Iain Campbell opens up about life, mental health, grief, therapy and life after the Bodyboard World Tour, his move from South Africa to Cornwall, and finding a renewed love for bodyboarding. He discusses the realities of professional competition, coaching with Bodyboard Holidays, his friendship with Dave Hubbard, and his plans for future surf trips. Most candidly, he explains how stepping back from bodyboardings competitive front line has helped him rediscover his passion for the sport.
The Man Behind the World Title
In the autumn of 2017, I was running a Bodyboard Holidays coaching trip in Ireland. We’d surfed that morning before retreating to a local pub for some hearty food and the chance to thaw out beside the fire. With the rain hammering down and the wind building outside, we decided to make the most of our cosy surroundings and watch the APB (Association for the Progression of Bodyboarding) event at Nazaré unfold.
One of the quarterfinals saw local rider António Cardoso take down former World Champion Pierre-Louis Costes. In doing so, he effectively cleared the path for a young South African, Iain Campbell, to claim the 2017 World Title later that day. Iain finished runner-up in the final, but it was enough to mathematically secure his first World Championship.
That was my first real memory of Iain Campbell.
Fast-forward almost a decade and I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know him, work alongside him at Bodyboard Holidays and receive coaching from him. I’ve found him to be exactly the sort of person you want around: humble, funny, intelligent, passionate about bodyboarding and genuinely invested in helping others improve.
But a lot has happened since that World Title.
Iain stepped away from the World Tour, moved from South Africa to Cornwall with his wife Rose, and began building a very different life. The relentless pursuit of performance gave way to coaching, travelling, exploring and, perhaps most importantly, rediscovering his enjoyment of simply being in the water.
This conversation took place during a four-week trip back to South Africa, and gave me a chance to see a different side of Iain.. We talked about the realities of professional bodyboarding, the financial pressures that eventually pushed him to change direction, his move to the UK, his renewed competitive drive and his plans for future surf trips.
But we also touched on grief, mental health, therapy and the process of finding his way back to himself.
It’s an unusually open conversation, and perhaps that’s what struck me most. Behind the World Titles, competition results and years spent chasing perfection is simply a guy trying to navigate life like the rest of us, dealing with its highs, its lows and the curveballs that none of us can predict.
And maybe that’s what makes this conversation with Iain so interesting.
Over to Iain.
I opened with a question about a long-standing surf myth: that South Africa would be one of the world’s most popular surf destinations if it weren’t for its reputation for sharks. With world-class waves, stunning scenery and relatively affordable travel, is it really one of surfing’s great undiscovered destinations?
Every time I go to Caves, where I surf all the time, I’m just in awe, just standing on the top of the cliffs and looking down at the waves. And the waves there the other day were probably 6 to 8 ft. Solid, solid and I’m not trying to sugarcoat this and be like, “it was big”. It was freaking pumping, bro. While we were watching, this one wave came through. I haven’t posted it yet, but it was so slabby and so heavy and so beautiful and the offshore was hitting it perfectly and it’s just rifling down the beach, with no one out bro. And I was just standing there and you turn to the sun and it’s like this amphitheater of mountains just covering this whole area. I’m getting goosebumps now even talking about it. It’s just one of those places where you’re sitting in the water and looking up at the mountain and you’re just like how it doesn’t get better than this.
And that was one thing that Pierre (Louis-Costes) said when he came here. He was like, “Man, I travel to so many different places, but nothing comes close to how beautiful this area is.” And it’s taken me a while to really appreciate it. Every time we come back and I sit in the water there, and that thought of sharks in your head disappears, just sitting there in that moment, it’s pretty special, bro.
Do you one day see yourself returning home?
I don’t know. It’s a tough one, bro. I don’t want to rule anything out. Rose and I have kind of got this goal of spending that time in the UK and getting our passports, which we’ve really set out to do. And I don’t want to say no. Because yeah there’s just so much here that’s super beneficial for us, but there’s also so much there that’s super beneficial for us.
And I don’t know where life’s going to take us, bro. I don’t know if we’re going to stay in the UK. I don’t know if we’ll come back to South Africa. I don’t know if there’s somewhere else that we might want to go. But I don’t rule anything out.
From World Champion to Cornwall
Taking a few steps back, can you explain why you’re in the UK? I think a lot of people ask that question. They’re like, ” Wow. Why is an ex world champion living in Cornwall?”
Yeah, it was a really tough decision for us, but I think part of it was the opportunities that you get in the UK and in first world countries. That was something that we really looked at, and it wasn’t just a decision for myself and my career and my bodyboarding. It was a decision for myself and Rosie as a couple and what we really wanted to achieve in our lives.
