Intelligent Activism and Surfing as a Catalyst – Lecture

Chris Hines SAS Campaigner holding an SAS branded surfboard and wearing a wetsuit.

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Chris Hines, Co-Founder and former Director of Surfers Against Sewage, joined us for our last Surf Pioneers Lecture of the Spring 2025 series.

He explored the origins and campaigning of the marine conservation charity from 1990 through to 2000. From the beaches to the corridors of power, Chris revealed how SAS helped deliver a £5.5 billion clean up and reflected on where surfing sits 35 years on.

“We can and should all be activists in our professional and personal lives, it’s payback for the joy we get from surfing and the oceans.”
– Chris Hines

About Chris Hines MBE Hon.D.Sc.

A person in a short sleeve wetsuit wears a gas mask and is standing in front of the ocean, from the side of the image a surfboard is held horizontally pointing towards them.

Chris Hines

Chris has been working and campaigning for the environment for over 30 years and revels in inspiring positive change. Co-founder and then Director of Surfers Against Sewage from 1990 till 2000. Regarded as “some of the Government’s most sophisticated environmental critics” by the BBC and “Britain’s coolest pressure group” by the Independent, Chris was then Sustainability Director at the Eden Project for 5 years. He was awarded an MBE for “services to the environment” and an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Plymouth. He now aims to deliver positive change by working with clients with a shared vision, including sitting on the BBC’s Sustainability Advisory Group and has recently given presentations to a wide range of organisations from Accenture to Comic Relief and Pfizer to the RSPCA.…and he still gets plenty of surfing in!