Mark Healey

The things this man has seen…
 
Welcome to the fifth installment of Late Drop - The Big Wave podcast. The series was created to showcase conversations with some of the best big-wave surfers in the world — hosted by one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. New episodes will drop on Surfline each week — upcoming guests include Aaron Gold, Nic Lamb, Brian Keaulana and others.  Stay tuned here for more.
 
When you talk about those rare humans so innately skilled at survival that you could drop them off on a desert island, and they’d be perfectly fine…yeah, Mark Healey’s done that (voluntarily) more than a few times. The first time, for instance, was when he was a teenage grom on a Rusty trip to Tavarua, Fiji, and purposely missed his flight home so he could castaway. Since then, the list of his expertise — from big-wave surfer, freediver, spear-fisherman, conservationist, skydiver, bow hunter, to Hollywood stuntman — grows. Like his lung capacity. A man whose name will forever be etched into big wave history’s “Best Of” pages, Mark Healey and podcast host, Jamie Mitchell, engage — and every minute is a pleasure.
 
 
 0:00 Fatherhood, Childhood/Growing up on North Shore, Endless potential of Ocean, One-board-a-year days, Rusty Tavarua trip, Being a boatman at Tavarua
 
14:52 Rivalry with Jamie Sterling, First Pipeline session, Freediving by himself, Outer Reef tow vs paddle era, Big Wave traveling/dangers
 
28:55 The allure of potential/frontiers in big wave surfing, Lessons from bowhunting, Parallels between surfing and hunting, Questioning “real food”
 
39:22 Competitive spearfishing/freediving, Mark’s training routine, Coping mechanisms, Mind Control
 
48:47 Healey Water Ops, Stuntman work in Hawaii, Gnarly stunts
 
58:03 Craziest big wave moments, Near death at Jaws, Breath-holding reality, Compartmentalization in stressful moments
 
1:11:01 Current big wave goals, View of the new, younger big wave generation, Resurgence of tow-surfing, Rush Randall’s influence, Big wave surfing’s progressive influence   
 
1:22:19 Being a new father, Mark’s 5-to-Finish Questions

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