The Local Surfer - University of Exeter

Chapter One
Introduction
This study is about the surfing subculture in the South West of England, in
particular focusing on small communities of surfers that live within the South
East Cornwall area. There are several reasons for undertaking this study. One
such reason is location. As a sociological researcher based in the South-West,
the impact of surfing on society in recent years cannot be ignored. The
popularity of the sport has increased immensely with an estimated 50,000
surfers in Britain in 2007 where a high proportion would have been based in the
South-West of England (Alexander, 2007 and AFP, 2004). As Barkham (2006:
web site) states, “surfing may have begun as a countercultural trickle, frozen
out of British popular culture by small seas and an inconsiderate climate. Now
it is a vast breaker”. Being located at the University of Exeter in the South-West
and living in Plymouth on the South coast provides a unique opportunity to
take advantage of this location. Further to the element of location, is the lack of
empirical research focused on surfing in the South-West of England (notable
exceptions include Williams, 2002, Mercer, 2003 and Meredith, 2003). Surfing
academics such as Pearson (1979 and 1981) and Booth (1996, 2001a, 2001b,
2001c, 2003, 2004) have always chosen to centre their research on the more
popular locations of Australia and New Zealand, leaving the South West as
relatively unexplored territory for researchers. A final reason for undertaking
this project lies in my past work. My MSc dissertation (Beaumont, 2007)
undertaken whilst at Loughborough University established that there were four
possible types of surfers that existed in the South-West of England, one of
which was labelled the Local Surfer. The Local Surfer was so significant to the
location of the South-West that it became the centre of discussion around this
current study and led to the focus being on the aspect of identity and
communities within the South-West.
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