Roll over to preview

Keep it real. Welcome to our first issue of the new year and the 29th year of Carve! There’s a wide range of contributions that all have one thing in common – a genuine love of surfing. The people behind them aren’t doing it for fame, or money, ego, likes, clicks or views. It's just for the pure joy of riding or documenting waves. In a world that seems to be more divided than ever, focussed on sound bites, untruths, image and – let's face it – some pretty weird TikTok videos, it's really refreshing to put together an issue with articles from such a talented, yet grounded, bunch of stoked individuals. Even though we reach millions of people per week through our social media @carvemag with a few clicks, there still something special about spending the time and effort to put their photos and words into the mag you are holding. It just all looks, and feels, so much better in print than it ever will online. In this issue we’ve got stories from Thurso at the top of Scotland, to Bournemouth in the south of England. From Donegal in the west, to Kamchatka in east Russia. From people who have found joy in 2 to 20 foot waves. From empty sessions on their own doorstep, to some of the hardest to reach shores on the planet. And from the world's toughest proving ground, Pipeline Hawaii, to an off-grid beach in the middle of nowhere. Plus we have Wales's first world champion, Llewellyn ‘Sponge’ Williams. And what legend he is. Putting it all down on glossy paper somehow keeps things real, instead of reel. We like that, and hope you do too. Steve Editor