03x01 - Chapter I - Risk

[bunniefuu]

[TV static drones]

[bright tone]

- Oh, yeah.

- Whoa.
- [groans]

- Man down.

- That was perfect.

- Whoa.

- The board?

- What happened, the board?

- Hi.

- What happened?

- I'd get that thing stitched
up when you get back.

- I should probably stitch
it so I can surf, though.

- I got some superglue.

- Gotta get this thing all
crazy glued up to the maximum.

Just putting a nice seal
all around the outer edge,

and then I'm just gonna
go catch one wave.

[dramatic orchestral music]

♪ ♪

- Beautiful.
- Yeah.

- Head back out.

♪ ♪

- At that time in my career,
it was just like a normal thing

for me to go right back out.

- Yeah.

- Whoo-hoo!

- You know, I only thought I
had so much to gain, not lose.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Whoa!

- [laughs]

All day, every day,
my whole focus,

keep surfing, whatever it took.

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

You know, this is
a pretty big deal,

the Menehune Contests
in Hawaii.

Every family enters it.

And Barrel was really nervous.

Like, really nervous.

And he was super young,
his first contest.

- I wasn't there
to help him with it,

but I did prep him
ahead of time,

and I shared with him
exactly where to go

and what to do on the waves.

You're just going to stay in
a channel where I showed you.

And then if a wave comes
that's not better than one

of the waves you already have,
wait for a better wave

than what you already got.

- OK.

- I love you.
- Barrel.

- Oh, he's gonna do it.

- Barrel...

- Oh, God.

- Right now we're going to give
the horn a quick test.

[air horn blares]

- Where is he?

By them?

That's way too far over.

- I mean, I can run down there
and scream at him.

- No, that'll look crazy.

- They all think
I'm crazy anyway.

- Is that him?
Yes, yes, yes!

Perfect.

That was exactly
what he needed to do,

just needs
a little better wave.

I can't see.
I can't see.

Yes.

♪ ♪

[laughing]

Yup.

Good job, buddy.
- You did awesome.

- Way to battle all
the way across too.

- Nicole, can you
turn the camera around?

- Whoo.

I think he made it.

Looked like top three.

- Garrett wanted to be there.

He was really bummed
he was missing it.

But he was in Austin
to go to this neurologist

and get some sort of
answers, explanations

for certain things.

In the 13 years
I've been with him,

he was feeling more edgy,
less patience for me,

less patience
for the children.

There was like
times where it was

literally like his brain just
was playing tricks on himself.

The other day, the baby
needed her diaper changed.

So Garrett's changing her, and
then I hear this giant thud.

- I disconnected the fact that
Fe was still on the couch.

I walked away,
and she rolled off.

Bam.

And that was like,
that was an eye opener.

That was like,
something's going on here.

- It was two years ago, or
three years ago in Indonesia.

But I just--I've rode big
waves for most of my life

and never really thought
of the concussions

that may have occurred
in numerous wipeouts.

- You know,
I talked to Garrett.

I'm like, what if
you do have some sort

of concussion syndrome that
we don't even know about?

Like, we really need to know
what we're dealing with.

- We're going to--

- Whenever you're ready,
I'll hit Start.

- OK, ready.

- All right, here we go.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[crowd exclaiming]

- Oh, I've probably had
at least 100, if not more.

From just hitting
the water so hard.

[waves thundering]

Concussions where I
didn't remember things,

I probably had like 10,
and I don't

know how many other major ones
that there wasn't many

side effects from.

I don't think I was--

- All the different testing,
it was scary.

- Relax.

Hands on your hips.

Raise your right.

You're going to go 1A, 2B, 3C.

- Oh, sh*t.

I was--I was nervous.

- OK, so this concussion
screening, the bottom

is 50 percentile
norm for your age,



You got all the immediate
memory and then 3 out of 5

for delayed memory.

So that gave you a score
of 24 out of 30,

which is lower
than you should be.

- Really?
- Yeah.

- The results showed damage
to one area of his brain stem.

- Is that really good?

You're still within
the range of being

able to say, like, yeah,
you could go back to surfing.

But the more concussions
you get every time,

this keeps getting worse
and worse of a response.

- I mean, to tell him
to not surf

so that he doesn't damage his
brain, I think he'd rather die.

♪ ♪

- I will never stop surfing.

I really love the rush.

That's what I live for.

But the neurological testing
was a really good smack,

saying, slow down, prepare,
you need to be 100% ready

or you shouldn't
be in the water.

♪ ♪

I need to get myself in
the best shape of my life,

focus on safety so that I can
surf and protect my brain.

- Once Garrett got
back from Austin,

I could feel him
with the awareness

that he only has so much time
left in this top echelon

of big wave surfing.

I was kind of surprised
to see him still wanting it.

At this point,
it felt like our paths were

diverging and splitting a bit.

After the big wipeout
and that whole fiasco,

the remnants, the echo
of the feelings in my body

has been really intense.

