Luke Palmer lived up to surfing's laidback image when he slept through his first heat at the Champion of Champions competition in Sri Lanka.

The 25-year-old, from Coldean, was a regional qualifier from the British Professional Surfing Association tour with 40 other surfers from around the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Palmer said: "Surfing during the contest was so good. It was worth going all the way to Sri Lanka for that alone.

"However, I did slip up badly at the start because I slept right through my first heat. But I was lucky because every surfer had two shots at qualifying in the opening rounds.

"I don't know if it was the jetlag but I felt so stupid. I would have felt even worse if it had meant not competing at all after all that travelling."

Palmer got through to the third round but winning is not what motivates the apprentice carpenter who got the bug for surfing when he was 11-years-old while visiting relatives in Australia. Everyone has seen the 'Life's a beach' T-shirts which surfwear companies sell but for Palmer and his friends, surfing is a way of life rather than a hobby.

He said: "Last year I did the BPSA tour for the first time and I was the highest ranked south coast surfer.

"Before then I had never competed because it is not really what motivates me. I just like surfing and riding the biggest waves. I like to surf for myself and my own pleasure rather than for other people. My preference is just to have fun."

Luckily for Palmer, his boss at PDN Properties shares his passion for surfing.

Palmer said: "We always try to work around the surf and my boss is very lenient with me. Sometimes it does not happen and we have to work but I am lucky as in a lot of jobs I would not have this freedom."

The attraction of surfing in hot destinations like Sri Lanka, Australia and Hawaii is obvious.

But heading for Shoreham Beach or Brighton Marina on a wet, windy afternoon takes more explaining.

"Here you do not have the sun and the blue sea but the feeling of standing up and riding a wave is so much fun that it overrides everything else," said Palmer.

He does take every opportunity to escape Britain, though, often going for months at a time.

He said: "After growing up here and surfing in the cold, I spend all my money going to the tropical places and surfing in the warm.

"My favourite place is Hawaii but I also go to the Canary Islands, France, Spain and Portugal.

"I try to do one big trip of three or four months and it is a bit of a stereotype of the laidback surfer. Most of the surfers I know work really hard then spend all the money they have earned going away.

"I spent a few months in South America a couple of years ago. I went surfing in Chile, Ecuador, Argentina and Peru.

"It was quite scary because you were never quite sure what was going on. I travelled around with a couple of boards, lugging them on to buses and off again. The surf was good in South America. The waves were not really big but good and with nobody around.

"It is always good to surf when there is nobody around, the more people there are, the worse it is."

Surfers are like modern-day gold miners. They find their spot, stake their claim and jealousy guard the location.

Palmer revealed a spot he surfed in the north east at one point during this interview, then quickly asked to have the location removed from the story.

Surfers like to keep their locations secret because crowded areas can be dangerous.

Palmer said: "You see a lot of injuries that are caused by being hit by your own boards, other people's boards and hitting the bottom. Abroad, surfing over shallow reefs can be nasty and live coral can scar badly."

Brighton has a thriving surf community, including past English longboard champion Jock Patterson and Masters champion Cliff Cox, but Palmer admits that newcomers are not always welcome.

He said: "Other surfers are a big problem. At the marina it is quite localised and they don't like newcomers because of the danger they pose.

"Some of the scariest times of my life have been surfing the biggest waves but I have been in more danger surfing in crowds of people who do not know what they are doing. When you are out there in massive surf you only have yourself to worry about."

Palmer was a Sussex schoolboy champion at 1,500m and breaststroke, while his father and uncle were both surfers and involved in the Brighton Life Saving Club.

Palmer said: "We have friends all round the country. We will ring up and ask what the surf is like, check the Met Office on the internet every day and the forecast.

"You have your spots, you know your tides and the weather conditions. When they are all right I will drop everything, jump in my car and just go.

"The surf does not wait for you and you have to be there when it is on."