Last August, Mark Mathews held (and competed in) the only contest of its kind: the Red Bull Cape Fear. “Pound for pound, Cape Fear is the heaviest and most dangerous wave in the world,” says big wave surfer and one of the brains behind the concept, Mark Mathews. The invite-only contest just outside the heart of Sydney, Australia hosted big wave hellmen such as Anthony Walsh, Ian Walsh, Koby Abberton, Dingo Morrison, Bruce Irons, Laurie Towner, Jamie O’Brien, Ryan Hipwood, and many more. As dramatic as the contest were the events that transpired leading up to the actual event.
Mathews suffered a severe back injury while surfing Cape Fear several days before the contest. Uncertain if he would be able to compete, Mathews underwent a series of physical therapy sessions in hopes to surf in the contest he had been organizing for over a year. When the big day arrived, the waves were much, much less stellar than previously anticipated. It was pretty much flat. In the middle of the conversation to call off the contest until the following year, the ocean had miraculously made a 180-degree turnaround.
Mathews on a bomb at Cape Fear. Photo: Red Bull
Mathews, who was clearly showing signs of injury, was paired in Heat 2 with none other than the legend Shane Dorian. As if surfing in a man on man heat with Shane Dorian wasn’t enough, Mathews was forced to surf against him with an awful back injury – on pain killers, no less. And those things can make you pretty damn loopy. Despite the cards stacked against him, Mathews miraculously came out on top to defeat the superstar Shane Dorian. Take a minute to check out Red Bull’s latest episode of Peaking.
