Date: 15th May
Harbour Housing, resident and podcast host, Josh, met up with AASP World Champion Surfer and Cornish legend, Pegleg Bennett, to discuss the benefits of Blue Therapy for mental health and surfing life.
As Josh arrives at Peg’s office, the backdrop is an idyllic Cornish setting. The sun is shining down in all of her ethereal beauty, upon Perranporth beach, as the Cornish flag sways softly on the top of Chapel Rock.
Immediately, Josh is transported into Peg’s world, through his energy and passion to share his love of the ocean and of surfing with people of all ages, abilities and challenges.
Born as Rick Bennett in 1969, Peg was born without an ankle in his left leg, which resulted in him having it amputated at 13 months old. Throughout Peg’s childhood, he went by the nickname Pegleg and eventually decided in 2016 to make this his legal name.
As an amputee surfer, competing and coaching internationally, Peg maintains a positive attitude in his approach to coaching, whether that relates to an individual’s inexperience, fears or confidence, Peg believes that everybody is unique and, in his eyes, nobody has a disability, people just have different needs, so he adapts his training sessions and joins them on a journey, to find a way, that they fall in love with surfing.
“Everyone belongs somewhere in nature. For me, it’s the ocean”
Peg’s first surfing experience was with one of his friends when he was 17 years old. His friend carried down a surfboard to the beach for him, and once in the water, Peg loved the freedom of what the ocean had to offer and noticed how people on the beach were intrigued by how he was navigating and overcoming the challenges of surfing.
“You could say it was a wild thought, as surfing is not an easy sport to learn, even when you are fully able-bodied, but I love the extremes of life”
Growing up throughout the eighties, the surfing community was associated with partying and experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Being a person of extremes, Peg fell into addiction at a time when men felt restricted from discussing their mental health.
It was the love of the water that allowed Peg to choose to replace hard drugs and alcohol with the ocean, and began to once confident in his surfing ability, he began to explore ways that he could compete in surfing competitions.
During this time, he found that the surfing community was limited to able-bodied surfing events, but against all odds, he began competing in these and with his ‘can-do’ attitude, began quickly progressing on both a personal level with the sport and his journey to overcome his addictions towards good mental health.
Josh: Why is Blue Therapy so important?
Peg: “For me, water is a constant, my therapy where my problems can just melt away. It never lets me down. I find peace through the movement of the sea. Every time, I get in the water, I feel completely encapsulated, as though I am receiving a big hug, and despite its vastness and the dangers, it is where I feel the safest”.
Peg has spent the last 40 years advocating for adaptive surfing, in both the competitive arena and to highlight how the ocean can be adaptable to everyone. For Peg, it is an absolute honour to have been part of building a community through adaptive surfing. During this time, he has witnessed the change in attitudes in regard to diversity. Surfing is now recognised by the Police and the army, and surfing lessons can be prescribed for mental health.
On a personal level, Peg never envisaged that he would have the opportunity to travel the world, representing Great Britain, whilst living his passion. Adaptive surfing is now the biggest and fastest-growing section of this incredible sport.
“ I would like to be remembered as a positive role model, who always tried and never gave up and who encouraged everyone to love the ocean”
At Harbour Housing, many of the residents have complex needs and experiences of poor mental health and substance abuse. A primary aim is to reach out to the local community and collaborate in activities where residents can feel safe, understood and take part in positive mental health experiences. We are delighted that with funding, we can offer residents surfing sessions with Peg and his team.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE:
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