Andrew Cotton

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The crazy thing is… this is the life I’m living now. Wanted to quit halfway through paddle training today. Every stroke felt hard. The shoulder still isn’t 100%, and there were plenty of moments where I just wanted to give up. I used to lifeguard at Croyde between 2008 and 2014. Back then I loved paddling, I’d spend hours training there, dreaming about surfing the biggest waves I could find. I’d imagine what it would be like to be a professional surfer. To have the time, the freedom and the opportunity to chase waves around the world. It’s easy to forget that. You get caught up chasing the next moment, the next challenge, always wanting more. Injury is the best reminder to stop and appreciate it. As hard as it is, having the opportunity to rebuild, to train and to keep chasing the things I love is a privilege. I’m lucky to be doing this. I’ve still got big goals. The fire’s still there, probably more than ever. But today’s just a reminder that having a dream is important. Having a purpose that gets you out of bed every day is even more important. Don’t forget to enjoy the journey while you’re chasing it.

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Shoulder’s been a problem for years. Never really spoken about it much on here, just got on with it. But it was time to fix it after last season. Surgery happened back in April. I didn’t document much of it at the time, but I’ve had a fair few questions and messages about it, so decided to share the whole thing l, the before, the during, the after and the training that’s gone into getting back to fitness. This is reel 1 of a mini-series. Following the journey the good days and the bad ones. Got any questions? Drop them below. 🎥 Part 1 #bigwavesurfing #shoulderrecovery #comebackstory

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Part 2 of the shoulder story. 🛠️ Went under not knowing the full extent of it and turned out I’d been surfing the back end of last season on a fully ruptured supraspinatus tendon. SLAP tear, rotator cuff damage, bicep relocated. The lot. Six weeks became four months. “Here we go again” kind of moment. Funny how the body just gets on with it until someone opens you up and shows you the damage. Mid March wipeout on that same shoulder, should’ve known. Part 3 coming soon, first couple months post op 🔪 #BigWaveSurfing #ShoulderSurgery #RecoveryJourney #SupraspinatusTear #SurfInjury