Before the Atlantic wakes up and attention turns once again to the giant winter swells of Nazaré, Scottish big-wave surfer Ben Larg and British big-wave pioneer Andrew “Cotty” Cotton enjoyed some very different waves on Saturday at Red Bull Sessions at Lost Shore Surf Resort.
The big-wave teammates, who finished third together at the 2025 Nazaré Big Wave Challenge, were reunited in Scotland for Red Bull Sessions, giving participants the chance to share the line-up with Larg and Cotton.
Across six 30-minute surf sessions, surfers shared Lost Shore’s waves with the pros, picking up advice, watching different approaches to the same sections and pushing their own surfing.
Larg, who is an ambassador for Lost Shore, grew up surfing on the Isle of Tiree before progressing to some of the biggest waves in the world. The event offered the chance to surf at home in Scotland and give something back to the community before the European big-wave season begins again.
Ben Larg said: “It was such a good atmosphere. Cotty and I are normally together when there are some pretty serious waves around, so it was nice to have a session where the focus was just on having fun, sharing waves and helping people push their surfing.
“When the Atlantic really gets going everything becomes a lot more serious for us, so this was a great way to get in the water together before that starts. To be able to do it here in Scotland and see everyone feeding off each other made it even better. There’s so much passion for surfing in Scotland. Hopefully nights like this get more people excited about surfing and show what’s possible.”
In February 2025, Larg received a late call-up to make his Nazaré Big Wave Challenge debut alongside Cotton, one of the UK’s most experienced big-wave surfers and a long-time mentor to the young Scot.
Larg announced himself on the international big-wave stage with a third-place finish in the men’s individual standings, while he and Cotton also secured third place in the team competition. The pair have continued to surf and train together, with Larg spending much of the winter chasing Atlantic swells and developing his big-wave surfing. At Lost Shore, however, the emphasis was firmly on fun and progression.
Andrew “Cotty” Cotton said: “There’s always that point towards the end of summer when you start thinking about what the Atlantic is going to do and what the season ahead might bring. Before all of that kicks off, this was just a really fun way to get in the water with Ben and lots of other surfers.
“What I love about Lost Shore is the amount of surfing you can get done. You know the waves are coming, so you can try something, make an adjustment and go again. For anyone who wants to progress, that repetition is so valuable.
“Ben and I have shared some pretty intense experiences in the water. He’s still incredibly young and has so much ahead of him. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does when the big-wave season gets going again.”
Away from the surf sessions, the event also featured breathwork, mindfulness and mobility, before an expression session gave surfers the chance to turn up the performance and put what they had learned into practice. The evening finished with a BBQ and afterparty, bringing the surf community together out of the water as well as in it.
Red Bull Sessions is the latest event to bring some of the biggest names in surfing to Lost Shore since the inland surf destination opened outside Edinburgh in 2024.
Lee Wood, Managing Director of Lost Shore Surf Resort, said: “This is exactly the kind of event we want to see at Lost Shore. You’ve got Ben and Cotty, two surfers who are comfortable taking on some of the biggest waves in the world, sharing the same line-up with people who simply want to progress and get more out of their surfing.
“One of the great things about having consistent waves is that you can try something, learn from it and go again. When you combine that with having surfers of Ben and Cotty’s experience in the water, it creates a pretty special environment for progression.
“Scotland already has an incredible surf culture and our ambition has never been to replace what happens in the ocean, it’s to add to it. We want Lost Shore to be a place where the surf community comes together, where people can progress and where some of the best surfers in the world want to come and surf. Red Bull Sessions captured that perfectly.”