Kepa Acero : Surfer featured on the cover of Footprint's new guide to Surfing Europe.

Ripcurl Newquay Boardmasters : Wednesday 4th August 2004

Yesterday we talked to 24 year old Kepa Acero, a Spanish surfer who's been on the circuit for three years. He's on the front cover of a new book that's been released but he didn't know anything about it.

"I heard my photo was going to be used for something but I never thought it would be this big! I was just walking around here today and the book seller recognised me from the front cover."

Kepa explained that he works closely with a photographer. The photographer sends his photos away to books and magazines all the time and this photo struck gold.

Kepa lives in Los Angeles now but originally from he's from Northern Spain. Kepa likes to return home as often as he can. "I need to get out of the surfing life from time to time. It can get too much"

When not surfing he enjoys "Skateboarding, snowboarding and going to the cinema"

In the "second division" of surfing, he says that it's his and "every surfers dream to make it into the top 44, which is like the first division"

Surfing since the age of 13, Kepa only started to take his surfing seriously when someone from Oakley spotted his talent. Sponsoring him, they also paid for Kepa to go to Australia to fine tune his skills with their team.

It used to be just Kepa and his brother on the tour which "could get lonely" but now there's seven Spanish surfers and they all get on really well "like a big family".

His best result was at last years Boardmasters where he got into the semi-finals. Unfortunately Kepa was narrowly knocked out of the competition this year.

His favourite place to surf is Mundaka in Spain although he'd love to live in Australia mainly for the great surf scene.

I asked Kepa about his most embarrassing moment but he laughed saying "I don't really think I can talk about that!"

"The photo on the book will be good publicity for myself and my sponsors and I hope it could take me to new places."

Kepa is a really nice guy and we all wish him the best of luck in future competitions.