox pops I captured throughout the tour, which reached out to over 1000 volunteers, covering 23 locations and even an event on the Thames in London!

We kicked the tour off with the Greenaway Pro surf festival in St Ives, the tour went off with a bang! Great team of volunteers and working alongside an incredible event that I really hope see to return come 2012!

The Bournemouth event was infamous for the amount of cigarette butts found, we filled the butt bottle four times in a hour!

The Wave March

I joined an epic bunch of SAS Reps, volunteers and supporters at The Wave March in London in 2009! It was an awesome action with a ridiculous amount of people dressed suitably for the theme, but without being biased I’d have to say the SAS crew were dominating the day with surfboards, wetsuits and plastered in blue paint!! We held the front line all the way around the tourist trail of London and stood strong at the front of 40,000 people marching against climate change ahead of Copenhagen. 

London Rep, David Tudor, also one of the Crown Estate Marine Policy top dogs struggling to apply some suitably coloured guy liner.

Me babbling my way through an interview about why SAS are getting involved in the Wave March and outlining the impacts of climate change on the surf community.

Andy Cummins, SAS Campaign Director, tidying up behind my interview with some facial power and body language to boot.

Super Reps ready to ride the wave through the streets

 Like I said, we led from the front, Andy ripping through the crowd, much like a day in the sea down west Kernow.

 Props, flags and banners galore.

SAS Regional Represenatives

 The incredible team of newly appointed regional reps operating throughout the UK.

Making business out of surfing

 Me and Lowey spinning a yarn whilst sifting through the mermaids tears of Porthtowan's infamous CSO.

Was great to see Europeans top big wave charger Tom Lowe come along and get involved in the action and support SAS.

The Gathering - A Protect Our Waves Action

      

Surfers Against Sewages (SAS) new campaign Protect Our Waves (POW) had its first action on the 20^th June 2009, The Gathering, a mass paddle out, in association with local campaign group Access BroadBench Association (ABBA). Over 350 surfers from across the nation joined SAS and ABBA and paddled out at Kimmeridge Bay on International Surfing Day. The action called on the Secretary of State for Defence to allow surfers access to Broadbench, a special wave found on the outer boundary of a Ministry of Defence (MoD) firing range.

Broadbench is a quality wave in Kimmeridge Bay, described by many as one of Britains best. Unfortunately it falls right on the outer boundary of a MoD firing range. SAS are not asking the MoD to reduce their use of this important firing range. However, SAS believe there is a compromise that will ensure surfers and waveriders can have 100% access to Broadbench without impacting on the MoDs full use of the firing range.

We are calling on the Secretary of State for Defence to implement SASs compromise, changing where the MoD currently fire from. This will in turn change the direction of the MoDs firing and could leave Broadbench outside the boundary of the firing range. It will not impact on the MoDs use of the firing range, leaving surfers and waveriders with 100% access to Broadbench and the MoD full use of their range.

International Surfing Day (ISD), sees surfing events taking place all over the world. There will be events in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia but nothing like the Gathering. SAS expect the Gathering to be the best-supported event with over 350 surfers and supporter actively participating at the paddle out protest on ISD.

Mermaids Tears Campaign Victory

SAS campaigners were in London on Friday, World Environment Day, celebrating a campaign victory on the problem of mermaid's tears.

As you'll already know from our ongoing campaign, mermaid's tears are one of the most common litter items on UK beaches.  They are the raw material from which plastic products are made and can be a persistent problem in the environment. Once in the sea, they can increase in toxicity as they adsorb aquaphobic chemicals, carcinogenics and PCBs, that can bioaccumulate (work their way up the food chain). As mermaid's tears resemble fish eggs, SAS are concerned that they are not only unsightly on beaches, but can potentially have an impact on our health by entering the food chain.

Due to the calls made by SAS, World Environment Day finally saw the release of the British Plastic Federation's (BPF) Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) guidance manual. OCS is aimed at improving British plastic factories efficient use of plastic pellets, advising them on just how to keep hold of their precious raw material, and importantly, keep them off our beaches and coastlines.



We are stoked to finally see that this guidance has been released, which should help clean up beaches right around the UK!


Read more here: 
http://www.surfersvillage.com/surfing/41201/news.htm
http://www.sas.org.uk/news/2009/06/05/surfers-celebrate-as-mermaids-tears-stop-falling/
http://surferspath.mpora.com/news/environment/sas-take-plastic-trash-to-the-british-plastics-federation.html