Making Waves

Matt Bromley has turned chasing risky waves into a career one that is as rewarding as it is dangerous. Surfing those waves requires explosive power and mental fortitude. Heres how he develops both to brave the waves, and make it home alive.

- Megan Flemmit

“This is not for me,” WAS THE THOUGHT REVERBERATING THROUGH MATT BROMLEY’S MIND AS TWENTY FOOT WAVES CRASHED AROUND HIM. HE WAS 17, AND IT WAS HIS FIRST TIME SURFING DUNGEONS, A POPULAR DESTINATION IN HOUT BAY FOR BIG-WAVE SURFERS. SITTING ON HIS TEN-FOOT Shivering with fear, he began paddling back towards the channel. As he made his way back, another big set of waves came his way, and something told him to go for it. “I paddled in, and the wave just lifted me up and dropped me into a a twenty-five foot wave, totally vertical, and I rode it all the way into the channel. And that feeling was just incredible,” he explains.

Successfully riding that wave changed the trajectory of Matt’s life. Since first learning how to surf, when he was just six years old, smaller waves had become Matt’s forte. His dad had been surfing for most of his life, and decided to teach his son the ropes. Every second weekend they would wake up and catch the waves in Muizenberg. Matt’s passion for surfing reached new heights when they moved to Kommetjie when he was 12. Living on the beachfront allowed him to surf every day. “I stopped doing all the other sports, and just fell in love with surfing.”

At 12, Matt was a force to be reckoned with. Already a professional surfer, he was recognised by major companies such as Billabong. “I was doing the competition scene, and it all started snowballing from there.”

But once he tackled the waves at Dungeons, going back to smaller waves didn’t bring him the same satisfaction. “It was just this crazy, life-changing moment for me. It kind of put me on the map, and directed my future towards big-wave surfing.”

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