We were in the car on our way to Lake Erie. It was the start of the fall season. Mark and I have spent numerous hours travelling over the past couple years, chatting about all the potential surf and spots we might want to go to. He introduced me to Great Lakes surfing.

I feel privileged to have such a great friend to share these exciting moments on the water. I am also proud to share with you this portrait of him through my #isurf photo series.

Name: Mark Stewart

Occupation: Designer

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Southern Ontario close to Sarnia, in a small town called Camlachie.

2. What was life like growing up by the lake?

It was great! I feel very lucky to be born and raised close to Lake Huron. I grew up swimming in the waves with my sister, Laura. Sometimes we would bring out inner-tubes and ride them all the way to the beach! I loved exploring underwater and swimming out far when it was flat. I always went to the beach; it is so calming and a separation from regular life.

3. What attracted you to the lake?

Well definitely growing up next to it and being exposed to the environment. I mean I got used to it, it was normal for me to be at the lake. I used to do competitive swimming and I would spend a good amount of time practicing and relaxing at the lake.

4. How did you get into surfing? You started with skimboarding first, right?

Yeah I started with skim in high school, but I always interested in surfing. I had a general idea of what surfing was, just like everyone else. I didn’t really grow up watching surf videos or anything like that though; at the time I didn’t know that you could surf good waves on the lake. I got more into skimboarding because of my high school friends, we would watch skim videos and I just aspired to do more skimboarding… and got more into it.

5. So when did you first surf?

Well I used to pretend I would surf on my skateboard in the driveway (which I still do). My first-time surfing was on a one-week trip to Tofino when I was 18. I took a surfing lesson and then surfed when I travelled from there on out.

6. Did you travel primarily to surf?

No, I was interested in surfing but I didn’t travel specifically for surf. During college, I started to do backpacking trips a lot. I travelled to Australia and New Zealand for 6 months. I thought it was a better life choice to travel more, than to put more effort into college. After Oz, I came back to finish college and then started travelling for surf specifically. I went to South America twice with some close friends. When we were in Chile, I really enjoyed meeting the local skimboarders and surfers and the kindness they showed to us. I would later go on to travel/surf in Japan, Costa Rica, across Canada and California.

I used to travel more to explore than to surf or skim, but now I travel more to surf than explore.

7. How would describe that trip to Australia? How was the surf community out there?

Australia was a great experience overall, but I wasn’t able to surf well and the spots I went to were too advanced for me. It was good because I got exposed to the different types of surfers, waves and conditions… good or bad. I don’t think of Australia as a community of surfers but more of a population of surfers. Everyone surfs there!

8. Why that change from swimming and skim to surf?

Well I used to do a lot of other sports like basketball too and it took a toll. You also can’t skim forever, so I got more interested in surfing. I bought a surfboard and started surfing at home.

9. When did you start surfing the Great Lakes then?

Well I started at home after the Tofino trip. But I would only surf a couple times a year on a big swell. I was totally unaware of other spots on the Great Lakes and the consistency of the waves on the lake at that time.

I would probably say I started surfing more often after college when I moved to Guelph. I didn’t have the greatest outlook on the future and I was bummed that I wasn’t close to the ocean or lakes. I took a trip to Costa Rica and really got into progressing at surfing then. I came back thinking I can’t wait to surf the at home. I went to Lake Erie one day and that was a game changer! Our group started going surfing more and checking out the other spots. I surf up to 2-4 times a week now depending on the conditions.

The #isurf series follows people of the Great Lakes community and retells their stories through anecdotes, interviews and photographs. #isurf will be released every other month, the first part will be released on the Wednesday and the second on the Friday.