I was kind of running out of things to do in South Africa, because I kind of didn’t want to be on the World Tour anymore. And I lost a lot of money in the last year that I was on the tour. I went into debt pretty bad. And this is probably something that a lot of people don’t know and I don’t really discuss it that much, but it’s expensive to travel around the world and to fly to different places and to do seven, eight events in a year is really difficult, especially when you’re not getting the results.
If you’re not in the top five in the world, you’re not making money. You’re not covering those expenses.
And in that last year that I was on tour, I wasn’t making that money back. And I definitely wasn’t getting that money from the sponsors. So I was pretty much living on a credit card and I put myself into quite a lot of debt, and at that time my sponsors weren’t really paying on time. Not going to throw anyone under the bus, but things were happening where I wasn’t getting paid on time. So, I had obviously used this credit and I didn’t have the money to pay it back. And when I was paying it back, I was only kind of paying it off in chunks and not really paying the whole thing.
That was really kind of tough. And I think anyone who’s in business, and this is the way I looked at it, I looked at that very much as a business. And I said to myself, if anyone was in business and they had been doing the same business for 10 years and they’d come out of it in the negative, it’s time to change things up and to switch to something else. And that’s where I was in that place.
So then, Rose was working two jobs here in South Africa and she was on the same kind of salary that I was on bodyboarding professionally full-time. So, if that gives you any indication on the money she was earning and the money I was earning, which is, for South Africa still pretty good. But she was slaving and I was slaving and, I was traveling so much and I didn’t really want to travel and that sacrifice of being on the wheel is tough, bro. It’s really hard.
And so we just decided that we should look at these opportunities to maybe go over to the UK. And my mum was over there. She moved over in 2020. And so by the end of 2022, I’d asked Rose to marry me. And we got married at the end of 2022. Really small, super quiet, family marriage and ceremony. And early 2023, we freaking packed our lives up here and got on a plane and I would say it was more for the opportunities and to get a better way of life and just try something new. And we never wanted to regret not doing it, so we pulled the trigger and just went over to the UK and it’s been great. It’s been absolutely unreal.
The people I’ve met, the opportunities I’ve got working with Bodyboard Holidays, and, just the help that Rob’s given me, Rose becoming a teacher and working full-time as a teacher and the opportunities that she’s got and it’s just been unreal.
How would you compare the expectations you had before the move to the UK versus the reality?
It’s more or less the same. We did a trip over there and we spent a couple weeks over in the UK. It’s not the same as when you’re living there, but definitely just to understand, the culture is different, the people are different, the areas are different. It’s still got a lot of beauty. Cornwall is a beautiful place to go and spend time in. It’s even more beautiful when you live there because I’ve been able to travel the entire Cornish coast, see both sides of that area, go down to Land’s End, which is absolutely stunning and just, really kind of sink our teeth into the culture and get really immersed into the people. And we absolutely love it down there.
It’s very similar to this area where we used to live in South Africa. In that nothing happens, no one’s in a rush to do anything and If there is surf, everyone’s surfing, so it’s really similar to where we were in South Africa. So there’s obviously the benefits of being first world and coming from a third world country where mail actually arrives at your front door is pretty strange but it’s definitely something that we don’t take for granted and we love the fact that it is what it is and the reality of it is that we’re having a great time and we’re really enjoying ourselves there and we set up there and we call it home and I think that’s really important, especially after only being there for three and a half years.
Bodyboard waves in the UK
And waves wise? Though I didn’t grow up in Cornwall, I’ve spent a lot of time there and I’d always say if you’ve got the time, there are some world-class waves to be found. What’s been your experience?
This is something I always tell everyone who asks me this question. And I always say the same thing. There’s waves. You can surf.
You could probably surf the majority of the time, but the tides are just so crazy. And if you’re coming from South Africa, I think our biggest tide is 2 m, which when it’s moving like that, you’re like, “Wow, it’s crazy.” And there it’s like 7 meters in Cornwall. And that’s like, you don’t get much time at all to surf when it’s moving that quickly.
You’re only getting an hour, maybe 2 hours max, in certain places. and then you have to change where you’re going to surf. That’s probably the biggest challenge about surfing in the UK. It’s not really the size of the waves, it’s more how much water moves over six hours, which is absolutely insane. That draw and that push is just mind boggling.
And this I tell people when I come back here, I’m like, you guys have no idea how difficult it is just to find a place to surf for an hour or two during the day when the tide is moving that fast. It’s like, sometimes it can be near impossible to really find somewhere to surf. But there are world class waves there and there’s really sick waves and there’s opportunities to find waves and especially now this time of the year, autumn through to middle of March.
