A PIONEERING surfer from Australia who helped put Newquay on the global surfing map in the early 1980s has returned to the town.

Cheyne Horan is staging an evening with to talk about his career riding waves and shaping innovative surfboards, which will be held at The Dead Famous on Sunday, May 19, at 7.30pm.

He will also be shaping boards at the Ocean Magic Surfboard Factory during his visit.

Cheyne was among the first professional surfers to visit Newquay along with Shaun Thomson, Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew and Derek Hynd to compete in the Gul/Alder European Pro Am at Fistral Beach in 1981.

Thousands of spectators flocked to watch the top international pros battle it out against the cream of British surfing talent. The competition was jointly won by Cheyne and Rabbit.

The event proved to be a seminal moment for both British surfing and the identity of the Newquay surf scene.

Cheyne said: “It feels so good to be back in Newquay. I’m looking forward to getting a good surf and getting started on all the boards I’m making.”

Reminiscing about his first visit to Newquay in 1981, Cheyne said: “I was among the first pros to come to Fistral. We came here to get professional surfing going.

“We turned up and the waves were fun. We had two weeks of surfing here and met a lot of nice people.”

Cheyne’s talk at The Dead Famous is free to attend.