ELLIOT DUDLEY
I was born and raised in Wales, a small yet immensely proud country rich in culture and natural beauty but not known globally for its waves. Nevertheless there is a thriving surf community that suffers the sometimes brutal Atlantic storms and cold waters to enjoy the same thrill as our more fortunate brethren in California. The second surfer in my family, I took inspiration from my uncle, Pete, who had been surfing since the 70s and was one of the first proponents of the longboard reasurgence in South Wales. It was in fact his Hobie Phil Edwards model that played platform to my first experience of riding a wave at the age of 5.
My father and I began surfing at the same time, with his motivation being my care and wellbeing whilst I was flailing in the ocean. Thanks to the knowledge of my uncle we were introduced to and both immersed ourselves in the surf culture of the 60s, watching Bruce Brown movies on repeat. As I grew up and became more exposed to more mainstream surf media I still always maintained that Phil Edwards was the greatest surfer of all time and held the drop knee turn as the standard by which I would be judged.
Through my early teens I pursued my ambitions as a competitor, gradually switching my equipment to become more high performance as this seemed to be the only way to get results (and surf a longboard in 6 foot plus heavy beach breaks!). Whilst achieving success (twice European Longboard Champion, 2 x qualifier to the Oxbow World Longboard Championships and multiple British and Welsh titles) my surfing would always return to its natural state; riding a traditional single fin longboard and emulating my heroes from earlier times.
After meeting Matt and Margaret in 2012 I was given the opportunity to ride all of the boards I had ever dreamt of. I already had 2 Bings in my quiver that had opened up a whole new world of possibility for traditional surfing and having the full range of Bings at my disposal felt like an unmissable opportunity. Since then I have had the pleasure of riding most of Matt's models; short, midlength and long, and still enjoy every second of riding them all.
For me surfing is all about travel, meeting new people and having fun. Bing Surfboards enable the latter and working a full time job helps achieve the rest. I am passionate about the environment and have been a volunteer representative for Surfers Against Sewage since 2009. I organise beach cleans on a regular basis and help them, where I can, to lobby the UK Government to make positive legislative changes for the environment.
With the growth in traditional longboard contests I am looking to rekindle my competitive spirit, which for the last few years has been soaked up doing three Ironman triathlons. The prerequisite is the contest must include the already mentioned travel, meeting new people and most definitely be FUN!
Instagram: @elliotmdudley