It’s incredible how the years fly by. Mundaka Surf Shop is celebrating its 40th anniversary, founded in 1985 by Craig Sage and his wife Itziar. We caught up with him a few days ago to talk about everything that’s happened over the years (and it’s been quite a ride!), as well as the celebration taking place at the shop this Saturday, June 14th.

Hi Craig! It’s truly an honor to have you with us, as your name is inseparably linked to the history of such an iconic and special spot as Mundaka.
Tell us, how did you end up here, and what were those early days like with Mundaka Surf Shop?

Well, the first time I came to Mundaka, I was working as a lifeguard in England. A Scottish guy mentioned that there were potentially very big waves breaking along the Iberian coast — which we later found out was Mundaka. We took the ferry from Plymouth to Santander and arrived in Mundaka in September 1980. That was the first time I saw the wave.

We arrived to find two-meter waves, a really powerful day, and hardly anyone in the water. It was one hell of an experience. I wasn’t used to that kind of wave power, and it definitely caught me by surprise.

After three years of lifeguarding in England, I was actually on my way back to Australia to finish my university degree — I was studying law. But I thought, well, I might just hang around here until Christmas. Then January came, and in 1983 I decided I had to stay and try to build a life here. That’s when I met the woman who would become my wife.

I started teaching English in Bilbao. It was a good time.

Later, my brother wrote me a letter saying he had opened a surf shop in Noosa Heads, Australia. He said, “Why don’t you come back, work with me in the shop, and finish your law degree? Mum’s worried about you.” So I convinced my girlfriend to come with me.

But once we got there, we realized we had to return. It was hard for her to adapt, and her father wasn’t very happy. The fact that we weren’t married and were living in a foreign country made things complicated. So we decided to take some ideas from Australia and come back with the plan of opening a surf shop.

I had made some contacts in the surf industry, and we developed a few ideas and concepts we thought could work. When we came back, we found a location. There weren’t really any proper distributors at the time, so we had to source products through different contacts. For example, Maurice Cole helped us with Rip Curl. It was definitely a tough start, but we got through it.

No one better than you to analyze the evolution of Mundaka.

Over time, what kind of changes have you noticed, both in the wave itself and in the local community?

Surfing in Mundaka has obviously evolved a lot since the beginning. In terms of equipment—surfboards and wetsuits—it has improved tremendously. But the biggest change has been that now young surfers, around 15 or 16 years old, are able to dominate this wave, which was impossible before. Back then, they would have been too scared to go out, or their families wouldn’t have allowed them in the water. That’s the biggest evolution I’ve seen.

Just a few weeks ago, on a Monday, I was surfing with Natxo Gonzalez, Iker Acero, Eder and Iker Fuentes, along with some other young surfers, and the level of surfing was exceptional. It felt like a really great moment—just watching the new generation coming through, you know?

Nowadays, I see plenty of local kids here who will soon dominate the lineup with very powerful surfing. Eneko, for example, is a young surfer performing at a very high level—very quick, fast, and active in the peak. There are also some other kids here in Mundaka who are still a bit timid, but they’ll be making their mark very soon.

Can you explain to us a bit more about how you decided to open your own surf shop, which is now celebrating its 40th anniversary? What were the main motivations and challenges you faced when starting out?

I was thinking of going back to Australia, but I finally decided to stay here for Christmas. Then I met the woman who is now my wife. Things were looking good. Some friends recommended that I teach English in Bilbao, so I decided to give it a try and see how it went.

Also, since a lot of people were traveling through Mundaka, I started to realize there was a good opportunity to open a shop here. I managed to get a little bit of work just to get by. I was happy with that. I was rich in life, you know—I wasn’t rich in money.

For my family, it was very hard because my mom didn’t understand at all. There were constant letters back and forth: “Come back to university, finish your degree. Why are you staying over there?” I tried to explain that I had actually met someone who was very dear to me, and that I was probably going to end up living in Mundaka.

I feel like I was in the right place at the right time. I was pretty lucky with that, you know.

What would you recommend to someone who wants to travel the world today, like you did back then?

A lot of people ask me about traveling to Australia, which is a very welcoming place for students with a working visa. When we were in Australia two years ago, we spoke with many people from this region. Australia offers a working visa that allows people to stay for several years and gradually adapt to life there — which is fantastic.

You could also try something similar today in places like California or New Zealand.

But I think the world has changed. Today, it’s much more common — and easier — to travel somewhere for two weeks, like the Mentawais or the Canary Islands, than to do what I did back in the ’80s. Back then, it was possible to travel with almost no money. Today, that’s nearly impossible. Everything has become much more complicated and expensive.

By the early 2000s, Mundaka had made its way onto the map of professional surfing, becoming a stop on the CT (Championship Tour) calendar — and you were an essential part of that event.

