Losing my leg elevated my life, says world surfing champion

He works as a digger driver in the family construction business when not surfing.

“I’ve learned how to do everything with one leg, except to be able to use a wheelbarrow,” said Williams with a wry smile.

“When I turned 18 I wheelchaired my way into the kitchen and said we’re heading off to Australia.

“We did a year out there travelling around the coast surfing, living in a camper van.

“To be able to go back there now every year for a competition is just brilliant.”

In March, he won the 2026 Bright Sky Australian Pro Adaptive Surfing Championship as the kneeling champion and proudly held the Welsh flag aloft on the beach at Byron Bay, New South Wales.

And he was third in the North Shore Prosthetics Hawaiian Surfing Championships in May.

He self funds participation in surfing competitions and has been thankful for his supporters close to home.

Williams has also been lobbying with others for his sport to be included in a future Paralympics Games.

“Surfing has been a huge part of my recovery and the adaptive surfing community has helped me so much,” he said.

“Disability for me has elevated my life – anything is possible if you have any kind of disability.”