ALEX WILLIAMS

In 1992 whilst a student in Bournemouth I bought my first surfboard. It was a used Wavekraft made by Nigel Woodcock and at the time it was already about 8 years old with an unusual shape and covered in dings. I didn’t care, it was all I could afford and it gave me a lot of fun.

These were pre-internet days so finding he best surf breaks was not so straight forward. Word of mouth, magazines and the Stormrider Guide were our pathfinders.

Three decades later and purely by coincidence I have got to know the original British surf photographer Alex Williams who’s work in those publications inspired and informed a generation of surfers.

Alex is an expert on surfboard evolution and has a huge and historic surfboard collection. It turns out my first surfboard was a bit of a pioneering British design.

My first surfboard, approx 39 years old, is now part of his amazing collection.