Raise Your Game: How did you first get involved in surfing?

Elliot Dudley: My uncle had always surfed and being at the beach with my parents meant I always saw him surfing. That was what inspired me to do it. I pestered my parents and finally got a surfboard for my eighth birthday!

RYG: How do you juggle your Law and Politics degree and your surfing career?

ED: It's difficult. I've still got sponsorship and the sponsors have certain expectations although they are very understanding. I'm lucky that there's a European qualifier which happens to fall right in the middle of my holidays. If I finish in the top tier I should qualify for the World Tour so I've got to hope the events take place at the right times.

RYG: What is your goal after graduation?

ED: I'm not going to rule out trying to achieve more through surfing, but the difficulty is that even at the highest level you're not necessarily going to make a good living out of it. My ambition is to get a good work-life balance.

RYG: How important is it to have a back up plan?

ED: I think it's invaluable. You can't pin all your hopes on surfing. At all levels I think education has become a lot more important.

RYG: What do you do to stay fit?

ED: I go boxing three times a week and I do circuits and dumb-bells in between the boxing. If I go surfing then I probably won't train on that day, but I'm doing something six days a week if possible.

When I was a full time surfer I never needed to do any extra training. It's only since I've been at University that I've really started training and once you start you almost become addicted to it.

RYG: What do you need to be a top surfer?

ED: Through the sports bursary programme (at Cardiff University) I've attended some sports psychology lectures and it's something that I've really needed to work on because I get very nervous before competing. You get to a certain level and most guys can surf pretty well so it comes down to who can remain calm and if you remain calm you'll be able to pick the better waves.

RYG: How important is it to enjoy your sport?

ED: That's exactly why you do it. I'm hopefully going to surf until I'm 90 years old! I'll always enjoy it no matter how well I surf. Ninety nine percent of surfers will never take part in a competition but they'll still love it as a sport. From my point of view, the more I enjoy surfing the better I am at competing.

RYG: Is surfing a sport for everyone?

ED: Definitely! You've got such a variety of equipment nowadays that there's a board to suit everyone. I know some guys that have surfed for over 30 years and they still love it. They get up at five o'clock in the morning in the middle of winter to go surfing! You don't have to be good at it as it's a very inclusive sport and there are masses of people doing it.

RYG: What advice would you give to anyone looking to follow in your footsteps?

ED: Make sure you always enjoy it because as soon as it becomes a chore you need to take a step back. The biggest problem you'll see is that young kids want to make it to the top too soon. They don't realise that you don't get much money and getting free equipment doesn't pay the bills. People's perception of what you can get as a professional surfer can be a bit distorted.