Energy levels were reaching critical at Red Bull studios recently for the London premiere of Andrew Cotton’s latest film, Behind The Lines. For the big wave surfer from North Devon, England, the launch marked the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice. Sponsorship highs and lows, endless training sessions and years of chasing Europe’s biggest swells have delivered a ground-breaking new feature that draws a line in the sand.
Come the big night, no-one was more amped than Cotty himself who greeted old friends and new while thanking everyone for travelling so far to get to the venue in the UK capital. Free beer and as much Red Bull as you could handle meant the partisan crowd was literally frothing by the time the credits started to roll.
Behind The Lines gets straight into the action with the crew going balls to the equally humongous walls of Nazaré, Portugal. Cotton pitches in the lip and takes a tumble, then Hawaii’s Kealii Mamala goes down fighting in a storm of white meteors. US charger Cliff Skudin wipes out on a seething 60-footer; we glimpse the otherly world of big wave physics as he spins down the face like an upturned tortoise on ice. Understandably, hardware gets a rethink in these conditions. The surfboards are weighted with lead to maximise stability on the wave’s choppy surface. There’s a rescue ski on standby to rescue the main ski, and a tractor on the beach ready to heave any stranded equipment out of the Nazaré shorebreak.
This film is no adrenaline junky’s catalogue of death-defying lunacy. Rather, it reveals what it takes to survive the planet’s heaviest water, and this produces a reasoning of big wave surfing.
That last bit’s important. World records and XXL awards have pushed the pursuit into the mainstream conscience in Europe. In the wake of media acclaim has come inevitable finger-wagging, mostly from keyboard warriors who feel no need to understand an extreme sport when making a judgement on those involved.
“When you get criticism for surfing big waves it’s quite funny, because life’s risky,” is Cotton’s reaction. “I don’t just wanna exist, I want to live,” he says, his point given context by the blank faces of the London rush hour drifting past the windows of Red Bull HQ.
Science is on his side. “We have managed to remove any risk or danger from modern day living. It actually isn’t that healthy. Living or doing something risky where there’s a chance of death is actually quite a positive thing. Fear is natural and healthy. Overcoming your fears should be encouraged,” says psychologist Dr Eric Brymer.
Even so, when you see Cotty adrift in the soup, puckering up to take a Hoover Dam of white water on the head, you welcome the film’s focus on the mental and physical training; intense gym sessions, yoga, breathing and diving exercises comprise a professional regime tailored to dealing with the worst of an already hostile environment.
In one sequence, Cotty stares at us through his surf cam as he lingers, caught inside. Alarm bells are ringing; the boiling sea is about to engulf him and his board in bits. But his face displays the kind of bored detachment you’d more readily associate with someone waiting for their bus to arrive. As he bows his head ready for the impact, he looks almost serene. He knows what’s coming and he knows he’s done enough. In his mind, the battle is already won. It is a defining moment in the film, poignant and insightful.
However, when things go to plan we see the likes of Saltrock ambassador Cotton are pushing the envelope of human accomplishment. In winter 2012 Garrett McNamara stops the digital press with a world record-breaking 78-foot wave at Nazaré. Cotty gets grilled on primetime TV after snagging an XXL nomination at the same spot two years later. Then Hossegor local Benjamin Sanchis turns the surfing world on its head by reportedly breaking the mythical 100-foot barrier.
The conditions needed to score these kinds of waves seldom come together, and the glory days are few and far between. Ben Freeston, founder and surf forecaster at Magicseaweed.com looks at tracking low pressure systems in the north Atlantic and explains how a swell can quickly deviate to hit anywhere from north west Ireland to the southern tip of Portugal. Big wave crews have to be ready at a moment’s notice, even if it means missing Thanksgiving.
“It’s so easy to stay at home,” Cotty admits, hinting at a tortuous waiting game. But his face, illuminated by the on-screen swell animation is soon glowing with anticipation and sharpened by focus, as the team heads to Ireland’s serrated western edge.
Amid the wind and sleet, Barry Motorshead, Conor Maguire and Dylan Stott all claim epic snow caverns at Mullaghmore Head. Zero degrees and zero glamour, this is surfing’s ultimate ride in its rawest form. When everyone’s back safely, stories of victory in the face of roaring danger get the blood flowing again.
Rightly passionate about what he does, Cotty mentions the addiction of his lifestyle, and it’s his only slip-up. Both traits produce obsessive behaviour, but where the latter isolates and tears apart, the former inspires and brings together. Looking at the achievements on-screen and the effect they have on the utterly stoked crowd at Red Bull HQ, it’s pretty clear which virtue is at work here.
It was only the collective surfing spirit that allowed the whole thing to happen in the first place. Money for Behind The Lines was raised through a crowdfunding campaign which saw 221 backers pledge a total of £11,424, blowing the £10,000 target out of the water.
The result more than justifies the outlay – a genre-defining exploration of life as a big game hunter, complete with all the preparation and sacrifice, the chase and the glory.
Behind The Lines is available to view now at redbull.com and magicseaweed.com
