We caught up with Phoebe Strachan, Mango team rider, after a week at the Lost Shore Wave Pool in Edinburgh. Phoebe is currently fund raising and training for this summers Euro Surf in Portugal.
Congratulations on winning the Down the Line 'Warriors of Winter' photo comp' recently, Matt Biolos chose the winner himself, does that mean a new board?
Yep, he did, and yeah I think they're sending me two new Lost surfboards and some FCS fins which is pretty cool! I'd literally just ordered a new board because I've pretty much snapped my whole quiver this winter and I've literally got nothing, so I ordered the new board and then a week later they're like, have two free new boards, I was like oh sh*t no way!
I guess that's the drama of living at Thurso?
oh yeah man, it's just the slabs, they just eat boards and because I'm not very good at surfing slabs, I'm still just getting trashed and going through boards.
You were at the Lost Shore for a few days for the Highland Fling ?
Yeah, The Highland Fling which I got an invite too, with all these actual professional surfers. It was pretty cool. I did a little bit of training there too, and just before I headed back up the road, Ben Skinner jumped in to give us some tips, which made such a difference, it was really good.
Oh awesome, picking up a lot of longboard techniques, you're going to be representing the team in shortboard and longboard ?
Yeah, well I wouldn't go as far as picking up a lot. It's definitely not my favourite form of surfing anyway. I just am finding it a bit big and clunky compared to my shortboard, and that's just the carrying it about! But I actually do enjoy it, once I'm on it.
When they had the bodyboard in the euro's I ended up having to do that as well, which was always a bit of a laugh. The worst bit is I always end up doing better in the longboard or the bodyboard than the actual sport that I train for which is the shortboard! 
The Lost Shore, the first wave pool in Scotland, how is it ?
Oh it's magic honestly if you get to go, give it a shot because like I really enjoy Bristol but this is next level. The settings have so much more variety, it's a longer wave, and the settings that we were getting to surf at the comp was ridiculous, so fun, like there's an air setting, a slab setting, like loads of different kinds of barrels, loads of different turns, some of them aren't commercial settings but even the commercial settings are amazing, so yes it's a really really good training facility for sure. I still much prefer surfing the ocean.
How far is the Lost Shore in Edinburgh from your home at Thurso?
It's six hours from my house! It just takes forever like, so this is my first weekend at home in seven weeks I've just been up and down the road every weekend. I'll come home and do my three days of joinery and then I'm literally straight in the van, throw the dog in the van and then we're driving like six or seven hours either to Newcastle to see my other half and then we surf down there or I've been at the pool either coaching or training. So yeah it's been a bit of a mental few weeks.
Talking of Newcastle, we saw you having a great time at the Sam Fender concert. Looked incredible. Is that the surf world providing ?
yeah, so it's a funny one, my other half is Sandy Kerr and his best mate is Owain Davies (Surf fam, and Sam Fender and Ben Howard's manager), they kind of grew up together, so it was kind of Owain, yeah, and for me it was like completely surreal, but for them they're just gonna see their mate play. It was such an amazing opportunity and just nice to do something that wasn't actually surfing. 
Scotland are due at the ESF Euro Surf event this July, do you still get to do the ISA Worlds event ?
The rules used to be that they would let Scotland, Wales, and the individual nations compete. We used to be able to compete until it became an Olympic sport and then it had to be GB. So we were all looking forward to getting to go to the world's this year but no, they decided to change the criteria, like literally a few weeks ago to say that they're no longer gonna let Scotland and Wales and all that compete at all now in the worlds because apparently we'll bugger up the seeding or something for the next year, which, is I don't know, I'm pretty pissed because we were all pretty buzzing to go to El Salvador and it's just such an honor to represent Scotland and the Worlds used to be such a fun event and it's just good for us to be going and surfing. We don't ever do very well but the experience of surfing with all these amazing athletes, it's just such an eye-opener and for me I wouldn't get to see half of these places around the world if it wasn't for things like this. To get into team GB is really difficult. You bascially have to be competing on the QS and then to compete on the QS, you have to just have loads of money to be able to do that.
And for anyone who literally has to work for a living, it's just not doable. So then you're just like, oh man, this kind of sucks. We're not gonna get to go to the Worlds.
so the EuroSurf in Portugal becomes even more important!
Yeah, so it's the European champs, which is pretty cool. It's always a super fun event. We've done that for a lot of years, so at least we're still allowed to do that, but for how long, I don't know, until they change the rules aswell.
It's always fun because we get to hang out with the Welsh, the Irish, all of them. So yeah, we're super looking forward to that. We've almost hit our crowdfunding goal.
You've got loads of various offers and rewards from Moulded Ear Plugs to our Mango Surfing voucher and there's all sorts going on there so people can pick and choose as they donate (link at the bottom of this page).
Yes and all of the support is always so appreciated because really without this it just wouldn't be able to happen.
Do you get to keep what's currently donated or do you have to reach that target!?
No I think you get to keep it which is good because obviously we've all paid our own flights but this will just cover like entry fees and accommodation and stuff so yeah like that just makes a big difference really.
In terms of your surf coaching are you still doing that?
Yeah yeah, I'm like trying to fit it all in. I feel like I'm working about three or four different jobs at the moment but yeah it's really good, I obviously do the voluntary surf club stuff, run the surf club up here on a Tuesday. But then I do all my private coaching with kids and adults. I start doing a few weekends down at the pool as well for folk down south in Edinburgh. 
So people can basically just get in touch with you via Instagram and book a lesson ?
Yeah, it's just my own thing. I'm also the Scotland junior assistant coach so I do a bit of that once a month. We do a training camp for the junior team as well so.
In terms of inspiration for your surfing, is there anyone or a few people over the years that you've looked up to?
yeah I think for me, I've always just kind of looked on a Scottish scale like all the boys that surf around me, like Boydie and Clarkie and then ... I'm always just trying to carve my own path and not really compare myself to other people, I'm always just like oh, yeah, what they're doing is cool. I might want to do something kind of like that...
Thank you Phoebe, last few days of your crowdfunder, get involved people, and good good luck in the Euro Surf event !