And if you want to drive up and down the coast like I do, you’ll find waves and you’ll be able to surf some pretty sick spots.
A New Chapter Bodyboard Coaching
Yeah, I’ve got very fond memories of surfing the length and breadth of Cornwall during University, such a special place. So, you’ve been in the UK for 3 or so years now, quite settled, but how was it on arrival, how did you meet Rob and get involved with Bodyboard Holidays?
I met Rob Barber on our first trip while I was doing some promo stuff in the UK. It was at the same time that I met him that I was just starting to understand what Bodyboard Holidays were doing, the Boogie Everyday membership was starting to turn into something and I’d found this kind of passion for helping people to excel in the coaching environment. And so when he asked me if I would like to do a coaching weekend, it was an easy yes. I think I did the first coaching weekend that same year in the October. We then did a couple more in the November, which were really cool with a great group of people, and the rest is history.
The video analysis is something that I really love because you watch people even over two days really accelerating their progress. I love helping guys just find that thing that just clicks that really helps them to excel quickly because I don’t think it was there when I was growing up. You got tips from the people that were around you, but you never really got this, you never had the video aspect and you never had this indepth breakdown which we’ve started to do which really works and it was just great to find Rob and the team at Bodyboard Holidays. I’ve helped out with the Newquay Activity Centre too, as well as taking over some of the video editing too which has been fun.
There have been just so many opportunities that Rob’s been able to give me along the way, and the help that he’s been able to give me and his support has been absolutely unreal.
For example, after the first couple sessions Rob was like do you want to join me in Nusa Lembongan? It was really tough to turn that one down because you look at Nusa Lembongan and you think why the hell would I not want to do that! And so we’ve done two years there and I think as far as I’m aware this year is sold out and next year is sold out on the Nusa Lembongan trips, and it’s been sold out for the last two years, which goes to show what an awesome trip it is.
It’s like people are queuing to get in there, which is absolutely insane. But it’s just so much fun to go and do those trips. And I think those are really where you see progression on those trips away when you take those people for a week and we really kind of break everything down, the surfing and get guys to change habits and break habits and work on certain things. And on this last trip, we had a guy that was doing a couple moves and getting some things right. And by the end of the trip, he probably got one of the best waves of the entire trip. He got a really deep barrel, came out, and was screaming and losing his mind. And that kind of stuff makes those trips just so worth it.
Coaching is something that I’m really passionate about and I really want to help people progress as fast as possible because I feel like when the progression happens, people really start to enjoy themselves more. The more they enjoy themselves, the more they want to get into the sport, the more they want to try new things. And it’s not just the younger guys either. It’s like, I’ve got some of the older guys on the membership that are part of the Bodyboard Holidays coaching weekends that are just excelling super quick just through the video analysis and through us talking about different things and them implementing different stuff and it’s just super fun to see, and I really am passionate about it, and I love doing it.
Our staff team have loved having Iain on board, 5 time British Champion Damian Prisk had this to say:
“Coaching alongside Iain is awesome. His knowledge of bodyboarding and ability to break things down for our guests is exceptional and the guests always come away having learned something valuable to progress their riding to the next level. On top of that, getting to watch Iain boog is seriously motivating and pushes me to improve my riding”
A Stacked Bodyboard Coaching Schedule
So, in addition to Nusa Lembongan, what’s your full schedule with Bodyboard Holidays?
These next couple months are really the crunch months for me. On the 5th and 6th of September I do a Coaching Weekend in Cornwall. Then on the 19th I head up to The Wave in Bristol for a day of coaching. Then on the 20th I drive down to my mom’s, stay the night and then fly out to Southern Sumatra on the 21st for a free surf trip.
I’m really looking forward to the wave pool event, it’s one of my favourite places to coach. The improvements that we see through these sessions are incredible. Being able to communicate with a rider after each wave is really useful, then them being able to repeat the move until perfection is achieved is crazy. Plus we have really good pre session goal setting and post session video analysis sessions which irons out any creases. It’s super powerful, I urge any rider who wants to improve quickly and have a great day out focussed on bodyboarding to sign up for one of the wave pool events.
So, I’m going to spend two weeks in Southern Sumatra, which is something that I wanted to do last year, but I got a little bit sick and that kind of pulled the handbrake on that. So, this year I’ve pulled the trigger and I’m going to Sumatra. I’m going to spend two weeks down there and just kind of cruise, do a full surf mission. no extra work on the side. I just really want to focus on riding and pushing myself because that’s something I haven’t done in a very long time and something that I’m craving. And so I’ve been training and trying to get as fit as possible. So, I can’t wait!
