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Joseph Richard Francis

by Joseph Richard Francis September 26, 2022

Lanzarote surf

The Surf Atlas co-founder and main content lead

Joe “Rich” Francis has been surfing for the best part of 15 years. He’s nowhere near as good as he should be at the end of all that, but hey ho. Born and bred in Swansea, South Wales (the current base of The Surf Atlas), Joe is a seasoned adventure travel writer with completed publications in the surf-travel and adventure-travel sphere for major publications like Lonely Planet and The Culture Trip.

His surfing experience began on the unruly waves of the Gower Peninsula, a place that’s pretty much evenly spread between sloppy mush and nice groundswell days, though there’s loads to explore – both surfing and hiking – on the north and west sides of the peninsular. He’s been working as a freelance writer for the last decade or so and spends most of his time either in his base of South Wales or traveling and working on the go.

Recent surf outings have taken him to the sweeping bays of the eastern Canary Islands, the Bahia de Banderas in Mexico, and the remoter parts of North Island, New Zealand. On his bucket list are south Lombok (hopefully a 2023 project) and Peru (for those long lefts).

Desert Island surf destination: Cornwall. Rugged coast. Cold water. Can’t be beaten.

Stance: Goofy

Boards: 6″0 fat thing // 5″11 FireWire performance

More surf writing from Joe:

  • https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/best-surfing-in-indonesia
  • https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/top-under-the-radar-surf-spots-in-the-world

  • The 7 Best Intermediate Surfboards For 2023

    Check out our top picks for the best intermediate surfboards in 2022 – with options for newcomers to the midrange and improvers pushing advanced.Check out our top picks for the best intermediate surfboards in 2022 – with options for newcomers to the midrange and improvers pushing advanced.


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About us

The Surf Atlas is written by surfers, for surfers. We're a team of ocean-loving people that includes writers in Australia, Wales, and Europe, each passionate about spending as much time in the saltwater as they can.

Contact info

Contact us at [email protected]

The Surf Atlas is a trading name of Closeout Digital Ltd (Company number: 14335732)

Let us drop in on you

We make emails even we would like to read. The latest surf destination guides, surf gear reviews, and surf camp info, all straight to that inbox of yours.

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© 2019-2023 All rights reserved The Surf Atlas (The Surf Atlas is a trading name of Closeout Digital Ltd)

Surf Atlas
  • Europe
    • Portugal
    • France
    • Spain
    • Canary Islands
    • Wales
    • England
    • Norway
    • Iceland
    • Greece
    • Italy
    • Poland
  • Asia
    • Bali
    • Sri Lanka
    • Indonesia
    • Philippines
    • Japan
    • India
    • Thailand
  • Central America
    • Costa Rica
    • Nicaragua
    • El Salvador
  • North America
    • USA
    • Mexico
  • Caribbean
  • Africa
    • Morocco
  • Oceania
    • Australia
    • New Zealand
    • French Polynesia