This dude has some serious talent. Now he just needs to put it all together. Photo: ISA
Most pro surfers spend their off-seasons relaxing on tropical islands, recharging for the grueling competition schedule ahead. But Matt McGillivray isn’t “most pro surfers.” The South African standout has been leaping off cliffs, wingsuiting meters above the ground, and squeezing in as many adrenaline-fueled “shenanigans” as possible before the 2025 season kicks off in January.
When he’s not chasing swells around the globe, he’s BASE jumping or wingsuiting with friends, living life on the edge – literally. He’s the embodiment of Point Break, the Hollywood film about thrill-seeking bank robbers who jump out of planes and surf big waves. If they ever remake the film, McGillivray should be the first name on the call sheet for a stunt double.
But extracurricular activities aside, McGillivray is equally focused on his surfing career. The 27-year-old Championship Tour veteran is determined to leave his mark on the tour this year. I caught up with him while at home in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa to discuss his whirlwind offseason.
What has your off-season been like so far?
It’s been nice to come home. After Fiji I went to the Abu Dhabi wave pool quickly for a session. Then I went to Europe and did some wingsuit training in a wind tunnel. Then I went wingsuit BASE jumping in Italy for 10 days with a few friends. Since then, I’ve been back in Jeffreys Bay, between J-Bay and Cape Town, and I’ve been mixing it up between surfing, BASE jumping, and skydiving. I’m just enjoying not doing surf comps and traveling. It’s nice to be at home and doing stuff I love.
Are there some lessons or skills that cross over from BASE sports to your surfing?
In surfing, you need to have so much balance and be aware of your body and all the small movements. Surfing is such a technical sport, and it makes you so strong. That really helps with the wingsuiting because you have to have a strong core and shoulders, and be pretty athletic to be able to wingsuit safely. So there’s the physical side, which the surfing helps with the wingsuiting.
The wingsuiting doesn’t help the surfing physically, but mentally it can. You’re under a lot of pressure. You’re entering the flow state straight away because it’s a life-or-death situation. That’s where I feel like BASE jumping correlates with my surfing career – just being able to handle tense emotions and trying to stay calm.
Do you worry about getting injured and hurting your surfing career? The WSL doesn’t make you sign a waiver that says you can’t do that?
I haven’t looked into the waivers if I’m honest (laughs). But it crosses my mind. I know that there’s a lot at stake if something were to happen. I mean, with wingsuiting, if something goes bad, then it’s goes really bad. So it’s not even going to matter. But it’s definitely in my mind that there’s a life at stake. I try to be extra careful when I’m doing these dangerous activities because surfing is my priority and I have a long way to go in my career. I don’t want to waste any of that potential.
Does anyone ever make comparisons between you and the Point Break movies? You’d be the ideal stunt actor to cast.
I haven’t watched them yet. I’m not sure why. But I’ve heard people reference the movie quite often, so I got to watch it soon.
You’ve had a couple of third-place finishes on the CT, but you’ve never broken through to a final. Is that on your mind for next year?
It’s definitely a big goal of mine. Even before I qualified, my lifelong surfing goal was to be in the top 10. I believe I can achieve that. Since setting that goal as a junior, I’ve made it onto the CT and I’ve been just shy of cracking it. My second year I got 13th. Since then I’ve done progressively worse, but I feel like that goal is still in reach. I’d also love to win an event – one of the right-hand point breaks. I feel like I have quite a big advantage since I live at a right-hand point. I think now it’s just a mental thing – believing in my surfing and my abilities.
There are a lot of changes to the CT: new locations and more events before the mid-year cut. What are your thoughts on the schedule for 2025?
It’s good that they have more events pre-cut because guys aren’t getting enough chances to showcase themselves. Next year, having El Salvador, Snapper Rocks, and the wave pool before the cut is going to give guys a better chance to showcase their talent. I’m happy about that. At the same time, it’s a lot of events all in a row, so it’s going to be very intense – non-stop travel for the first half of the year. That’s why I’m taking the off-season so seriously now, trying to get as many off-season shenanigans in as possible.
What are your thoughts on the pool in Abu Dhabi?
I feel like wave pools in general are going to be a part of surfing as they become more popular and more accessible to people around the world. It’s not a bad thing to have pool events, but I still find it tricky. Certain people have more access to practice wave pools and that’s a big advantage for them. It’s a lot of fun as a surfer, but not that fun for the audience to watch. It’s not my favorite is all I’m going to say. I’d prefer it (wasn’t part of the tour), but I can’t complain. It’s still a cool opportunity, so I’m going to have to try my best.
So do you think Abu Dhabi will be the most challenging CT stop for you?
That’ll be my biggest challenge as a pre-cut event. I really enjoy bigger waves, waves of consequence. That’s going to be my weak area. It’s going to take some work.
What was your biggest lesson learned from your first four years on the tour
The biggest takeaway is that the majority of the time the surfer who catches the best waves wins. That’s the simple formula. There’s so much talent. Everyone can surf so well now. It feels like every event becomes a wave-catching contest. You are trying to outsmart your competitors to make sure you’re on the best waves. That’s how you simplify it.
You got a 17th at the Olympics in Tahiti, maybe not what you were hoping for, but what was your experience like?
The result was very disappointing, but I had a tough one. I came up against Kauli Vaast on day two. The conditions were very slow. I wanted to surf Teahupo’o in big conditions. Surfing against Kauli in small, inconsistent Teahupo’o is difficult because he’s the most knowledgeable guy of that reef to know how to get scores. But I was happy. I had one score in that heat and had priority for 15 minutes at the back end. I was waiting for another wave to come through and it just never came. It was really painful to watch the big day when it was cooking and consistent. I was like, ‘Wow, I wish I had that opportunity.’ But that doesn’t take away from the fact that I made it there. It was cool to represent my country.
Have you seen any of the positive impacts back home of having a South African in the Olympics?
That’s a good question. It was cool because the government doesn’t get too involved in surfing in our country. But they paid for our flights to the Olympics and they sent a coach, a manager, and a physio, which was more than I was expecting. So we had support over there. I’m not sure what the after-effects will be for surfing in South Africa. I think there’s more worldwide exposure for surfing since it went pretty viral on the big day. We just need to get more funding in the sport, more eyes, and more big companies interested in progressing it.
The Olympics didn’t go to plan for Matt McGillivray. But he still put up a few scores. Photo: ISA
I’ve traveled nearly the entire South African coast and my takeaway was that it’s the best country in the world as far as the ratio of quality waves to number of surfers. But you look at the Challenger Series and there are no South African men in the top 50 right now and there are only three women. What needs to change in South Africa to translate those waves into pro surfers?
There’s good talent, but a lot of it comes down to drive. It’s hard when the guys are surfing good waves and then they have to compete on the Challenger Series in subpar conditions a lot of the time. It doesn’t really translate. When the waves are good on the CS, the guys often perform really well. In bad conditions, it’s always a struggle for South Africans. And then also, maybe with the regional system, the guys aren’t traveling overseas and surfing at an international level enough. They have the talent, but you got to be in that environment where it’s brought out of you to surf at that level. We can get a bit spoiled here for waves and that doesn’t help in the overall scheme of things.
Do you have any 2025 goals that you’ve set in surfing or in general?
I want to win the J-Bay Open and finish in the top 10 on the CT. That means I’ve got to survive that brutal mid-year cut. And as far as wingsuiting goes, I’d just like to carry on doing it safely and keep having as much fun as possible.