Straight after Sumatra I go over to Nusa Lembongan from the 8th to the 16th of October. And then to cap off the year I have my last Bodyboard Coaching Weekend on the 7th and 8th of November. And then in January, Rob and the team head to Central America for coaching weeks in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and El Salvador and I will be editing the videos that thbey shoot in those locations. So yeah, a pretty busy time, but it’ll be super rad and I’m frothing for it. I can’t wait. It’s going to be a lot, but I think it’s going to be super rewarding and it’s always just so much fun.
You can see Iain’s full bodyboard coaching calendar here.
And is that your first time to Southern Sumatra?
Yeah, first time. Believe it or not, my first trip to Indonesia was with Bodyboard Holidays!
No way. How’s that possible?
Because it didn’t work with my schedule when on the world tour. So, I’d get home after the South American leg of the tour, beginning of June, and I wouldn’t want to travel more because it was winter here in South Africa. And so I spent most of my winter chasing waves up and down the coast here. And then by October I was in Europe. And so I never really had that gap to do it.
So, on that first trip with Bodyboard Holidays to Nusa Lembongan, I spent a couple days there before everyone else arrived. And then we ended up doing a week in Padang. I went and surfed Padang on a really sick swell for a week and went to Canggu for a week. So I kind of ticked off my whole Bali stint there and then.
Reigniting The Love for Bodyboarding
Reigniting The Love for BodyboardingWhat excites you most about your virgin trip to Sumatra?
I haven’t really done a surf trip for a very long time, where I’m not working or having to focus on all the other stuff that’s coming up. And so, just really pushing myself in my riding and seeing how far I can push it. I’m not saying I’m going to go chase dry slabs and do anything crazy. It’s more just like riding consecutive days without having to really focus on anything else but bodyboarding. I’m really craving it and it’s something that I talk about a lot with my therapist.
I’m doing therapy at the moment because I was really struggling earlier this year. I lost my dad at the beginning of the year, and this is something that keeps coming up with my therapist, just having that time to myself, really focusing on myself, really kind of seeing if I can still bodyboard the way I used to because it’s something that I just don’t know. I’m 35 years old now. I’m not getting any younger. The body gets sore from sitting around not bodyboarding and yeah, I just really wanted to put a lot of effort into going and doing a surf trip and being as healthy and as strong as I can be and I’m also looking to maybe do some events next year, as I miss doing those too.
And I never really formally retired from the world tour and I don’t really care what happens on these trips. I just really want to go and enjoy the vibe and be with the people and, I miss that kind of competition side of things.
I’m a very competitive person, and so I’ve been setting goals in my sessions with the therapist. And I’ve been achieving those goals every single time. I set my mindset to one thing and the next week I come and I’ve done what I’d said I wanted to do, and I get this burning desire to do these things and I guess that’s what’s happening. I think that progression is really fun and it’s entertaining and for me as an individual as well as a sports person, it’s something that I’m craving. And so, if I can get over there (on the World Tour) and do a couple events, that’ll be really cool. but if it doesn’t work out and that doesn’t happen, I’m not really formally obligated to do any of that stuff. It’s just something that I’m keen to do.
The Other Side of the World Title
And going back to that point, you mentioned “Have I still got it?” Do you feel a difference between say now and the year that you won the World Tour? And if so, by how much?
The simple answer is yes.
There is a huge difference. and I think the difference is because I just don’t surf as much as I used to. I’m just not getting in the water as much. I’m not surfing the waves like I surf here in South Africa. I’m not getting in the water, four times a week and really pushing my riding every time I’m getting in, nor focusing on the competition side of things, which is always just going as hard as you possibly can. I’m not training as much as I used to. I’m not as fit as I used to be. I’m not as strong as I used to be. I’m getting older. I just don’t have that desire to really be at a peak athlete and performance level.
So, if I’m not going to be doing that stuff, there’s no real kind of motivation to be in the gym all the time. I rather just sit around and watch YouTube than get the weights out and do a couple of friggin bicep curls or whatever else there was. But I just kind of lost that drive and that kind of momentum that I had. Which I don’t think is a bad thing because I was doing it for a very long time. I’ve been doing it my entire life.
You don’t just become a professional athlete from sitting around watching YouTube. You do it from putting the work in. And I put the work in for a very, very long time. And so, I just kind of got tired of it and I stopped doing it.
