For Josh, the road to discovering his passion started 20 years ago when his parents decided to up sticks and leave the hustle and bustle of big city life, and relocate to sunny kernow-fornia. Spending all summer on the beach led to the inevitable, and surfing took over every daylight hour. Fast forward 10 years and Josh had become a regular fixture of both the junior and senior divisions of the British and Welsh national teams, competing in ISA Europe and ISA World events.

Inspired by travel and adventure, he took off in search of better waves, which turned into a hunger for bigger and heavier waves. His personal highlights include spending a season in Ireland growing confidence in heavier waves such as Mullaghmore, discovering and pioneering several spots in Britain’s northern extremities, and scoring sessions out at Newquay’s premier spot ‘The Cribber’.

At 24 it became clear to Josh that chasing the surfing dream was unsustainable to him, and he decided to combine his thirst for adventure with his background in medical care by becoming a medic in the British Army. With a huge push on physical development and sport within the forces, there has definitely been a large amount of play whilst at work, with Josh commonly referred to as a ‘wetsuit-soldier’ by colleagues. Alongside his military career, you can often find Josh providing water safety and medical cover within the film, construction and event industries.  

“I’m so happy to be working with Blue Soup, because I really believe the brand captures and promotes two core values that I hold close to heart, the promotion of inclusivity in adventure sports and the mitigation of risk for those trying to push their limits. The products are exciting and take a fresh spin on what’s readily available on the market, and the team currently developing the products are second to none. I feel really humbled to be a part of such an impressive group of humans! Cheers!” – Josh Hughes