Big wave surfing is probably as extreme as surfing gets. Do you think anyone is capable of becoming a big wave surfer, or that it takes a certain type of person?

I think everyone has their big wave – there’s really no size. Some people find a comfort zone and they are happy there, others want to push the boundaries and push themselves. That ultimately also transcends into other areas of life, not just surfing.

We know that you harness the power of fear and turn it into motivation, so what advice would you give to people who want to overcome their own fears?

You can learn to enjoy fear. There are ultimately two ways to go – you can see something scary and avoid it and it just becomes bigger, or you can take on that fear and even if you don’t completely conquer it, you’ll still come away with a real sense of satisfaction, and that’s the powerful thing.

I’ve seen first-hand from surfing with other surfers how they manage to enjoy the worst moments, which ultimately unlocks the door to exciting times.

You’ve had quite the career since becoming a full-time athlete. What words of wisdom would you give to your younger self?

I think for me now where I am, you can always get better – if I could go back and have a word with myself in my twenties, I’d be telling myself it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. There’s always time to progress! You know, I’m 42 now and I’m still making profess with my surfing, fitness, diet, recovery, everything.

We’ve seen that your children, Honey and Ace, have inherited your talent for extreme sports. What would you say to parents that want to introduce their own children to surfing?

It can be challenging, and ultimately they have to really want to do it. I’ve just given them the tools and the options to pursue it if they want to. At the moment they’re both really into their team sports like football and rugby. Both are really capable in the water which is really great.

Wave pools like ours are springing up all over the planet. How do you think they can benefit the surf culture and growth of the sport in the right way?

Oh definitely, they absolutely have their place. For starters, it’s a safe environment that’s accessible to everyone and it’s great for surfers who can’t get to the beach every weekend, they can hit the pool and learn to surf whenever.

It’s totally not the route that I’ve gone within my surfing career, but it’s so much fun. It gives a repetitiveness to surfing which is really hard to replicate in the ocean. In that aspect, you’ll develop some muscle memory that will allow you to finetune, learn and practise before taking it all out into the ocean.

Late last year we saw your very cool partnership with Porsche & Sidetracked magazine – can we ask what your most memorable partnership experience has been so far?

I’ve been really fortunate with some of the opportunities I’ve had. Ultimately though, one of the most exciting things for me was to sign with Redbull – I’ve had a long list of injuries through big wave surfing, which could potentially be a huge red flag for some brands but they’ve been there to support me through those worst moments. They’ve been there to scoop me up and guide me through it.  

And of course, being lucky enough to work on little fun projects with brands such as the three peaks challenge with XTRATUF.

Are there any specific practices you follow before heading out into big waves?

So if I’m going into big waves, I’m not trying to amp myself up, it’s a much more mindful practice. I’ll work on nasal breathing, 3 seconds in and 10 seconds out, focusing on the breath. I’ll visualise what I want to do that day and my goals. If you’re going into dangerous situations I think you really need to be going in with a level head.

Finally, describe big wave surfing in three words.

Accept, surrender & embrace.