But recently, I’ve very much got back into it. And I love it. It’s so motivating. And when you feel good in the water and you’re able to surf better. I went out at caves the other day and did a reverse out of the bowl, and so when I land those kinds of moves, I think to myself, “Wow, okay, I can still do it.” And if I put enough time in, I could definitely get back to where I was.
But it’s also I just don’t have the desire to really be pushing myself all the time because I don’t think many people understand doing what Tristan Roberts and Jeff Hubbard and Pierre Louis Costes and all of those guys are doing. Your body is just sore the whole time, you don’t get that chance to really recover. You’re just kind of like going from one session to the next fully sore, and it’s hard.
It’s really hard on the body and I just kind of got tired of that. However, while I was over here in South Africa I’ve been able to see Philip Nell who I worked with throughout my world title year. So, yeah, you get into that environment again and you start thinking to yourself, okay, I can still do this and I am still physically fit, but I think the big thing is like, I’m just not surfing enough. And when you don’t surf enough, your timing goes off ever so slightly and you misjudge a few things and then I want to surf more dropknee than I do prone. So, I’m getting up dropknee more, and I’m just not really focused on the competition side.
So, I think that’s where that kind of fall off happens, but I’m definitely motivated. I think it’s just so rad to just kind of be in this head space and actively be enjoying myself, And I think that’s one thing that maybe deep down really kind of happened after I got off the tour was that I just wasn’t really enjoying enjoying bodyboarding. I was just on the conveyor belt of getting in the water every time and just trying to be as perfect as I could possibly be as often as I could possibly be and training as hard as I could and just being as good as I could possibly be. And I think that gets tiring and so I found the love again and I enjoy what I’m doing at the moment.
I just love spending time in the water and surfing with friends and having fun. And I think that takes away from that grindy kind of competition mindset that I had before.
3 X World Champion and Bodyboard-Holidays Celebrity Trip Leader Jeff Hubbard had this to say about Iain.
“Iain Campbell is just one genuine, happy human being. It’s always really nice to hang out with him. He’s just really kind and always excited about sharing his knowledge and having a good time.”
The Price of Bodyboarding Perfection
And I’m curious when you were on the conveyor belt and particularly in the year where you felt you’re at your peak, what did the training look like?
So, I’d probably see Phil twice a week in the 2017 year. I was an absolute animal. There was no downtime at all. There was a total disregard for anyone else in my life but I was just so focused on what I wanted and I was willing to sacrifice and do whatever I possibly could to get there. which is extremely selfish, but it’s what you have to do. It’s like you don’t have a choice.
I had a really tight-knit group of people around me that were super motivating and yeah, it was crazy. So, it was like I’d be training twice with Phil every week. I’d probably be getting a massage once a week just to kind of try and get the muscles back into the best possible shape.
I swam twice a week. So I was doing probably four to six kms in the pool, maybe a little bit more sometimes. and then I was in the gym twice with Phil but then I would go do extra time by myself and then I would surf three to four times a week depending on when the waves were going to be best.
Before the Sintra Pro, which was always that one event that was as grindy as it could possibly be, there’s a wave here where I live, probably a kilometer from the house that’s exactly the same as Praia Grande in Sintra. Super slow drop off on the sand to an outside wave that kind of breaks exactly like Sintra, a little bit mushy. Sometimes some really good bowls, but most of the time really mushy.
So, like August, September when it’s the cold months here, I just used to grind it out out there and just surf as much as I possibly could to try and get that Sintra training back. And then just surf as much as I possibly could, driving through to Cape Town, which is an hour, hour and a half’s drive. And I would do that, twice a week if I had to, maybe otherwise just surf caves and the areas around home.
How long were the surf sessions? I’m assuming they weren’t power hours..
As long as I could last or until the cramp started. Because at the same time I was filming for Chasing The Southern Sun. A feature film I made in 2017.
So, I was filming. I was dealing with the first kind of bout of my ulcerative colitis, my illness, and I was training with Phil and seeing specialists and doctors at the same time. And just trying to maximize as much as I possibly could on travel, otherwise surfing as much as I possibly could here and training. And as soon as I was home, it was just like training, come home, eat, nap in the afternoons, go back and surf again in the afternoons if I could. Otherwise, spend the entire day out and just surf as much as I possibly could with the filmer. Yeah, it was wild. I think back to it now and I’m like there’s no way I would do that again. No chance in hell I’m going back to that.
Recurring Health Issues
And you touched on your illness, which I understand has been with you, on and off for a number of years. Are you OK to talk a little more about it?
