Troggs have been trading since 1984 and have almost 40 years of professional surfing experience, building a reputation as a leading Surf Shop in the UK and Ireland.

Ian Hill - Surfing Castlerock - Easter 1964

Humble beginnings

My father Ian, first discovered surfing whilst on holiday in Bude in Cornwall, being a keen competitive swimmer and lifeguard, he bought his first surfboard in the early 1960’s from an Australian lifeguard named Bill Bailey.

Dad first surfed the North Coast, at Castlerock in Easter 1964, aged 27. Dad is now in his mid 80's, and as stoked as ever about surfing and the North Coast of Northern Ireland.

Andy Hill - East Strand - Portrush

Dad brought me up from an early age competing at swimming (I swam a mile at the age of 4) and springboard diving as well as gymnastics and trampolining, from those early years I had real passion for the water and when we moved to Portrush in 1979 dad taught me how to surf.

As I became more addicted, the frustration of not being able to obtain good surfing wetsuits, boards, wax, etc, Dad started a wee surf shop in the garage of our guesthouse “Drumlee” on Mark Street in Portrush, then when we moved to “The Den” a lovely property overlooking East Strand, we made an even bigger garage shop.

During the 1980’s my competitive nature lead me into surfing competitively and I have represented Ireland on the National Team for almost 15 years.

I still maintain the record for most consecutive Irish National tiles in the Open, 6 running back to back undefeated from 1989 to 1994.

I represented Ireland in 3 world championships and 7 European Championships and I am eternally grateful to the Irish Surfing Association for that very special time in my life.

Surfing also gave me the desire to travel and Frankie my wife and I invested lots of time travelling the globe to surf all the exotic spots I had read about in the surfing magazines.

I'm fortunate enough to have surfed some of the most wonderful surfing spots in the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Western Samoa, Hawaii, Maldives, South Africa, Indonesia including Bali, Sumatra, Lombok and Sumbawa, France, Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and California.

Troggs Surf Store - Portrush

The Shop...

In 1990 a rep from Alder Sportswear called Martin Exeley convinced my father to open a dedicated proper surf store here in Portrush, I had just finished my Degree in Swansea University where I was awarded the UK’s first sporting scholarship for surfing and having spent most of my time studying the waves there instead of being at my lectures I still managed to obtain a 2.1 in Joint Hons in Oceanography and Geography!

So Dad and I entered the world of Surfing Retail and opened our first Troggs store in Portrush in 1990, our second in Portstewart in 1994 and another in Ballymena in 2007, we also started selling online when our website www.troggs.com went live in 1999. Still can't believe that we have shipped board-shorts to Hawaii!

Book Surf Lessons

We also started Troggs Surf School here in Portrush in 1994, my son Ethan now manages and runs it with his side kick and partner in crime Albert Dallas.

The Hill Family

My father introduced me to surfing and I can't thank him enough for all the opportunities this has given me in life, my wife Frankie can surf too, she will tell you differently, but I have photographic evidence, she is an accomplished artist with her own gallery here in town opposite our main shop on Main Street in Portrush - www.frankiecreithart.com

My daughter Faye also surfs on occasion and Ethan can't get enough water time, he loves surfing and skateboarding and anything that gets his adrenaline pumping!

Andy Hill & Ian Hill

Father & Son Team

Customer Service

Troggs, our family, and our very knowledgeable and dedicated staff pride ourselves in our high level of service and are happy to help with your specific needs.

Just call us on 028 7082 5476 to speak to one of our friendly experienced members of staff, or alternatively you can email us on shop@troggs.com for enquiries.