A Surfer’s Guide to Skin Cancer Checks

This is a project created to raise awareness about skin cancer within the surfing community. Surfers spend many hours exposed to intense sunlight, making skin cancer prevention and early detection particularly important. Through this collaboration, we developed a compact ABCDE guide for skin self-examinations, designed especially for surfers, practical, accessible, and easy to share with surf buddies.

This initiative encourages surfers to take a moment to check their skin and to look out for one another. Early detection remains one of the most powerful tools we have in preventing serious outcomes from melanoma and other types of skin cancer. As a dermatologist and supporter of Spot the Dot, I strongly believe that awareness must reach people where they live, work, and spend their time, whether in cities, workplaces, or in the ocean.

As part of this collaboration, the founder of Spot the Dot, Marije Kruis, wrote a personal article for Vampire Surf Club, sharing her perspective on awareness, prevention, and the importance of regular skin checks.

You can read the full article “Spot the Dot: A Surfer’s Guide to Skin Cancer Checks” and download the ABCDE self-check guide on the Vampire Surf Club website.