Holy s***. yeah, it’s been wild. It’s really stress dependent. So that’s the idea of going to the therapist really is to kind of minimize the stress and kind of deal with these issues that I feel have come up because of the illness or have kind of brought on this illness because it’s a gut issue and anyone who’s dealt with any sort of gut issues knows that the mind is so controlling over the gut and that’s something that I really started to realize is anytime I’ve got stress in my head it’s instantly into my gut.
And that’s when I really start to struggle with these issues and so trying to manage my mental state and go to a therapist and see someone and talk about things and discuss stuff and as I said, I lost my dad at the beginning of the year which was really tough and I wasn’t able to be there for majority of his illness because I was living in the UK and there was just a lot that was going on at the end of last year, I got really sick again and probably brought on by some of the stuff from my dad, but also a lot of the stuff in the past and just stuff that I’d never really dealt with.
And so now I feel I’ve been probably the best I’ve been in the last five or six years. So, I’ve got the illness under control. I’m on quite a lot of medication and trying to take as much as I possibly can to kind of get the symptoms down and then actually dealing with the stuff like whatever it is like the mental or the physical. Try to be as healthy as I possibly can. I eat really well. I don’t go out, those days are over. Rose doesn’t drink either, so it’s super easy for us as a couple.
The last couple months have been so up and down. And so getting a grip on that has really allowed me to get a grip on my illness, too. And then obviously, talking with the therapist and dealing with the specialists and everything else that comes with it like doing blood tests every three months and really being on top of that kind of stuff is so important for me.
So yeah, it’s been a challenge!
Talking About Mental Health
Talking About Mental HealthIt’s really good to hear that the therapist is helping. I often think it’s funny that therapy still carries such a taboo. If it’s any other part of our body that needs attention, we’ll see a doctor or specialist, make changes, or take medication, pharmaceutical or alternative, and nobody bats an eyelid. But the moment it’s something mental, suddenly there’s a stigma. It’s weird, isn’t it?
It’s so strange,…
Because the thing is we all deal with our own stuff. Everyone’s got their problems. And I’m not saying mine are bigger than anyone else’s, but I finally found a way that I can deal with some issues that I’ve been struggling with maybe my entire life, bro. And I couldn’t recommend therapy enough. I really couldn’t. I think it’s so vitally important, especially in today’s world where we’re dealing with all of these issues and everything’s right there in front of you. You can’t escape stuff, everything is just so readily available and so in your face.
And so just having someone that you can talk to and who you feel confident with is so vitally important for the time we live in.
Yeah I’m forever grateful for Rose for suggesting that I go see a therapist. It was the 26th of December till the 31st of December. I was in probably the worst place that I’ve been in a very long time mentally and physically with my illness, and mentally struggling with a lot of stuff and so she suggested that I should just try. And so on the 31st of December I messaged someone and she replied right away.
And so I just started the sessions at the beginning of the year and since then my whole life has changed because of that. I really believe that if more people would take the plunge, I think, they’d realize what their real potential is.
What was the selection process to find the right therapist?
Google, that was my selection process!
As easy as that?!
Literally, I Googled “therapist near me.” Someone popped up, I messaged her. She was the first one that I messaged. At that stage I was willing to try whatever I could possibly try to just get out of my head and get into those therapy sessions. So I didn’t really care who it was. I didn’t really stress about that. I was just so open to discussing and sharing and I was already in that mindset of I just want this to work, so I’m going to do whatever it takes.
And so I’ve always been really open with her and I just found the right person straight off the bat. But I know it doesn’t happen as easily with everyone. Some people have to go through a couple to find that right person.
Or you’ve got to want to go. That’s what’s happening with one of my really good friends at the moment. He’s really struggling. And I suggested he give it a try. But I think you have to be able to accept that you really want that help before you go down that process. And so it takes time, bro. But I’m all for it, though.
I couldn’t recommend it enough and I think everyone should be going and seeing someone and helping them deal with whatever they’ve got on their mind.
And you do it in person or remotely?
I do it in person but remotely when I’m traveling. Like I’ve done a couple sessions while I’m away, but for the most part of this year, I’ve been seeing her every single week, in person in Cornwall. It’s been great. It’s been absolutely unbelievable.
Friendship, Competition and Dave Hubbard
Friendship, Competition and Dave HubbardNow, changing tack completely. You mentioned recently being at The Wave in Bristol with Dave Hubbard. I know you’ve been good friends for a long time, how did that friendship come about?
Yeah. I mean, I met Dave when I was first getting on the World Tour.