Tell us about that experience: what was your role, and how did you live through that unique and unforgettable period?

In the early days, when we formed the Mundaka Surf Club in 1987, and not long after the Bizkaia Surfing Federation was created, we started organizing a few local competitions here in Mundaka, like the BBK contest. Then we held some Pro Juniors, I believe in the mid-90s. Toward the end of the ’90s, we started talking with Billabong. One day, while chatting in the office, we discussed the fact that there was going to be a pro event in Anglet, and maybe Mundaka could serve as a backup location.

So yeah, we ended up hosting the final here in Mundaka on September 9th, when Occy won. I was actually helping him as a caddy that day and gave him some inside information.

After that, we moved on to the WCT. We only needed 27 hours of competition time, and I believed it was possible to run the full event here. It was supposed to happen in 2001, but after what happened in New York that year, the event was cancelled. So we came back in 2002 — the year Andy won in Bakio, since we were really unlucky with the waves in Mundaka. The following year was also tough. We ran one heat on the first day and then had to wait nine days to continue. That was really hard, because everyone was asking: “What are we going to do?” Fortunately, we got a small window of waves toward the end.

Then came 2004, which was a great year for competition — that’s when Luke Egan won. We had a few more years after that, but to be honest, it became very complicated. The surfers were very demanding, and it was hard to keep everyone happy.

I mean, my wife asked me once — it was total chaos. During the comp, I had to wake up at 5 a.m. every day and work until 2 a.m. She said, “Either you really love what you’re doing or you’re completely crazy.” I said, “Well, yeah… I guess it’s a little bit of both.”

It was truly a pleasure to be contest director here in Mundaka and to see such amazing surfers in the water.

Some anecdote you remember from those days?

There were always problems — external problems, parking issues, overcrowding. I remember one day here when I estimated there were about 10,000 people in Mundaka. Then the local police came and said, “That’s it. The event is over for the day. Tell everyone to go home.” And I told him, “Dude, I can’t do that! Sorry, I can’t. It’s a world-class event and it needs to keep running.” He said, “Well, we will declare an emergency if something isn’t done.” So, we went on the loudspeakers and asked everyone to move back from the grassy area, which was dangerous.

Another year, while running the event, the speakers were really loud, but at the same time there was a funeral at the church nearby. At one point, the priest came out and said, “Stop. I’m holding a church service for a person who died.” We told him we were going to turn the speakers down, but we couldn’t stop the event. It was so funny when he showed up at the event and everyone thought, “Did someone die or what?” Haha!

Would you say that being part of the Tour has been a turning point for Mundaka (both as a wave and as a town)? Nowadays, do you or the local community wish the wave could return to the CT calendar?

I think it would be a good idea to hold it in February since the CT is in Portugal at that time of year. I would love to see it come back, definitely. But I wouldn’t want to get involved myself — I’d prefer to watch it from the outside. Mundaka deserves to have an event.

Some time ago, a surf shop was like a cult space — a meeting point for the local community where, besides faithfully buying gear, people talked about sessions, watched videos… Then with the rise of the internet and online shopping, all that seems to have changed. What do you think about this development? What do you believe is the role of surf shops today, and above all, do you dare to predict what their evolution will be like in the coming years?

I think the magic of Mundaka is that you have to come here in person. People enjoy coming here and buying the products we carefully select with them in mind. But yes, the internet is obviously there. Wetsuits are probably one of the worst products to sell in the shop nowadays because there are so many offers online. Surfboards are harder to buy online, which is why I think it’s important to visit the shop, talk to us, and we’ll recommend what we think is best for you.

40 years of the surf shop. Which are some of the best moments you remember?

Oh, OK, best moments… I think in the early days, we always had a Christmas party in the shop, it was very special times. Many families came and enjoyed together. Yeah, and all the kids would come in, a little underage, and we’d have punch. Those were very good times. There used to be a lot of surfers here. I miss those days.
Also, when lots of people used to come to watch the competition. Today, everyone watches it on their phone, but back then it was definitely special. All the kids would come with their dads to watch the comp together.

Nothing else, Craig — I think we’ve given you enough to talk about today! Haha. We just want to say it’s been a privilege to spend this time with you, looking back at part of the history of our surfing. If you want to close the interview with a few words, the mic is yours 🙂

My feeling about Saturday is that I want to celebrate it with my family, my friends, and the people from Mundaka. There’s a lot of friendship in the surfing industry, and many great surfers too. Having that whole mix and making a big celebration together will be amazing.

I’m happy to have spent all these good years working with great people. I hope to see friends who have been in the industry for a long time, like Enrique Artero, Javi Amezaga, Javi Buron, Fermin, Kike Panera… There are many people who have been here from the beginning.

There’s a lot of history, and I’m happy to enjoy the day with all my friends, including Occy, of course! It’ll be great to see him.