Hello everyone! I’m Garth, and if you have been to one of our summer surf camps, you might have heard me lion roaring or seen me, most likely, shirtless. I have had several roles within Star Surf Camps over the last two surf camp seasons in France from teamer to build-up and -down specialist and entertainment manager aka. “Official Fun Facilitator”. For this winter surf season, I have swapped Flunkyball, France’s great waves and parties to be in Star Surf’s HQ in the UK. Here, I’m busy getting used to my new role of Jnr. Vice President of Sales, tea boy, client liaison, Duke of Edinburgh Activity Provider Manager and Sami’s BRO-tégé for organizing your Uni group surf holidays and other group trips to surf spots all around the world. Sounds like a lot to you? It’s not if you love doing it and have great surfing legends around you. Hardest thing so far was getting my titles on my business card. If you ever need fun to be facilitated on any of our surf holidays all around the world, email me at garth@starsurfcamps.com or call me on 01752604944.

Now, how did I end up as Duke of Edinburgh Vice President Tea Activity Manager, or something along those lines? Well kids, let me tell you… I was born and raised in a village in the middle of nowhere in Norfolk, a farming household consisting of 36,000 chickens and 1,000 sheep. Yes, I said chickens and sheep. And yes, we had many. I grew up with two raucous and rowdy older brothers to who I owe a lot of my wanderlust as they set out boldly for months at a time, pursuing their passions all over the world.

Until  had a horrific chainsaw shark accident that terrifically messed up knee (I won’t go into detail, but I assure you it’s gnarly), I loved to play Rugby. When that changed overnight, my whole life and world was turned upside-down. Again, I’ll spare you the details as, in hindsight, it was the best thing that happened to me. I went travelling to South Africa, worked in a big cat sanctuary and researched other fun things to get involved with before returning to university. That’s when I stumbled across Star Surf and first started to think about surfing and living in sunny surf holiday destinations for months at a time.

My previous surfing experience consisted of a load of weekend surf trips to Newquay with some school friends and, every year after that, the same bunch of friends rented a house near Polzeath to go surfing. I also joined the surf society in Sheffield (landlocked, I know) of which the president knew my now colleague, the legend Sami, group surf holiday specialist at Star Surf. Anyway, I made the surf team, had an epic couple of months in France in 2014 as a teamer, made a ton of friends with surf holiday guests and surfing staff and realised that I wanted to take the surfing lifestyle to the highest level possible and sustain surfing by making a career of it. When I returned to university, after another great trip to Cuba, I had so much more under my belt than if I had stayed doing my original placement. I’d travelled three continents and enjoyed a lengthy surfing holiday in an epic surf camp!

Returning to Star Surf for the 2015 summer surf camp season, I was determined to do several things: get fitter, improve my surfing and have a hell of a time. And I did! Being entertainment manger/ fun facilitator was incredible. I could be myself, loud, energetic and enthusiastic. I was fortunate enough to have all my surf instructor friends take me under their combined wing and teach me how to surf, they thrive on froth (enthusiasm), and I saw a dramatic improvement in my own surfing which was incredibly encouraging!

So after an incredible five months moving around surf camps in Carcans & Moliets, France and Santander, Spain, getting to know some of Star Surf’s European surf holiday destinations, I got a job in their Plymouth HQ. I’m now helping Sami organize the best group surfing holidays and surf trips possible, travelling through Europe and joining our surf holiday guests in our awesome surf camp in Fuerteventura – if only my careers adviser could see me now!

I could literally not be more stoked on life right now! I get to live my dream, keep surfing and following my passion!

I see you guys out in the waves. I’m the guy in just boardies, whatever the location!

Garth & the Star Surf UK Office Team