FREDDIE MEADOWS

Freddie was 12 when he discovered surfing off the coast of his home in Åhus, southeast Sweden. With little access to gear, surfing was mostly a summer activity. But his obsession had him scouring for neoprene substitutes so he could surf year-round – layering up in wool socks, boots, snowboarding gloves, dishwashing gloves, swim caps, and ski hats. Trying out his setup in ice water bathtubs. Just doing everything he could to make it work.

One day he pulled up to one of his usual spots, and there were five other surfers in the lineup, fully decked out in winter neoprene. He couldn’t believe his eyes, paddling out as quick as he could to ask them where they’d gotten the gear. He learned not only that there were surf shops in his country, but that he’d just missed a big swell on the West coast. He was dumbfounded that there was surf there too, and the insight set him on track to become the first pro surfer from Sweden.

Freddie, now having left the pro surf scene, devoted his entire youth to it – proving himself to sponsors and competing in the QS for six years. He was 16 when he moved to Portugal, dropping out of high school, and leaving everything behind to progress his surf to new levels. Yet his coldwater heritage came back to him time after time. He felt captivated by the darker months of Scandinavia when he knew the big Baltic swells would hit the coast again. Finally, Freddie decided to pursue his lifelong dream of finding world-class waves back home, a dream he’d had since he was little.