Cotton learned to surf through family and friends around Croyde Bay. It’s a part of the UK that’s well-known for producing great surfing talent on smaller waves, but it is in no way synonymous with big wave surfers. In fact he never considered that you could make a career by focussing less on technicalities and more on charging and size until he stepped outside of the UK.

“There was a big swell one day, a solid 20ft swell. I got hold of a big board and just paddled out.”

“My first big wave was in Hawaii when I was 18 or 19,” says Cotton. “I did a trip out there for a couple of months and it got pretty big. I surfed a few well known spots and that was the first time I’d really stepped into big waves.”

After surfing out in Hawaii for a few months, his first chance to surf a massively big wave seemed to just fall into his lap, and he went from Croyde’s five foot swells to Hawaiin monsters.

“Being on the North shore for a few months, your threshold goes up quite quickly and we were surfing Sunset quite regularly. There was a big swell one day, a solid 20ft swell. I got hold of a big board and just paddled out.”

“The thing is, I find that small wave surfing is so much more technical and that’s just something I’m just not very good at. In the end, you do what you love and that you’re good at, you have a natural draw to it.”

“I like drawing, I might not be as gymnastic on a small wave but I like drawing different lines on bigger waves and that sort of surfing resonates with me.”

His lifestyle only started paying for itself once he started documenting his travels and creating his own films – taking viewers behind the scenes. As the waves got bigger and the tides turned in his favour along the way, these films began making his name in the industry.

Big wave surfing is as much about chasing waves as it is about surfing them and Cotton and his crew spend most of the season on the hunt, documenting the journey on film as they go.

“We firstly started the web series Behind The Lines just to make our own content so we could go surfing. It was a risk” says Cotton.

“My friend Marty Crocker came up with the idea, it kind of makes it exciting and gives people an insight into travelling and looking for waves.”

“Sometimes it can be such a mission you know, to get a wave – or the wave you want. That’s a lot of what big wave surfing is on a daily basis, all the charts and trying to make the right call and go to the right place. To document that process is a good motivation.”

It all came together on one particular trip to Nazaré in February 2014 where Cotton rode a wave which grabbed the attention of the surfing world, earning him a nomination for a prestigious Billabong XXL Award.

“I was very lucky that I was doing that webisode and then I caught a couple of really big waves, it all just came together at the right time” he laughs. “Forward thinking and a lot of luck.”

Nowadays, Andrew Cotton is one of the best known names in British big wave surfing, and becoming a household name in the surfing community at large.

And although flying whenever and wherever at a moment’s notice to chase waves is a luxury still only belonging to the Kelly Slaters and Alana Blanchards of the world, chasing and charging big waves is finally a staple of Cotton’s work life.

Thanks to the support of sponsors (including Jeep) he no longer has to worry about whether he’ll be able to get out for the next season. The only worry is being prepared to go when the waves decide it’s time.

“One of the most  important things for a surfer is getting there at the right time and being able to pack up all your kit and everything you need in a moment.”

The sponsorship with Jeep fits Cotton perfectly and the Renegade with its four wheel drive is great for going to places that are a bit more extreme. Every surfer, especially in Europe needs the same thing, Good kit and a good car is integral for surfing