Joining the Dots with big-wave surfer Andrew Cotton
- Text by Michael Fordham
- Photography by Michael Fordham
Recorded in Don Letts’ creative bunker at the bottom of his West London garden, Joining the Dots traces the way artists, athletes, activists, and subcultures have interacted across decades and continents without even realising.
Across the course of this first season, Don sat down to talk with guests as diverse as photographer Guy Martin, skater and artist Ed Templeton, writer and journalist Hattie Collins, and emerging musician Georgia.
The world of big-wave surfing is populated by an elite coterie of high-profile athletes from all over the planet. Andrew Cotton, who sits down with Don Letts for this episode of Joining the Dots, is a humble young surfer from North Devon – an unlikely member of this rarified subculture.
‘Cotty’ shot to surf world fame in 2016 when, in front of a battery of lenses at Nazaré in Portugal, he rode one of the biggest, most spectacular waves ever documented.
When he sat down in the Letts bunker, Cotty was strapped up and healing from a broken vertebra suffered whilst plying his madcap trade and hoping to recover for the coming big-wave season. Stories were shared. Motivations were explored. Two worlds collide in a leafy backyard in West London.
Joining the Dots was produced in association with Size?. Listen to Joining the Dots on acast, Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts and be sure to subscribe to get each new episode delivered straight to your feed.
You might like
Jake Hanrahan: “Boys can cry, but we don’t all fucking want to”
Hard Feelings — In the latest edition of our column on masculinity and fatherhood, Rob Kazandjian speaks to the conflict filmmaker-journalist and Popular Front founder about his childhood, the found family and community at his Muay Thai gym, and the “complete counterculture” of ‘no rules’ fighting.
Written by: Robert Kazandjian
A new documentary traces the rise, fall and cratering of VICE
VICE is broke — Streaming on MUBI, it’s presented by chef and filmmaker Eddie Huang, who previously hosted travel and food show Huang’s World for the millennial media giant.
Written by: Ella Glossop
Capturing what life is really like at Mexico’s border with the USA
Border Documents — Across four years, Arturo Soto photographed life in Juárez, the city of his father’s youth, to create a portrait of urban and societal change, memory, and fluid national identity.
Written by: Miss Rosen
In search of resistance and rebellion in São Tomé & Príncipe’s street theatre culture
Tragédia — A new photobook by Nicola Lo Calzo explores the historical legacy found within the archipelago’s traditional performance art, which is rooted in centuries of colonial oppression and the resilience of people fighting against it.
Written by: Miss Rosen
As Kneecap and Bob Vylan face outcry, who really deserves to see justice?
Street Justice — Standing in for regular newsletter columnist Emma Garland, Huck’s Hard Feelings host Rob Kazandjian reflects on splatters of strange catharsis in sport and culture, while urging that the bigger picture remains at the forefront of people’s minds.
Written by: Robert Kazandjian
Alex Kazemi’s Y2K period novel reminds us that the manosphere is nothing new
New Millennium Boyz — Replete with MTV and endless band t-shirt references, the book follows three teenage boys living in 1999 USA as they descend into a pit of darkness. We spoke to its author about masculinity, the accelerated aging of teenagers, and the rebirth of subcultures in the algorithm age.
Written by: Isaac Muk
