Tom Crowe: Finding Identity in the Ocean

Growing up in Norfolk, the sea was always present in the life of Tom Crowe. But, with poor quality and fickle waves the standard fare, Tom made it his mission to hunt down decent surf wherever he could find it. After years of weekend-warrior trips funded by working as a cycle courier in London, some fellow skateboarders noticed the tell-tale surfer’s neck-tan line and invited him along on their trips. These became more frequent and, before long, the call of the coast was too much. ‘It felt like such a far distant dream and then… I just left and moved to France.’

A season on the Basque coast and a winter sojourn to a surf camp in Morocco manifested into a life in the land of right-handers. Years later, Tom was still there – now working for the surf camp, organising their bookings. He met his partner there and, after discovering they were going to have their first child, they decided to relocate to Cornwall and move onto a farm with his wife’s family. “It’s great childcare!” he quips with a wry smile, before adding, “We live on the farm with her parents and her other sisters, so there’s 14 of us in total. It’s a bit of a family commune.”

Now deeply embedded in the surf community of Porthleven, Tom splits his time between running the bookings for the surf camp, and volunteering work for the Coastguard, RNLI and as a coach for his local surf-lifesaving club. Having worked hard to earn his place in the local coastal community, he’s now a mainstay – Tom, the ocean guy. The coastal rescue volunteer. It’s an identity that has beenlong fought for and hard won.  

“I was actually adopted from birth,” he explains, “so identity has always been something I've struggled with and found very difficult to navigate. Answering that simple question of ‘who am I', hasn’t been that simple. But I feel like, without even realizing it, the ocean has given me that identity.” 

Having been given so much by the sea and building a life around its rhythms, Tom has spent the latest part of his life determined to give back. “I've always had that innate urge to help people,” he explains, when asked about his volunteering for the RNLI and Coastguard, “It just felt like a logical progression. It’s so difficult to give back to something that's given me so much, and this just feels like my little way to do that.” 

As well as being on call with the local Coastguard and RNLI services, dropping everything to head out to sea to rescue anyone in need, Tom is incredibly passionate about passing on the gifts and knowledge the ocean has bestowed upon him – both to his own kids and those he coaches through the local surf-lifesaving club. "The ocean is such a great teacher!” he continues excitedly. “It teaches resilience, boundaries, and gives them confidence, all while having heaps of fun. I just hope that they maintain those things and that innocent joy of playing in the sea as they grow up.”

Despite the deep love Tom exudes for the sea, that relationship hasn’t been without its challenges. A few years ago, Tom suffered a serious injury that, at the time, looked like it may have devastating consequences. “I had a wipeout at the reef here in Pothleven,” he recounts, "I hit my knee, and it just looked like just a small puncture wound to start off with. But as things evolved, I got an infection which went through to the bone... and I was told I might lose my leg from the knee down.”

For most the news would feel like a death knell to any hope of spending time in the sea, but Tom’s determination and passion were unshakeable. “It was a bit of an eye opener, but it didn't really change my thoughts about the ocean. I think even if I'd lost the leg, I'd have found a way to get back in there! Never for a second did I consider an alternative.”

Fortunately, the worst never came to pass, and Tom is back in the ocean, volunteering, coaching and surfing – still taking any chance to wake at 4:15am and run down the hill to Porthleven for a dawn surf in his favourite place on earth. “Again, I think the identity thing was something that I've always craved.” he explains when asked about his affinity for the Cornish harbour town. “The community here has been so welcoming, and this is where my life has evolved and manifested. So, I feel indebted to them somewhat. It's been like becoming a family.”

That family now includes Tom’s birth mother, having been reunited just a few years ago after Tom decided to track her down and finally answer that question, ‘where do I come from?' Something he says he would have struggled with had he not found confidence in his own ocean identity.