He came over to a place where we were staying which was super dingy like a backpackers kind of thing and there was a table tennis table there and anyone who knows Dave knows that he’s an absolute weapon at anything, and table tennis is definitely one of those things where he absolutely schooled us. I don’t think I’ve ever won a game against him because for some reason he just knows where to put the bat all the time and so you can just never get the ball past him. So, yeah, I just kind of built that relationship with him from there. And he’s such a nice guy and he’s so down to earth and anytime I have issues, I know that he’s someone that I can turn to and ask for advice and get help from and I just always know he’s there. And I think that’s really what you want from friends.
He’s also someone that I really trust and he’s just always been so cool and so accommodating and so loving and supportive of everything that I’ve tried to do and I don’t think you get that a lot with people nowadays and so he was one of those people that really came into my life and just was so supportive of me and what I was doing and has continued to be like that.
And I did a trip over to Hawaii where he made me do some of the craziest open water paddles that I’ve ever done in my entire life. At a time when I was petrified of sharks because we had seen four shark sightings in two weeks here in South Africa. He was just so comfortable and I was paddling next to him the entire time. But there’ve just been really cool moments with him, really pivotal moments in my life, realizations or understandings or just, he took me on some of the craziest hikes and was just really supportive of me. And yeah, I’ve done my part. It sounds very one-sided, but I feel like I’ve also been there for him and helped him.
He was chasing some things on tour that I really kind of backed him with and was kind of there and did what I could to help his mental space and be supportive of him and what he was doing. And yeah, we just got a really cool relationship. So, when he said that he was going to come over and do the pool event with Jeff, I said, “Come spend a week with Rose and I in Cornwall”.
And he’s an absolutely unreal house guest. The perfect person that you want. Not too loud, not too quiet, keen for anything, but also happy to just cruise. And yeah, he just fitted in well into our routines that we have. And it was great to show him around Cornwall, show him some of the areas that I surf and just kind of take him around. And funnily enough, the day he arrived we got some swell.
We ended up surfing some wedge with Rob and we just had some really fun times and so I decided that we’d make a little video together and we put out a little video and then we went up to The Wave with Bodyboard Holidays which was super rad.
Yeah, and just watching Dave in the water, like I always say he’s the guy that’s having the most fun. And that’s super motivating for me to see. Dave and Jeff are incredible athletes. And, Jeff being 50 and Dave being into his 40s and watching what they do is super inspirational and something that I’m just like in awe of.
It was also rad watching Dave dropknee at The Wave because we are both goofy footers. And then the last session that we had, he did stand up and it was mind blowing, watching him do stand up on a bodyboard in the pool. It’s like something else, bro. And just watching the other standups (on surfboards) in the pool and then watching Dave do what he was doing and I was like, shame, it must be tough being them in there today.
We asked Dave what he thought about getting to know Iain
“I’ve been keen on Iain since the first day we met. He’s a cool, humble, intelligent fella and we have a lot in common. He’s a really complete rider, and I appreciate his versatility. On top of that, he’s a true professional & an excellent ambassador of our sport.”
Where It All Began As a Bodyboarder
Now, I know you want to go surfing, and I do too. This probably would have made more sense at the beginning, but how did you get into bodyboarding? And where did that competitiveness you mentioned earlier come from?
Well, my dad was a life member at the local life-saving club and so we were always around the beach and in the life-saving fraternity. I mean, I grew up being a nipper and when I was about four years old a family friend of ours had a bodyboard and he took us out.
We jumped off the pier, which was a pretty common thing to do back then. So, I was confident in the water from a very young age. My mum had taught me how to swim when I was really young too, she was a professional swimmer, so it’s not like she’s the wrong guy. She’s also a swimming coach still to this day. And so, it was like, I was really comfortable in the water. I’ve been confident in the ocean for years.
And the nippers really taught me how to be safe and understand the ocean and start to kind of build that knowledge. I think it was the best possible way that I could have ever been introduced into the sea was to understand how waves break and understand rip currents and tides and all of that kind of stuff that was taught through the nippers.
And one of the races was to race a bodyboard around some buoys and race back in. And that was something that I always used to love doing. And that just turned into a little bit more of a passion. And I figured out that you can start to ride waves on the way in. And I got into that standard trim position, and I would trim along waves and try and do rolls on the way in and stuff like that. And yeah, it just turned into a little bit of a passion.
Then, when I was about 11 years old I started competing in our state championships and at that stage bodyboarding was pretty alive then, around 2002 to 2004, which was kind of when I really started getting into the whole sport. And competitive wise, I mean, my family is just like an absolute bunch of freaks.
