Mathews wants to get back on the horse. Photo: Calum Macaulay/Red Bull Content Pool
Mark Mathews is a professional big wave surfer and motivational speaker. He’s surfed professionally since 2002 and as he sees it, he’s made a career out of what he “loves to do most, and that is getting barreled.”
“I loved Growing up in Maroubra,” he says. “I was surrounded by a whole crew of really talented older surfers that prided themselves on charging big waves. I learned a lot about facing my fears and how rewarding it is when you can eventually overcome those fears.”
These are some highlights from a conversation with the Australian Hellman:
In 2009 and 2011 you won the Oakley big wave award…
I won in 2009 for a wave I rode in West Oz called Cow Bombi, then I won the biggest barrel of the year in 2010 at the Right, then Biggest Wave in 2011 at the Right again. It is one of my favorite waves and to win awards for just surfing my favorite wave was such an amazing feeling.
Can you talk to us about the horrifically debilitating injury that you suffered whilst surfing in NSW?
It was October 2016, surfing a slab down the south coast of NSW that was only about 6-8ft but super shallow. I had never surfed the wave before and ended up going for a shitty close out. I tried to dive off early and get out the back of the wave so I wouldn’t have to deal with a wipeout. I was still recovering from a bad shoulder injury so I was nervous about hurting that again. The wave picked me up and slammed me into the reef. Luckily, I landed on my feet and not my head but I had all the power of the lip pushing me into the reef and my knee just gave way. It completely dislocated, tearing every ligament and tendon, the nerves, and the artery.
Did you feel instant pain or were you just in a complete state of shock?
I didn’t feel pain straight away. It was more anger and frustration because I had just been out of the water for nine months from my shoulder and had only been surfing again for a month. I was so angry because I new it was bad and that I would be out of the water again. I was screaming more out of frustration than pain. “Farrrk farrrk! No, no, not again!” Then the pain hit me when I tried to climb onto the ski. It was a sickening feeling. Waiting for an ambulance for over an hour [back on the beach] was particularly horrific. That was tough.
You were told that the injury might end your career. Did hearing that hurt even more than the initial injury?
Yeah, it was really tough. I thought I had just broken my leg when I woke up in the hospital and the doctors where like “We might have to amputate it if the artery bypass surgery doesn’t work.” It took a few days to see if it worked or not. Thankfully it did, but then when they tried to go in a month or so later to fix the nerve damage they realized it wasn’t possible. That was tough to hear. I thought I was going to wake up from surgery and everything would be good again but they said it was worse than they initially thought. They said that it wasn’t fixable. I was going to have the nerve damage for life, which means I can’t lift my foot anymore and now suffer from a condition called drop foot. Basically, I cannot lift my foot up, it just hangs down.
You must have gone through an incredible amount of emotions. Hearing that you might never be able to surf again must have been like a bullet through the heart.
It was really tough and I had plenty of dark days. The pain from the nerve damage was really bad. Basically, it felt like my leg was on fire 24/7.
When I was at my worst, though, I was lucky enough to have a visit from a young guy who was in the
same hospital downstairs. He reached out to me on social media. He had been following my surf career before that and wanted to come up and say hello. A few hours later his brother wheels him into my room. He had broken his neck snowboarding and is now a quadriplegic. Meeting him and seeing what he was going through and how strong he was just put what I was dealing with into perspective. I woke up every morning from that day thankful that my injury wasn’t worse. And I thank that kid for reaching out to me and sharing his strength and attitude with me as it helped me in every aspect of my recovery.
How long did you spend in hospital and are you still receiving therapy to this day?
I think it was six surgeries over the course of the last year and a half. A couple months in the hospital and a few more months in a hospital bed at home.
Do you still suffer in your daily life or are things getting better?
Things are different but I wouldn’t call it suffering. Not anymore. I’m through the worst of the pain which was hard to deal with. And coming off all the different nerve meds and painkillers after 16 months of high doses was hard too. But thankfully I am now drug-free and back surfing.
What was that first time being back in the water like?
The first time back in the ocean was kind of bittersweet, Don’t get me wrong, it was awesome to be out of a hospital and be back amongst the waves, but my leg was still really bad then, I could barely ride a mal, and while it was still fun, it kind of made me feel like I would never surf decently again. That was before the last surgery I had seven months ago. My knee was good but the docs did a final surgery and moved around some tendons in my foot to hold it in place so that it wouldn’t drop anymore. They also lengthened my Achilles tendon because it had shortened while I was in the hospital and I couldn’t put my foot flat anymore. That made it impossible to surf. That surgery has been a game changer. I am now back surfing half decently again — still a little wobbly because none of the stabilizer muscles in my ankle work — but I’m learning to get around that.
Do you ever see yourself grabbing a tow rope again in the future?
Yeah, I’m way more confident that I’ll be able to surf big waves again one day, I’m not exactly sure how long it will take until I feel comfortable enough to really push myself in big waves. Maybe a year or so. I just have to be really careful of re-injuring my knee or foot.
I don’t think I will ever want to put my feet into tow board straps again just because that could destroy the last surgery I had. So that ticks a few different waves off of the list but there are plenty left.
And you have become a motivational speaker? Was that all before or after the incident?
I have actually been doing it for about seven years now. I just do more of it now that I’m injured because I have the time. It was really tough at first. The fear of public speaking was actually harder for me than learning to surf big waves. But I love sharing what helps me deal with stress and fear with people.
Editor’s Note: This interview was originally published and conducted by Humans of Surfing. For more from them, you can find Humans of Surfing on Facebook here.
