Insights into the mental training of big wave surfer Andrew Cotton

We are super proud to have Andrew Cotton in our Adventure Crew. He is one of the world’s best big wave surfers. He is a pioneer, he is an adventurer and he is a hunter – always chasing the heaviest and biggest waves around the world. Here he lets us in on his mental practices while traveling the coast of Portugal.

Andrew, what are your favourite spots in Portugal – apart from Nazaré?

Especially in winter when the waves are small in Nazaré I drive north along the coast and just find a little zone to park up, have a little solo surf, make coffee and hang out in the van. They are not the typical surf spots, but little zones. There are no real facilities, but the waves are really fun.

You have one of the scariest jobs in the world. How do you control respect and fear from turning into paralyzing panic?

Fear is healthy, panic is deadly. I think we all know that. For me it is about a slow progression of pushing fear in chunks. You gain confidence by training the things that make you scared in a controlled environment. For me that’s the fear of drowning. So, you can work on your breath holds and being under water in, for example, a swimming pool where it is safe and you can push that. Fitness, breath holds – those are really good ways to stretch further. We all have our threshold, and it is important to be fearful, but to be in control.

„I visualize for the best but prepare for the worst.“

Say there is an inevitable wipeout, what is the most important thing for you to do under water?

To let go. That’s the most important thing to do. The mind is what creates panic, then uses up oxygen and puts you in a situation where it can be really dangerous. So, for me it is about thinking about nothing and going into a zone where I enjoy – even the worst moments. Other people use different techniques like singing songs or going to a happy place, but for me personally I can think about nothing.

Which techniques do you use to calm your nervous system? Are you visualizing or do you have any rituals?

I don’t have any rituals. But I do visualize. I visualize for the best but prepare for the worst. I never visualize falling, I always visualize making waves and completing rides. But I train for the worst-case scenario. You keep your training so close to the actual sport as possible. That means, for example, that I do my breathwork not in a meditation way, but in a high heart rate in zone 2 or 3, or even 4 sometimes and then I’m playing with that. You are sort of learning to get comfortable with those really uncomfortable feelings. That’s a really good way to train. And the more you do that in a controlled way with people you trust, you will just know those feelings in uncontrolled situations.

There are loads of different breath techniques which help to recover quicker. What I do before catch a big wave – I empty my lungs. Really quick. Which is something you naturally don’t do very often. And then taking one big full breath and visualizing it from the bottom of your diaphragm all the way up. Belly, ribs, chest, neck. This is how I set myself for a big wave.

„You are sort of learning to get comfortable with those really uncomfortable feelings.“

After your Nazaré injury – was it harder to recover physically or mentally?

I’ve been very fortunate with the access to physio and had the best medical advice. That gave me a lot of confidence physically. It’s just following programs, you can see the progression and measure it. The mental side is often harder. You think you have recovered and then you start actually surfing and are putting yourself in those situations again – and you realize you not quite there. Physically it tool less than a year, but mentally 18 months, two years.

You’ve been doing this forever, Andrew, and you are still pushing on the highest level – why?

I do like to push myself in training, in the ocean, and I guess also in life. Sport has been a huge focus for me. It has given me purpose – and that’s what I need. I love waking up and having a goal. Training, preparing, working on my kit – I love having that.