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What Big-Wave Surfing Teaches Us About Fear, Pressure, and Performance
- Trevor Ambrose
- Feb 2
- 2 min read
When you hear that someone rides 70-foot waves for a living, it’s easy to assume they’re fearless. But after speaking with big-wave surfer Mark Mathews, it becomes clear that fear isn’t something elite performers eliminate — it’s something they learn to manage.
And that lesson applies just as much to business as it does to surfing.
Fear Never Disappears — It Evolves
One of the strongest themes from this conversation was simple: fear doesn’t go away as you get better. It just changes shape.
In Mark’s world, fear shows up as physical danger. In business, it shows up as fear of failure, judgment, rejection, or getting it wrong. Different environments — same response.
The difference between high performers and everyone else isn’t fearlessness. It’s familiarity. They’ve been there before. They recognise the feeling and know how to respond instead of react.
Preparation Is What Creates Confidence
Mark didn’t talk about bravery. He talked about preparation.
Training, repetition, visualisation, and understanding risk are what allow him to perform under extreme pressure. Confidence isn’t mindset fluff — it’s earned through doing the work long before the moment arrives.
In business, this translates directly:
Rehearsing presentations
Practising difficult conversations
Preparing for objections
Running scenarios before high-stakes decisions
When pressure hits, you don’t rise to the occasion — you fall back on your preparation.
Pressure Is Inevitable — Panic Is Optional
There’s a critical difference between pressure and panic.
Pressure is external. Panic is internal.
Mark spoke about moments where conditions were dangerous, unpredictable, and completely outside his control. What mattered wasn’t trying to control the environment — it was controlling his breathing, his focus, and his decision-making.
In business, the same rule applies. Markets change. Deals fall over. People let you down. You can’t control those variables — but you can control how you respond.
One Decision at a Time
Another key takeaway was how elite performers narrow their focus under stress.
When you’re overwhelmed, your brain tries to solve everything at once. That’s when mistakes happen. Mark breaks survival down into the next decision only — one movement, one breath, one action.
In business, clarity works the same way:
One conversation
One action
One next step
You don’t need the entire plan figured out — just the next correct move.
The Cost of Avoidance
Avoiding fear doesn’t remove it — it strengthens it.
Mark’s growth didn’t come from avoiding big waves. It came from progressively stepping into discomfort with structure and support. Each exposure expanded his capacity.
In business, avoiding hard conversations, selling, presenting, or decision-making keeps you stuck. Growth only happens when discomfort becomes familiar territory.
What to Takeaway
Whether you’re facing a 70-foot wave or a high-stakes business decision, the fundamentals are the same:
Fear is normal
Preparation builds confidence
Focus beats panic
Action reduces anxiety
High performers don’t wait until fear disappears. They move forward with it.
🎧 Listen to the full conversation with Mark Mathews on Spotify
⏯️ Or watch the episode on YouTube
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