This much I know: Easkey Britton

I grew up by the beach and for as long as I can remember I’ve been in the sea.

Both my Mum and Dad surf so the natural progression was to follow them into the water.

My dad Barry and his brothers were the original innovators at a crazy time when surfing was a big unknown, it wasn’t even cool and it was still very underground so I grew up with that influence.

Family roots are strong in Rossnowlagh where I grew up and surfing roots even stronger. It was my playground, where I loved to go to surf for fun, a family gathering in the sea, the ultimate place to unwind.

Surfing is my greatest passion in life and has given me my drive and focus. My whole life has been shaped by the sea and the biggest lessons in life I’ve learned through surfing, or from being able to experience life through that lens...it’s mind opening, healing, energising and both inspiring and humbling.

There are very few barriers in surfing — it’s most definitely for all ages because the reason you do it stays the same, and whether you are seeking a 20ft wave or happy in 2ft whitewash, the feeling you are searching for is the same — that buzz, and just simply being in the ocean.

One of my fondest memories is going on road trips on the west coast and hanging out at the surf break at Easky, Co Sligo — playing in the rock pools in my red wellies, gathering driftwood for the camp fire, standing at the edge of the reef, watching Dad go into the water and already wanting to follow him out there.

Not surprisingly, I’m named after my parents’ favourite wave, which also happens to have its origins in the Irish for ‘fish’.

I’ve joined the Clean Coasts programme as their ambassador this year and we’ve just had a very successful Clean Coasts Week which is all about getting local communities to protect and celebrate their coastline. I’m also busy getting a new film project off the ground, called ‘Waves of Freedom’ and I’ve started a new post-doctoral fellowship with a global research partnership on sustainable small-scale fisheries called Too Big To Ignore.

I was both outgoing and shy as a child, but surfing taught me that if you hold back you usually miss out, it encouraged me to push myself, my comfort zone, test boundaries, be playful and take risks — which are really important qualities to have in life.

I’m a big fan of organic wholefoods and superfoods like Organic Burst have made a huge difference in my life.

I’m disciplined at developing flexibility and adaptation to the unexpected in my life as well as trying to be consistent with the little things like doing something active every day, getting out in nature, eating healthy, practicing yoga and my favourite, ‘one-moment meditations’.

My favourite pieces of advice are from my grandfather who wrote these words in a wonderful book called The Prophet by Kahil Gibran, ‘out of the hottest fire comes the finest tempered steel’. That, and my Mum’s advice to always smile!

My main fault is impatience — not when I’m teaching, but if I have something I want to do or somewhere I need to be and I get held back, I’m terrible.

If I wasn’t me, I’d be a dancer, maybe even a circus performer!

If I could change one thing in Irish society it would be that terrible, self-defeating attitude that creeps into our psyche and brings a good person down.

Clean Coasts is a national initiative run by An Taisce which empowers communities to protect our beaches, seas and marine life. The programme is supported by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Coca-Cola and Fáilte Ireland. For more information see www.cleancoasts.org