Matt started surfing when he was 6 years old, in Cape Town, South Africa. He grew to become  one of the best big wave surfers in the world. He watches the globe for large storms, and when all the elements come together, book's a ticket and chases the energy across the world. He documents the big waves these storms create and produces high quality content which is distributed through various global media platforms.Matt's other passion is sharing his experiences to inspire and empower people to ride their "big waves".

I'm the Account Management Lead at AnyQuestion. One of my favorite parts of the job is getting to know our contributors and helping them succeed on the platform.

In past lives, I've worked in design, web development, and marketing. All of those experiences have been an important part of my career journey.

I'm passionate about helping others. I'm learning to love running. I'm a new Track & Field fan, a die-hard hockey fan, and I truly believe there's nothing a trip to the beach can't fix.

Have you had or seen any near death experiences?

My probably my nearest death experience, although I wasn't near death at all, but it was it felt really scary, was at Nazaré in Portugal. I was surfing, paddling surfing, and I got caught by about a 30 to 40 foot wave landed on my head. I went under the water, swam under the water, the wave just like was super violent with me. I pulled my vest so the cartridges inflated me with air and came up after a very heavy hold down. A guy came in on the jet ski to pick me up. I jumped on the back of the jet ski and there was another 30 foot foamy, a massive foamy coming. It was on my ankles and I was holding on and this thing was right behind me. And then I felt my board starting to catch in the water because my board was still attached to me. It stuck in the water and ripped me off and I didn't get a breath. So I got pulled into this huge foamy. It got so manhandled, snapped my leash, came up. The water was very aerated. Another guy came in to pick me up and I jumped on the back of his ski. But because the water is so aerated, he didn't get any acceleration. I was holding on the wave hit us and I was just holding on, holding on and he was trying to accelerate and I was getting ripped off with no breath again and got super ragdolled in all directions. Came up feeling like really exhausted after that. And the fourth wave, just this big foamy thing just landed straight on my head and I didn't have time to dive and I just tucked into a ball and this thing just blasted me up towards the beach. And I got to the beach, I was coughing up blood. The horizon was doing this, like felt like my brain inside my skull had just been rattled and I was totally defeated and that was a really, really terrifying experience.

My closest near-death experience was when I was surfing at Nazare in Portugal. I got caught by a 30-40 foot wave and was pulled underwater. I was eventually rescued by a jet ski, but it was still a terrifying experience as I felt my board catching on the water and I almost got pulled off again with no breath. After a few more waves, one of them hit me straight on the head and I was coughing up blood when I reached the beach.

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What has been the most epic big wave experience of your life?

I watch a light man photocom I watch a light move across the screen I watch a light come over me Here we are now going to the Westside So this was Jaws, one of the best days of my life. I went out in the morning and paddled into the biggest ride of my life, close to a 50 footer. It was such an incredible experience but I ended up snapping my leash on the wave, my board got lost up the rocks. I came in after a really heavy beat down and I remember looking back out and thinking, I don't think I'm going to go back out there, it was just getting bigger and bigger. The set waves were probably close to 25 meters high, like 70 foot plus, it was huge. All the best big wave surfers from around the world were out there, nobody was getting close to paddling into the big set waves, they were huge. And yeah, I ended up kind of getting revved up and I really believed I was there for a purpose that particular day. I borrowed a board, I paddled back out and I had another four rides that changed my life. Those two, that one wave in the video, that was one of the best waves I've ever had in my life. It was just a super special day, the waves were huge and wild but I just felt this deep sense of peace. I felt so confident and I felt like that was exactly where I was supposed to be. I didn't really feel scared that day, which is very unique for me. I normally get very scared and everything just felt right. I remember I got back to shore, my dad had been back in Cape Town, so terrified for me. And when he just found out I was in one piece, he just burst into tears and started crying because he was so relieved I was still alive. It was such a day.

It was one of the best days of my life. I went out in the morning and paddled into a huge wave, snapped my leash, and lost my board. But I managed to borrow another board and paddle back out. I had some amazing rides, and it changed my life. My dad was relieved when I got back safe, and it was such a special day.

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The number one rule for surviving a big wave wipeout is to remain calm. Our urge when we're under the water is to fight to get back to the surface, but if we can never overcome the power of the ocean, it's always going to be more powerful than us. So we need to in a sense surrender. So what I do, especially in the beginning of the wipeout when I'm close to the falling lip and the initial impact, it's like really, really powerful and strong. I pull my limbs in like this. So I make myself strong so that my shoulders don't get ripped out of their sockets or I don't get bent in any funny direction. So I make myself super strong like this. I also clamp down my jaw so that if I get winded, like watered, my air doesn't go out of my mouth. So clamp my jaw, pull my, make myself super strong. And then often after the initial impact that's very intense, the wave will pull you deep under the water. And that's when I kind of open up like a sail. So that when I open up like a sail, uh, increased drag and I don't go as deep. Um, and while I'm under the water, I try to think positive thoughts and I count, uh, because often we, our thoughts are racing and it feels like we under the water for minutes. But when I count, it takes me back to, Hey, I'm not under the water for as long as I thought. If you count in that, that wipeout at Mavericks I had, I was under the water for 17 seconds, which when you think about it, that's super doable. But when I think about how violent and aggressive the beating is, that makes it terrifying. When I break it down to the counting, it helps a lot.

