Mark Mathews

Mark Mathews is an Australian professional big wave surfer who grew up surfing at Maroubra in New South Wales alongside fellow Bra Boys, after a childhood in which he was frightened of the ocean. His start as a professional came from surfing the big waves at Shipstern Bluff, which led to photographs, films and sponsors, and he has since ridden some of the largest waves in the world, among them Cape Fear in New South Wales, Teahupoo in Tahiti, Jaws in Maui and The Right in Western Australia. He has won three Oakley Big Wave Awards, for the biggest wave ridden in 2009 and 2011 and for the biggest slab in 2010. In 2014 he and Ryan Hipwood organised the invitational Red Bull Cape Fear event, and in 2016 he was seriously injured on a reef during a photographic shoot.