Sean Gunning

Sean “The Prawn” Gunning is equal parts Australian and Spanish which despite not being the most natural culinary blend, has resulted in a recipe for one of the most talented, humble underground surfers in the European scene today. Having been raised in Cantabria, where the Atlantic meets the rolling northern Spanish countryside, Sean took the leap and moved to Australia to finish high school. It is here the Prawn came to be; having been nicknamed by none other than Joel Parkinson’s dad pulling pints in the legendary Greenmount Surf Club. Now having spent the best part of five years there, you’ll find him back in Cantabria; filming and chasing waves across the Iberian Peninsula and further afield. With swell season now approaching Europe, we gave Sean a call to talk Australia, the Cantabrian underground and what’s next... So, without further ado, Señor Prawn!

For those of us that don’t know you - introduce yourself!

My name is Sean, I’m 23 years old and I live in the North of Spain in a little town called Suances in Cantabria, my mum is Spanish and my dad is Australian so I’m half / half! I lived in Spain until I was 17 years old and then moved to Australia to finish high school, I loved it so much I stayed for five years… I came back to Spain in 2024 to grind the surf scene, there’s more opportunities here I feel in terms of surfing and I’m happy to be back!

How do you find it being back in Spain? How’s the difference between Australia and Cantabria?

It’s a big change. The lifestyle is different, the pace is different. It’s still home and I love it. I have my family here and heaps of mates so it’s great to be back. In Australia, the surf scene is so much more mainstream, when I was in high school in Aus we had surfing as a subject for example, which you would never see in Spain. I was living in Burleigh and Coolangatta on the Gold Coast where there is a large, well established surf culture - you’d surf before and after school, with everyone. It was the biggest sport in school where as here - only three or four of my mates from school surfed. Everyone is more into football here…

I moved to Australia to improve my surfing, see new things and grow as a person. I feel my surfing and personal life progressed so much, and I’m excited to keep things on a roll in Spain.

World cup final, Spain Vs Australia. Who are you going for?

I don’t think it will ever happen, but I’d have to say Spain…
 

Describe your local scene in Cantabria?

I live in a little town where there is an amazing concentration of waves in such a small area. So many different options, in any kind of conditions you can always surf. I have a lot of friends here, and a few that surf so I’ll typically catch up with them and go surf, my cousin films me so we usually catch up every day and go film. We’ve got a nice little community here based around surfing so we’ll throw little events and the like. The last one we did was a month ago and it was called “Mangas y Tangas” - a little contest vibe where we surfed against each other and everyone came down the beach and watched – it was pretty sick. It’s a good vibe here.

How do you feel Cantabria fits into the wider Spanish surf scene?

The Basque Country and the Canaries definitely gets the most attention, Cantabria doesn’t get much – I guess because of the wave quality and the level of surfing, the amount of good surfers isn’t the same. However we do still have really good waves and a handful of good surfers – it’s just more underground which I think is cool.  It’s bizarre though as all the good surfers from Cantabria come from Suances, I’ve no idea why, maybe something in the water.

Outside of Cantabria where do you like to surf?

I used to love surfing down south in Australia - South Australia. It’s off the beaten track and there are so many good, relatively uncrowded waves down there. In Spain, I like to go Asturias a lot, there are a few fun wedges. I used to go to the Basque country a lot, to Mundaka when its good or further up into France when the swell and winds align. Portugal is always good, Ericeira is always a classic. Indonesia is of course amazing, for sure the best waves I have ever surfed.

There are so many amazing spots across the world, too many to name!

Do you have any trips planned?

I’m going to the Canary Islands in November, try and get some waves there. I’ll head to Lanzarote around La Santa, I really like Quemao and the waves around there. Also planning to head to Morocco in February. In the meantime, I’ll be keeping an eye out on Portugal to try and chase a swell down there.

You’re pretty proactive putting together edits and shorts, what have you been working on recently?

Recently I’ve been doing a bit of Youtube work, used to be weekly now it’s fortnightly. I went to Indo in June with a good friend Álvaro Cobo (@hellframes) who filmed me, we’re putting an edit together which will come out in November and December, putting out a full part from that which I am excited about.