Meet the Father-Son Duo Putting England on the Global Surf Map

When Longboard World Tour veteran Ben Skinner took off on the set wave of the morning in the semifinals of a European qualifier in western Spain late last month, he couldn't have known he was about to make history.

He trimmed through the outside section, finding the nose and locking in for a tight, top-third hang five. As the wave began to stand up through the inside, he stepped up into a hood ornament hang ten, fully perched as it reeled off down the bay, before hitting the closeout section and riding out clean.

When you see a perfect 10, it's instinctual. Everyone knows it's a 10 and there is no doubt in the onlookers' minds. When the score dropped, Ben became the second Skinner to post a perfect 10 of the 2026 season. His son, of course, is two-time Rip Curl GromSearch International Champion, 18-year-old Lukas, who set the internet on fire two winters ago with a huge barrel at Backdoor, a moment that launched him onto the international stage.

At a Pro Junior in Morocco in May, Lukas dropped a 10 in the final to claim victory, moving him to the pointy end of the European ratings in a bid to qualify for a spot in the WSL World Junior Championships.

"My 10 in Morocco felt insane," Lukas reflected. "It was one of the best feelings I've had in a heat in a long time. It meant a lot because it came in the very last moments of the heat and I needed a 9. I just said to myself I had to go all in if I wanted to win, and that's what I was there for. I took a deep breath and thought, 'Right, this is it,' and it all worked out."

The duo hail from Cornwall, UK, and are part of a surfing family. Lukas' younger sister, Lila, is also on the Pro Junior Circuit, and his 10-year-old brother Levin can also be seen out on his four-foot-something board hitting end sections and is already starting to enjoy competing.

"Sharing those moments with the kids is really what it's all about," Ben said.

His family is always front of mind when he's away competing.

"I'm really lucky to be able to do what I love with my kids and share my knowledge, my experiences, my wins and my losses with them.

"We're a really strong team. We travel together and, win or lose, we're there for each other."

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A short browse online and you'll see how close the Skinner family is. When one Skinner posts a clip, the others are at the top of the comments section sharing their pride. In the Philippines earlier this year, when Ben won a global LQS qualifier, Lukas, who had been there competing in the WSL World Juniors, was seen carrying him up the beach on his shoulders. A few months earlier, when Lukas won the crown jewel of British professional surfing, Boardmasters, for the second year in a row, it was Ben's shoulders he was hoisted onto as he lifted the Cornish flag.

"Lukas actually blows me away with how calm he is around events. He's just on one level all the way through, and that's something I've always struggled with. I've definitely learned a lot from him," Ben said.

Lukas shared something similar about his old man.

"[Ben's] career has definitely been a massive part of mine because he's been able to give me so much information and I've learned so much from him," Lukas said. "Just having someone by your side who has been through it all, win or lose, makes a huge difference. He knows what it feels like to win, he knows how to deal with losing, and he's always there."

Riding boards designed and manufactured by Ben under the label Skindog Surfboards, Lukas has helped take the reputation of the brand from a specialist longboard label to a recognised high-performance shortboard brand.

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"I've been making my own longboards for the last 18 years," Ben explained. "As the kids grew up, I started making boards specifically for them and really dialling in what they needed at each stage of their surfing journey.

"We've kept a lot of those boards over the years, so now we've built up an extensive demo range, a bit like a library, where kids can come in, try different boards, work out exactly what's right for them, and then we custom-build from there."

"Riding Dad's boards has been insane," Lukas added. "Being able to work on so many different models and shapes, and really pinpoint every little magic part of every board, has been a massive part of my career so far.

"I honestly feel like we're making some of the best boards in the world," he said.

Searching through the archives for another moment when a father and son both dropped perfect 10s in the same year, nothing really comes up.

We have seen some epic parent-child combinations, the most prevalent being Josh and Sierra Kerr competing on the QS and Challenger Series together. Both have dropped perfect 10s in their careers, but Josh's came when Sierra was barely a twinkle in her father's eye. Other well-known duos include Mark and Jay Occhilupo, but Jay's career is only just getting started decades after Occy Senior's had wrapped up.

Even rarer and more remarkable is the fact that the Skinners' 10s were dropped in different disciplines while riding boards from the same surfboard brand, boards that happen to bear their own last name.