Sam Bleakley (Cornwall, UK) is an international longboard surfing champion, travel writer and geographer. He is a specialist on emerging surf cultures in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, with particular interest in a new wave of Asian surfers who advocate the ancient practices of mindfulness in Buddhism and Taoism. He has produced and presented surf travel films all over the world, and is brand ambassador of UK surfing project, The Wave. He is currently researching a PhD on surfing, Haiti and new modes of travel writing. He lives above a Cornish beach with his family.