Coastal Crusaders
"A wheelchair tracks down the yellow sand of Newquay’s Great Western Beach, steered towards the Atlantic Ocean by a team clad in wetsuits. At the water’s edge, they pause, transferring 12-year-old Brody Walters from the security of his seat to a bright yellow surfboard, before wading out into the gentle, waist-high waves.
“I never thought we would see Brody on a surfboard because he can’t even sit up unaided,” says his mother Kelly, watching from the shoreline. “After he’s been in the water we notice a huge difference. He absolutely loves it – the smile says it all.”
Born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy and dystonia – a term for unpredictable muscle movements – Brody has experienced the joys of the beach this summer with Coastal Crusaders, a Cornish not-for-profit organisation."
"Parents with vulnerable children might be apprehensive about watching their loved ones brave it in the waves – Kelly Walters’ first thought was “please don’t drown my child” – but participants are in confident hands. Coastal Crusaders’ founder and lead instructor is local surfer Tom Butler, who earned his stripes chasing big waves around the world.
After years of doors opening for Butler in the international surf community, he was pulled by a “duty to give back” to people from his home in Cornwall. “It can be a bit of a selfish pursuit, just chasing after your own dream with the blinkers on,” he says. “I wanted to make others aware of the ocean and the joys and risks it can bring.”"
"Coastal Crusaders’ approach is to instil confidence through a programme of “ocean literacy”, with crash courses on decoding coloured flags and judging tides and winds. But the key to encouraging participants with disabilities, Butler says, is relatability. “They need to see someone with similar challenges who can be a role model.”
Those role models come in the shape of two Coastal Crusaders with autism who have graduated from students to surf instructors. After training for a year, Aiden Coxhead and Louis Sutton passed a level one International Surf Association qualification, in what Butler says is a world first for autistic candidates."
"Coxhead, who also has cystic fibrosis, has become a regular fixture on Newquay’s beaches over the summer as a volunteer lifeguard, donning the red and yellow uniform and greeting fellow surfers with the occasional nod or the universal surfer’s salute, the shaka.
For the 22-year-old, surfing isn’t just about the exhilaration and enjoyment of catching a wave, but about being part of the culture. “The surf community can be quite closed off for certain people. I know most of the surfers now, because this is a community where everyone knows everyone. It’s a friendly and happy community,” he says."
- Excerpts by Frankie Adkins