To survive a big wave, remain calm and pull your limbs in to protect yourself. Increase drag by opening up like a sail and count to keep your thoughts positive.

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What stands out as the scariest moment you've had on a surfboard?

My scariest moment was out at Pipeline in Hawaii. So Pipeline is the most dangerous wave in the world. People either die or get knocked unconscious there every single year and the thing that makes Pipeline really scary is how unpredictable it is. There's also like hundreds of people surfing and all that but the wave itself is very unpredictable and it breaks over very shallow lava reef. And I was surfing there a few years ago. I had this really steep drop. I grabbed the rail. I slipped out. I fell off and the wave took me up and over the falls and dumped me. And dumped me so hard I went straight into the reef really really hard and I was kind of tumbling over the reef and then I went over an edge into an underwater cave. And I remember getting pushed against the back wall of the cave. The water was like surging against me and pressing me against the back wall of this cave. And I was just in my mind. It's one of the most, it's probably the most panic I've ever had in in a surf scenario. I was like I need to get out of this hole as soon as possible because I could sense above me there was an overhang and the water was surging pinning me to the back wall. It was so scary and there's bubbles everywhere so I couldn't see anything. And I remember kind of feeling my leash because I knew my board was still outside the hole. So I followed my leash back out and I pulled myself out of there and managed to get out of the cave but that was so scary.

I had a terrifying experience at Pipeline in Hawaii. I was surfing and a wave took me over the falls and dumped me into an underwater cave. I was pinned to the back wall by the surging water and couldn't see anything due to all the bubbles. I managed to escape by following my board's leash back out of the cave.

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What tips would you give to someone just starting out in professional surfing?

So particularly in professional surfing I think a lot of people have a tendency to just go out and do the same thing over and over again. So something I would give to someone starting out as a professional surfer is to be intentional with your training, with your goals, in particular when you actually go out for a surf. Surfing is so much fun and it's so easy to get caught up in everything around you and the people and chatting but if you really want to take and move forward I think in your surf career you need to be intentional about moving towards a goal and working on certain aspects of your surfing every time you go out for a surf. And I would recommend if you go out for a surf try not to work on a whole lot of different things, work on one thing and work on that thing over and over and over again until you kind of nail it and then you can move forward into the next thing. So yeah being super intentional with training, make sure that training aligns with the goals. So for me obviously big wave surfing I'm doing a lot of swimming, a lot of underwater training, a lot of balance stuff to help me to stay balanced on my board. And yeah be intentional with every part of your career and enjoy it at the same time.

Be intentional with your training and goals as a professional surfer. Train with focus on one goal or skill at a time until you perfect it, and then move forward. Make sure that the training aligns with your goals. Enjoy yourself while still being focused.

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What was the most challenging surfing experience of your career?

My most challenging surf experience I think was at Nazare. I've only surfed there once. We were paddling in and I got caught by like a 40 foot wave, broke on my head, pushed me so deep underwater. I pulled my vest, so I inflated with air. I came to the surface. Someone picked me up on a jet ski. But the next wave was already on us. And as I was riding, my board was still attached to me. My board got stuck in the water and it ripped me off the ski with jet ski into the next wave without a breath. Got another terrible wipe out on the second one, snapped my leash. I came up. I got rescued by just before the third one by another guy on a jet ski. The water was so aerated that his jet ski didn't have any grip and acceleration. So the wave, the third big wave hit us and I got ripped off the back. I had another terrible beating without getting a breath. And then I came up and the third wave was already right on my head. And I just lay there and just got annihilated. And when I got to the beach, the horizon was moving. I was coughing up blood and that was one of the heaviest experiences I've ever had.

I had a challenging surf experience at Nazare where I was caught by a 40-foot wave and got wiped out several times. I came up coughing up blood and it was one of the heaviest experiences I've ever had.

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Stories & Experiences

Matt Bromley

Have you had or seen any near death experiences?

What has been the most epic big wave experience of your life?

How do you survive a big wipeout?

What stands out as the scariest moment you've had on a surfboard?

What tips would you give to someone just starting out in professional surfing?

What was the most challenging surfing experience of your career?