Justin Holland just moments before the wipeout of his life. Photo: Nim Strickland/Surfing Australia
Catching the “biggest wave ever surfed in Australia” wasn’t all you’d think it’s cracked up to be. When the swell of the decade swept over the coast of Western Australia last month, Justin Holland was one of the many surfers who didn’t miss out on the Indian Ocean’s fury. But getting a piece of the pie, as it sometimes happens for even the best of us, put Holland in a heavy situation. He was towed into a wave during a session at Cow Bombie that got the best of him, and his femur snapped like a twig on what some consider the largest wave ever ridden in Australia’s waters.
But despite the heavy wipeout, Holland’s been known for keeping high spirits with months of recovery ahead. We all react to heavy wipeouts in different ways, and it’s always interesting to watch and learn when the best in the world take a spill on the biggest waves known to man. So imagine getting a minute (or 60) to pick the brain of a hellman like Holland post thrashing. Is he still a bit shaken? Was he ever shaken? Does he sound hesitant to get back in the water?
As it turns out, there’s a reason Justin’s known as “Frotha” by the boys back home. And no story sums up Justin’s spirits better than the ambulance ride after coming out of the water nearly down a limb. As Holland tells Erik Antonson in the latest PaddleWoo podcast, he’d been testing out a prototype life vest from Quiksilver and special impact shorts under his wetsuit. Antonson learned that without both the vest and shorts his leg would have most likely been compound and there would have been a good chance his femoral artery would have been severed. And the vest brought him up in a few seconds, which was critical as he was yelling underwater from the pain, so he wouldn’t have had much air if he had been held down for a while. So when the nurses on the ambulance tried to take off Holland’s vest he didn’t let them. When they asked why, he just inflated the vest. It’s a bit of humor taken from a heavy moment. A conversation worth giving a good listen.
Editor’s Note: For more episodes, visit PaddleWoo.com
