Squeezing every last drop out of the summer, the Brandwave team made their way to Newquay for the UK’s first-ever Surf Skate Expo. The event marked a milestone moment for the community – uniting brands, athletes, industry leaders and surf skate royalty under one roof. With such a unique opportunity to immerse ourselves in the culture, we knew it was something we had to be part of.
Tania recaps some of her standout highlights.
BrandLAB x Finisterre
In true Newquay fashion, day one kicked off with wind, rain, and the perfect excuse to head indoors and dive straight into conversations that matter. For our BrandLAB series, we partnered with Finisterre – a brand born from surfing roots and a true champion of cold water culture, sustainability, and community at its core.
The first roundtable welcomed Lawrence Stafford, Head of Community at Finisterre, to discuss the art of building an authentic community. From his journey through a varied career with the brand to the importance of balancing in-person experiences with digital connection, Lawrence unpacked how they continue to keep community at the core of the business. Guests pressed him with questions, eager to understand how to measure community success and what practical steps brands can take to foster genuine belonging.
Next up, we had the rare opportunity to sit down with Finisterre’s founder, Tom Kay. His session on building iconic brands left a lasting impression. His message was clear: stay true to your values, no matter what. Tom spoke candidly about riding the inevitable ups and downs while holding onto your core brand pillars – a message that resonated deeply with both startups and established businesses in the room.
A celebration of the surf skate industry
The outdoor expo village was alive with the best of the surf skate industry, featuring Finisterre, Stance, O’Neill, YETI, alongside collectives and charities like The Wave Project, British Longboard Union, and Surf Action – and, of course, a half pipe at its heart. The atmosphere stepped up a gear when skate royalty Tony Alva – legendary Z-Boy and pioneer of modern skateboarding arrived and was casually milling around the expo.
The future of sports marketing
Our very own Dan Macaulay hit the main stage for his keynote “No Rules Marketing – Artificially Intelligent or Already Irrelevant?”, where he challenged conventional approaches using case studies from Nike, Levis, Nutella and more. Dan dug into how AI is reshaping the marketing landscape and asked the provocative question: is marketing evolving through AI, or being replaced by it? Fielding questions from curious sports marketing bods in the room, the session sparked plenty of debate and left the audience rethinking how creativity and technology can collide in new and unexpected ways.
Wavelength UK Surfer Awards
Saturday evening reached a crescendo with the Wavelength UK Surfer Awards – one of the most electric moments of the weekend. Dramatic music, killer AV, and a crowd packed with surfers, industry folk, and fans turned the WAX sports hall into a buzzing arena of celebration. Over 3,500 votes poured in from the public in the lead-up, and the winners were revealed across 12 categories, from surf schools and photographers to big-wave chargers. Among the standouts: Lukas Skinner took home UK Male Surfer; Zoe Smith won UK Female Surfer; Laura Crane clinched Big Wave Surfer Female; Luke Gartside was awarded Best UK Surf Photographer; and Yvette Curtis (Yvette Cave) won the Eco Excellence award. In true surf style, winners were presented with a plant instead of a trophy.
