Our Founder
Pearse Geaney
My watersports journey started with competitive swimming as a kid, and a quick spin on a good friends windsurf board during a summer 1991 family holiday in beautiful West Cork. Hooked immediately on the windsurfing, it gave me a lifestyle rich in fun, adventure, thrills and experience.
My competitive story began at the 1993 Irish National Windsurfing Championships. Everybody remembers their first...mine was a 3.0m with a 295cm slalom board in 50 knots…could barely hold the gear on the beach! I won junior and youth windsurfing classes, raced with the Irish National Windsurfing Team, and enjoyed 4 Irish National Windsurfing titles. Events and competitions make you improve fast…have to ride with better riders.
2007 saw me organise a group who re-energised the Irish Windsurfing Racing championships. I’m currently the President of the Irish Windsurfing Association…it's nice to give something back after all these years.
I now surf, SUP, kitesurf, bodyboard, waterski, fish, powerboat, and sail. I make watersport trips with family, sampling new places, skills, conditions, and also people to share waves and wind with. Including my family. Hard to beat a watersports trip...the ”want” to go again and again always grows.
A Chemical & Projects Engineering background sees me enjoy design, problem solving, fabrication, coding, machining, and mechanics to name a few. When not engineering or contributing to Bigsurf, I’m with my family, or I’m in the garage building, modifying or repairing. These skills are useful, not just in business management but also in sourcing quality product.
Bigsurf is something I could do 25 hours a day. As cringy as it sounds, it’s a passion. In the early 2000’s, we had to buy race gear from Europe…however the customer service and waiting times were shocking, and the shipping costs significant. When things go wrong, then you really know how good a shop (or a brand) is at supporting. That is our motivation, and why Bigsurf strives to be the best. We’re 100% here to support. I spent as much time as I could when maturing(!), having fun on a beach in the wind and waves with others…why not try share that. So I sold my own gear to buy stock and start Bigsurf. We’ve done well since 2009, especially as we were not funded by wealthy investors looking for return on investment.
Bigsurf specialises in watersports equipment...we don't offer huge volumes of clothing, and we're not a school...we focus on supplying the best equipment for everybody, we give the best advice, and we take care of every customer. We've helped 1000’s of customers since the Bigsurf start back in 2009…I’m delighted to see customers return to us time and time again, we’re helping others to enjoy it as much as we do.
When you order from Bigsurf, you're supporting our team of real people who work hard to maximise your watersports enjoyment. We’re here for the long haul…when you need to upgrade your gear in 10 years time, or if you have a problem with any equipment, we’ll be here to support you.
See you on the water soon!