All of us have won a South African title in one year in our different sports. So, we’re all super competitive. My mum is still really competitive. And my brother’s an absolute animal. And so, he’s done life saving, he’s done canoeing, he’s done longboarding, he’s done skating. He’s just one of those people that’s just naturally good at anything they try. My mum was obviously a professional swimmer and my dad was an oarsman. He was a South African oarsman that used to row and he was also sculling. So on a flat water rowboat, and so in one year I won a bodyboarding championship, my mum won the South African swimming masters championships, my brother won a K4 canoeing championship and my dad won his age group in rowing, all in the same year, 2006.
I don’t think many people can say that their parents are full-blown South African athletes, and so I’ve been really lucky to kind of grow up with those genes and also seeing that kind of commitment to a sport.
When you’re a kid watching your parents compete and win South African titles, and be at that level at that age while you’re growing up it’s hard to not join in and be a part of that. I think it’s been ingrained in me. I played water polo at a really high level throughout school too.
So yeah I mean I’ve just always been competitive and so when I got into the bodyboarding scene it was so easy to just kind of be competitive and then there was the life saving and then I was swimming for the school and playing water polo at a really high level. So that kind of competition just kind of was ingrained and it was just so easy to kind of switch it on when I needed to. but I’ve definitely toned it down and switched it off. because I just don’t feel like I need to be like that the whole time.
I think it gets to that point where I feel like people get aggressive and especially in the bodyboarding and surf scene, I think it’s something I’ve really toned down and kind of got to the point where I’m like there’ll be more waves. So I don’t have to be like this arrogant prick in the water and just try and paddle around people. So I’ve turned that dial all the way down.
But It’s definitely still in there and I feel it coming out at times and I think it’s with everyone. I think if you’re competitive at some point in your life you’ve always got it in you.
Do you think everyone on the World Tour is super competitive? Is it the one thing that you all have in common?
Yeah all super competitive. We were all really really friendly but as soon as you touched water that went out of the window.
And I think a lot of those guys on the tour definitely have that competitive streak. I mean, look at Pierre. This week he’s just gone on to do 61 podiums. It’s absolutely insane. And so, yeah, I think I only got to a third of that. And so, for him to still be doing that at that age.
Were there any riders that you’ve met on the tour that didn’t have that competitive streak?
I don’t think so, because the thing is like if you’ve made it that far, you’re going to do whatever you possibly can in your power to stay there. And so I think a lot of the time when people get up to that level and they’re riding on that tour, they’re just so hungry that they’ll do whatever it takes to get to that next point. And so everyone’s got it. It’s just about whether you can really harness it and the longevity of it because that’s always the biggest thing.
Well, I’ll let you go surfing. Thanks so much for your time and for being so open. I think a lot of what you’ve shared will really resonate with people, and I’m sure it’ll be greatly appreciated.
No worries, it’s a pleasure. And you all good, bro?
Yeah, what have I’ve been up to? So, I’ve been getting Noah (my son) in the water this summer riding a bodyboard for the first time. So, yeah. No complaints. And it’s particularly special when he wakes up and says “Dad, can we go to the beach with the bodyboards?”
Heart melting kind of stuff. That’s so rad.
Where are you heading for waves?
I’m going to go to caves because it’s just so close and it’s the easiest option and I know it’s going to be good. It was pumping there yesterday.
We’ll enjoy that and thank you again for your time. It’s hugely appreciated, mate.
No worries, Mave. Anytime. Have a good one!
Back to the Water
And so, with the interview wrapped, Iain headed off to Caves to do what he loves most: get in the water.
These days, he’s also helping others find that same enjoyment through his coaching with us at Bodyboard Holidays and through his Boogie Everyday project. If you fancy learning from Iain yourself, check out our Bodyboard Holidays coaching weekends and trips, and follow Boogie Everyday and his YouTube channel for more of his bodyboarding adventures, coaching and insights.
Iain Campbell Fact File
| Name | Iain Campbell |
| Age | 35 |
| Nationality | South African |
| Home | Cornwall, UK |
| Occupation | Professional bodyboarder, bodyboard coach and content creator |
| World Titles | 2017 Men’s World Champion |
| World Tour Wins & Podiums | 7 wins, 24 podiums |
| Sponsors | Boogie Everyday, Sniper Bodyboards, Churchill Swim Fins, Sun Zapper |
| Favourite Wave | Pipeline |
| Favourite Surf Trip Destination | Hawaii |
| Most Influential Riders | Jeff Hubbard, Dave Hubbard, Ben Player, Jared Houston and many more |
| Most Influential Bodyboarding Films | No Friends 4 |
| Current Projects | YouTube & Boogie Everyday |
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