John Franks
John was born in Weymouth, England, in 1974, but has never actually lived there. He grew up in Bilbao, where his grandparents founded St George’s English School. His mum remarried following his dad’s death and the family moved to a small town on the outskirts of Bilbao, just five minutes from the beach. That’s when John caught the surfing bug.
At 18 he packed up and left for Australia, spending three months surfing the East Coast, and his travels have seen him take in waves in Indo, Fiji, Tahiti and the US.
“First and foremost I consider myself a surfer – I can go without drawing or playing the guitar for a week, but I couldn’t be out of the water for more than one day. It gives me the inspiration to write songs and create pictures. My art doesn’t give me enough money to live so I work as a clothing representative. It’s a good job and it gives me enough free time to do my stuff. My dream would be to be able to live on what I like most doing: surf, paint and sing.”
