A BRIT who ditched a “soul-crushing” job to surf the world’s biggest waves revealed how despite breaking his back he won’t quit.
Andrew Cotton, 42, is a professional big-wave surfer who gave up a career as a plumber to spend his time hunting down terrifying swells.
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The daredevil has suffered “numerous” injuries and close calls during his risky venture and once nearly paid the ultimate price.
A particularly near miss saw Andrew “rag-dolled around” underwater before rising to the surface in “excruciating pain”.
As he lay in the water unable to move the surfer was slammed by a second wave and at this point he knew he had injured his back “really badly”.
He told The Sun: “Breaking my back was definitely high up there as one of the most painful experiences so far.
“I just misjudged a wave. Every wave is different so for small mistakes you can pay big prices.”
Andrew explained how “it was a really, really big day” and he had underestimated the complexity and size of that particular wave.
“I was conscious the whole time. The second the wave hit me the pain was so excruciating. I knew instantly that I’d either damaged my back really badly or broken it.
“I was underwater getting rag-dolled around for probably like 20 or 30 seconds, maybe a little bit longer.”
Despite the extreme lows that the sport can bring, to Andrew, it’s worth the risk for the unparalleled sensation of tackling a big wave.
He explained: “It’s that feeling of facing your fears and getting through those moments. The best waves, are always in such slow motion and quiet.
“Time stands still and they’re the moments that you’re chasing, not the adrenaline stuff.”
For small mistakes you can pay big prices
Andrew Cotton
Andrew struggled to accept the extent of his injury and at first thought he would only be out of the water for “a few weeks”.
“But the reality hits and you realise it’s gonna be nine months to a year,” he said.
Andrew added: “I was never gonna finish my career on a wipe-out.
“I’d surfed so many big waves, some of the biggest waves ever, I wasn’t gonna finish it on falling off, there’s just no way.
“I’m so glad I didn’t, because three years later I surfed probably one of my biggest waves ever.”
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Andrew explained that he’s well aware that his sport comes with far higher risks than others.
He said: “It’s not like a lot of other sports where you just blow a whistle, or you call time out and everything stops. It’s the ocean.”
Despite being extraordinary the dare-devil had an ordinary childhood in Devon before he found his passion for the ocean.
Andrew had been surfing as a hobby since he was a kid but wasn’t able to fully pursue his passion until he was 30, the age most professional surfers retire at.
After working at a surf shop and getting to go with the company on surf trips Andrew’s dad gave him a stern talking to telling him he needed to get a “proper job”.
It’s not like a lot of other sports where you just blow a whistle, or you call time out
Andrew Cotton
And, so, Andrew hung up his wet-suit, put his board on the shelf and retrained as a plumber.
“My parents were proud of me and thought I was doing really well.
“I was earning pretty good money but I hated it. It was the worst thing, it was soul-crushing,” he said.
But, some time later, with enough money now in the bank, Andrew decided to give his career as a big-wave surfer another whirl and has never looked back.
He has now surfed some of the biggest waves the world has to offer – from Nazaré’s notorious death-trap waterwalls and the colossal unforgiving waves of West Ireland.
When asked what it takes to be a big-wave surfer Andrew said he has always been someone who is never satisfied and wants to push the limits.
He added that it’s only those who are “half crazy and half calculated” who can survive the brutal and harsh reality of the sport.
Andrew has no plans on giving up big wave surfing anytime soon and has recently been involved in HBO’s documentary “100 Foot Wave”.
The series follows the journeys of brave surfers hoping the catch the biggest swells in the ocean.
Nazaré – the biggest waves in world
Located in Portugal the quaint seaside town of Nazaré is famous for having the biggest and most feared waves on the earth.
The waves there are so dangerous that Brazilian surfer Márcio Freire lost his life after attempting to ride a big wave on January 5, 2023.
The huge swells in Nazaré are caused by Nazaré Canyon – a massive underwater canyon that funnels swells towards the coast and creates constructive interference between the waves.
Constructive interference is when two waves overlap and their power combines to create a monster waterwall.
The biggest wave ever surfed was tackled by German big wave surfer Sebastian Steudtner and measured is thought to be 93.73 feet tall.
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