Catching the Biggest Wave with Pro Surfer Jamie Mitchell

The Adrenaline Zone

On this episode of Adrenaline Zone, “Sandy” and Sandra welcome big wave surfer, Jamie Mitchell to the podcast to talk about his late start in surfing, the risk in big-wave surfing, and climate change. He opens up the episode by recalling his childhood growing up in Coffs Harbour in Australia and how he has been a fish out of water since he could remember - reading the ocean and its currents is almost second nature to him now. Although he surfed every once in a while as a child, he was predominantly a long distance paddle boarder; it wasn’t until his mid 30’s that he really found an affinity for surfing.

Now after having much success in the industry and having traveled the world in search of the perfect swell, Mitchell is familiar with the risk associated with the sport. He’s even had to take courses on breathing underwater and how to maintain composure under extreme duress. He notes that he’s survived some of his accidents thanks to this preparation. The group go on to discuss Mitchell’s philanthropic work partnering with Surfline and creating Seven Crossings to combat and raise awareness for climate change. Drawing this episode to a close, Winnefeld and Magnus ask about how he prepares to surf. His answer? Beyond checking his equipment, he doesn’t really do anything special. After all, he knows that any attempts to create control in the face of Mother Nature are largely futile.

The Finer Details of this Episode:

• Growing up in Coffs Harbour in Australia
• Jamie’s late start surfing
• The risk in big wave surfing
• Chasing the perfect swell
• Paddleboard racing
• Partnering with Surfline
• Preparing to surf

Quotes:

“Australia's Jamie Mitchell is one of the small cadre of big-wave surfers who faces these risks routinely. Not only is he an amazing surfer, he is arguably the best long distance paddling competitor ever, having won that 32 mile Molokai to Oahu race 10 straight years.”

“I've said it before, it's like running and jumping off a six story building, trying to hold your breath and then having a crocodile deathroll you under the water while you're trying to get to the surface. You know, I mean, like, it's like a car crash on the water.”

“If I didn't have the knowledge of how to understand just taking sips of air, relax, I think I would have panicked and died. I really do.”

“So it's just this really intense mental endurance race, and I thrive in those situations. I think I was born to be in those situations, you know, and I loved it. Once I started winning, I got addicted to it, and I just wanted to get to two. Then I wanted to get three.“

“It's interesting that it's half mental and half physical out in Hawaii, and you, like the ancient Islanders, you're reading tides, currents, and that. If you don't do that, well, that's your competitive edge, because most of the guys are in pretty good shape.”

“I actually started a company with a friend of mine, Zach Porter, called Heavy Water Surf, and we're actually working with Surfline, creating more opportunities for big-wave surfing, you know. So that's all about to come to fruition in the next month or so.”

“We just put out a six part webisode series on my YouTube channel that shows each day that we did it. I paddled five days. I paddled over 170 miles over five days. And yeah, we just tried to raise awareness for those guys.”

“You don't get complacent, but you get comfortable in that space that you're in. And then I think once you're comfortable and you've got that experience, you can really excel at what that is that you put your mind to.”

“There's something about the salt water and the ocean that is just very therapeutic. And even being 30 feet underwater in shark infested waters, there's something about it that's still therapeutic.”

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Jamie Mitchell on Instagram

Seven Crossings on Instagram