Line of Escape
A portrait of Ander Mendiguren

Raised on a hill of Lemoiz, a quiet town of Bizkaia that is close to the ocean, during his teenage years he succeeded in the local and regional competitions.

Due to his academic interests and social concerns, he decided to study Sociology and a master’s degree about social research.

Finally, he did a PHD in Social Anthropology about experiences of homelessness and addiction in a context of war on drugs and rising inequality.

Researching with people suffering extreme urban poverty, mental health issues and state punishment, was both enriching and shocking.

During that academic trajectory, surfing was his line of escape, a pastime to release stress and anxiety.

In that period, he also suffered a long-term injury that kept him away from the ocean for a year.

Due to this adversity, he was forced to ride bigger boards and perform different.

Progressively, his narrow-minded thruster approach was displaced by a wider understanding of surfing.

As he became interested in different shapes and styles, the injury itself produced a line of escape that provided him new connections with the ocean, diverse feelings and joy.