Andrew Cotton poses for a portrait during a photoshoot in Devon, United Kingdom on June 17, 2020.
Andrew Cotton poses for a portrait during a photoshoot in Devon, United Kingdom on June 17, 2020.

Andrew
Cotton

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

·

Surfing

Big wave surfer Andrew Cotton has put Britain on the surfing map.

Date of birth

24 August 1982

Age

43

Nationality

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

Career start

2012

Disciplines

Surfing

Andrew Cotton started surfing at the age of seven on the North Devon coast. Ever since then, catching waves and being in and around the ocean has been his life. When he left school he worked in a local surfboard factory until the age of 25. He then re-trained as a plumber, but along the way began to realise that his real passion lay in big wave surfing.

At first the Plymouth-born surfer focused on helping pioneer big-wave spots in Ireland, but more recently he turned his attention to Nazaré, Portugal. Numerous Billabong XXL entries followed and he came to wider attention in 2012, when he towed American surfer Garrett McNamara into what the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed as the biggest wave ever surfed.