Today, big surf brands make clothes and wetsuits up to size 18, but in 2005 that wasn’t the case. Dawn has now developed what she calls ‘the fear of the wetsuit’.

Instantly I felt like I shouldn’t be surfing, because they didn’t make wetsuits in my size. That was really awful…

“When I’m in my wetsuit, I feel very big and exposed – like a seal with blubber on it. Something will stop me getting in the water, like an injury. I’ll get to the point where I’m ready to get back in – and then that fear of the wetsuit will stop me surfing. I even missed out on my own hen party because I couldn’t make myself get into my suit.”

Seven years ago, Dawn’s life was turned upside down. She was hit by a car while crossing the road in Aberystwyth. “My poor friend was still on the phone when I got hit – she heard me get run over.” She fractured her knee cap and had nerve damage down her right side. It left Dawn on crutches, unable to surf or practice any of the sports she loved for months.

The physical damage eventually subsided, but what shocked Dawn was how long the mental effects lasted. “All my friends were off partying and surfing – I was just left completely shattered. For a long time, I was constantly tired. Depression crept in. I fell into this really icky place.”

“I found a really lovely church with a surf beach focus – they’ve even got a skate park inside. It was a great environment to start making friends. I joined the local rowing club and started surfing again. Everything just fell into place. Mentally, I was so much better.”

However, a year ago, Dawn fell down the stairs and cracked her coccyx. Then two months later a minor operation went horribly wrong. She had to wait six months before they could operate again to correct the mistakes of the first operation.

“It just knocked me straight back again. No riding, no rowing, no surfing. The pounds piled back on and I found myself back in this place where I had the wetsuit phobia again.”

Being a surfer isn’t just about looking amazing and catching the best waves. It’s so much more than that…

Dawn says she went to a surf shop this summer to buy a new size 16 wetsuit – and the legs were six inches too long. “It makes you feel ashamed of yourself – like you are not right for surfing because you can’t get the right equipment.”

Dawn collaborated with London photographer Colin Hampton-White who took the shots. They were exhibited in the White Moose art gallery in Barnstaple, Devon last year as part of an exhibition called Beyond The Board.

“Through my art, I’m able to disconnect from my body and see it as a lump of flesh, as somebody else. I’ve found it interesting to look at the grotesque and trying to get across the way I see my body in my wetsuit. That is why the photos are very unflattering.”

When she posted the photos on Surf Senioritas, an online community group of British female surfers, the response was phenomenal. Everyone loved the images and expressed how much they related to these natural photos of Dawn trying to squeeze her naked body into her wetsuit.

“Seven years ago now, I was weeks away from taking my surf instructors. I was super fit and my surfing was really starting to come on. Here I am now – nearly 30 – I’m 13 and a half stone, arthritic and in a completely different place from where I thought I’d be.”

“Surfing is going to play a different role in my life now – and that’s OK. It’s OK just to only ever surf bunny waves. It doesn’t matter if I never drop in on an overhead wave again. Being a surfer isn’t just about looking amazing on a board and catching the best waves. It’s so much more than that.”