As a disabled athlete, clean water is essential to my health and ability to surf and compete. I spend a huge amount of time in the ocean, and sewage pollution increases illness risk for all water users. But it has particularly serious consequences for disabled surfers, whose training, recovery, and competition schedules are harder to replace. Poor water quality increases infection and skin-irritation risk for everyone, but amputees often have less margin for error because skin health directly affects mobility and prosthetic use. Even minor issues can mean time out of the water and disrupted training.
Fighting for clean water is about health, fairness, and equal access to the ocean for all.
The ocean shapes both my life and my work. I spend much of my time in the water, whether I am surfing, freediving, or creating photographs and films that explore our relationship with the sea.
Working alongside Surfers Against Sewage feels like a natural extension of this. I am excited to help amplify their message and connect with not just surfers, but with anyone whose life, livelihood, or sense of wellbeing is tied to the ocean.
I am inspired by approaches like Led By Donkeys, where creativity and accountability come together to spark conversation and action. Through my work as an artist and photographer, I hope to engage people across Scotland with the realities of ocean pollution and the importance of protecting the waters we all depend on.
I’m Phoebe Strachan, six times Scottish surf champion. I work as a joiner and run my own surf coaching business and the ocean has shaped every part of my life. Surfing the cold waters of Scotland has taught me respect for the sea and how deeply our wellbeing is tied to clean, healthy water. When the water is polluted, it affects not just our sport but our connection to nature, our mental health, and the future of coastal communities.
Being an SAS Ambassador matters to me because protecting our seas and waterways means protecting the places that have given me so much, and I want to ensure others can experience the same freedom, joy, and safety in the ocean.
I’m an ultramarathon swimmer and the youngest male to swim across the North Channel. Being an ambassador is important to me because I’ve seen firsthand the damage poor water quality can cause – not just to everyday water users, but to the communities and cultures that grow around our waterways.
I’ve always loved the sea. My grandparents lived beside a loch, so I’ve been swimming for as long as I can remember. I love cold water swimming and recently took up surfing. I started out playing water polo before moving into ultramarathon swimming, where I discovered how much I enjoy the focus, the challenge, and the sense of adventure the sport brings.
Last year, I took part in the Thames Swim Against Sewage, which was an incredible experience. However, I was unable to swim sections of the route due to sewage pollution, which was incredibly frustrating and reinforced how urgent these issues are.
At my local swim spot, there are times when sewage pollution is noticeable in the water, and in recent years a nearby lake has been forced to close due to blue-green algae blooms. Experiences like these are why protecting our waterways matters so much to me.
The ocean has shaped who I am as an athlete and a person. It’s where I surf, compete, coach and connect with my community. Clean water matters to me because of the countless times I’ve found sewage pouring into the sea, making it unsafe. This shouldn’t be normal or acceptable. I’m proud to be part of the fight to protect our oceans and push for clean, healthy water for everyone.
I have worked with Surfers Against Sewage over the past twenty plus years, so it’s a real honour to now represent them as an ambassador. I feel passionately about the work that Surfers Against Sewage does for the UK’s rivers and seas and want to do everything I can to support their valuable mission.
As surfers, I believe we have a duty to actively protect our waters and marine life that relies upon its health. As UK surfers we are incredibly lucky to have an organisation like SAS providing that tangible, accessible form of activism and giving us a more powerful voice on these important matters.
I’m a breath, yoga and swim coach, ocean advocate, and former national champion surfer from Devon, UK. In 2005, I contracted a serious lung infection after inhaling sewage while surfing, which led to more than a month in hospital and a life-saving lung procedure. The experience sparked my lifelong commitment to protecting the ocean and promoting its wellbeing.
Since then, I’ve used my voice on issues including sewage pollution, plastic waste, sustainable fashion, and eco-friendly living. My writing has appeared in national publications such as The Independent and Surf Girl magazine, and I have modelled and produced work for major brands including Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, and Toyota.
In 2018, I was invited to deliver a TEDx talk in the Netherlands on ocean pollution. I also use my social media platforms to raise awareness, inspire action, and encourage more conscious choices in everyday life.
Growing up on the coast in Devon, the ocean has always been at the centre of my life. What began as a childhood playground became my career, spending countless hours in the water and building a life around it. But with that has come the reality of just how un-checked what goes into our seas can be. Too many times now I’ve been impacted or have gotten sick from dirty water. Protecting our oceans isn’t just environmental for me, it’s creating the feeling of freedom in the form of wild spaces and ensuring future generations can experience clean, healthy waters.
I’m an open-water swimmer with more than 40 years of experience. My journey began at the age of seven with a one-mile tidal swim in Dundee, and since then swimming has taken me to extraordinary places and shaped every part of my life.
I’ve completed several world-first swims, including being the first person to cross the Pentland Firth from Orkney to the Scottish mainland, the first to swim the North Minch from the Isle of Lewis to the mainland, and the first to swim from Clear Island to the Irish mainland. Internationally, I’ve completed iconic challenges such as the Catalina Channel in California, the English Channel, the North Channel, the SCAR Challenge in Arizona, and the Manhattan Island swim.
My career has often focused on swims that many believed were impossible. Proving the “un-possible” possible continues to drive me, supported by resilience, mental and physical strength, and a deep understanding of the risks and respect required in open water.
I have been honoured to receive an MBE for services to swimming and to be recognised as an Honorary Inductee of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.
Professionally, my life is also rooted in the sport. I’ve worked as a swimming teacher and coach, and I now work with Scottish Swimming.
After four decades in open water, one belief remains at the heart of everything I do: everyone deserves access to clean, safe water, without fear or uncertainty about the quality beneath the surface.
I’m Emily Williams, a 10 times Welsh national surfing champion and triathlete. The water is my happy place to get away from the world and reset.
We shouldn’t be risking our lives by enjoying the seas and waterways around Britain. I’m proud to be a SAS ambassador to help raise awareness and to be part of the fight. I want to help safeguard the enjoyment of the seas for all water users, whether they be surfers, swimmers or young children enjoying a day at the seaside.
I’ve been surfing since I was 9 years old, and the ocean has always been a huge part of my life. It’s not just where I train — it’s my happy place. As a surfer, I’ve experienced getting sick from polluted water and seen comps canceled because of it. That shouldn’t be normal, and it definitely shouldn’t stop us from doing what we love. That’s why I’m so stoked to be an SAS ambassador, fighting for cleaner seas, and to be apart of a community that’s creating real change to protect our oceans.