I'm just feeling
really happy to be

alive and enjoy life here in
Hawaii with Pavana by my side.

[singing in Spanish]

[soft music]

♪ ♪

We met here on the North Shore
at some full moon gathering,

and we just connected in
a lot of different ways.

- My first impression of CJ,
he's just so joyful

and he had a big presence
and just aura to him.

I've done my best
since the accident

to just be a safe, reflective
place of, you're good,

you're complete.

- She doesn't need me
to ride the big wave

to be something for her.

She's been really supportive
in reminding me

that I can express
myself in other ways.

[laughing]

[soft music]

- With CJ last season,
I had hopes of him continuing

to enjoy riding big waves,
but I didn't want

to put any pressure on him.

Dude, it's going to be like


and 12 feet tomorrow,
and offshore all day.

- Really?

- And I'm like so excited
to surf right now.

- That's great.

I'm excited to drive you.

- Amazing.

- I don't think it's going to
be in the next couple of days.

- [laughs]

- For Garrett,
so much of his identity

is around being
out in the water,

so I know that he's just
planning to be ready

and have his setup ready.

Definitely for Nazaré.

- OK, we're bringing that one.

- That one.

I told Garrett, if he is
going to put the work in,

then he can surf Nazaré.

That's kind of the way we're
dancing around the upcoming

winter season.

You know, Garrett wants to ride
the biggest wave in the world,

and he definitely
doesn't want to miss it.

- You got to keep all this
going when you get to Portugal.

- When do you get to Portugal?
- 20th.


- OK.

♪ ♪

- It's just the start
of the season,

but there isn't
many surfers about.

I kind of like it.

So it reminds me of
the good old days.

[laughs]

It's so good when
there's like, no one out.

I f*cking love it.

Oh, look, it's already
looking bigger.

f*ck, I should have
brought my 9'6".

Look at these things there!

[laughs]
Look at that!

[upbeat music]

This season,
I think my motivation

is just to keep fit,
pick my moments,

keep the surf dream alive.

You want to showcase.

You want to prove
that you're up

there with the rest
of the guys and you

can still sort of perform.

Not get too caught up in
all the weird mental blocks

like last season, you know.

This year, having an
actual place to call home

for the winter
and having Ace visiting,

yeah, it makes me
happy, you know?

♪ ♪

Ace has grown up
a lot from 9 to 10.

It's only a year, but it's
a huge difference, eh.

Whoa!

- What's down there?

- Oh, you don't want
to go down there, man.

- No, what's--

- It's Garrett's
shortcut when he's here.

- Yeah.

You know, sharing, like,
my personal passion with Ace,

it's like, yeah, it's rad.

I love it.

- You're lying.

You're lying, aren't you?

You're lying.

- I was joking.

It's not a lie.
It's a joke.

Good things happen when
you're having fun and playing.

And having that approach
might help me

get that wave that I want.

- Best surf of your life?

- Yeah, probably.

- Oh, yeah.

Everyone wants to surf
the biggest wave.

So that's still my drive.

But I have no desire to be...

- Now in surf news today,
another story

from Nazaré, Portugal.

- Germany's
Sebastian Steudtner is

a world record holder
at last, 18 months

after riding a monster wave.

- The wave was 86
feet tall, making it

the largest wave ever surfed.

- But only now has
the height of the wave

been officially verified.

- Since my world record,
every new world record

has been in Nazaré.

I was just lucky to hold
on to it as long as I did.

And then Sebastian had been
working on it for years.

- This is a world
record for being

able to surf a wave
that's created by a storm

that's the size of a country.

And that makes me very proud.

- If you get the world record,
it can change your life.

So getting the biggest wave of
the day on the biggest swell

is what all these
surfers are searching for

and looking for in Nazaré.

- [speaking Portuguese]

- We want to have our names
engraved into the Guinness

World Record.

We all want to get
to that one day.

- And you always
want to elevate.

You always want to step it up.

And it's like, sh*t,
I got a lot of step up

this year to match
last year's season.

Nazaré just sucks you in.

You're in the vortex.

You get sucked in
into that desire

of being the best you can be.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- Beautiful, I mean.

- [giggles]

- It's definitely a different
feeling for me this year

of almost a finality.

After Austin, there has to be
some sort finish line for him.

It's been a long time
chasing these waves.

But to cross some finish line,
he would have

to go back out there
at least once

and have like
an epic session.

So I probably hope, like,
he gets this epic session

this year to, like,
get it out of his system.

- Wow.

- He's aware that
he's going to have to,

like, slow down and
think about his safety.

- All right.
We'll talk later.

- Yeah, yeah.
Give me a call.

- This year, I'm going to
do my best to be patient

and be ready for the big day.

- [speaking French]

- Justine Dupont here.

She'll deal
with the whitewater

grabbing the boards.

- Whoo!
- [groans]

- Every time she's
injured, it's not easy.

First, because she's
suffering, and second,

because you don't know how--

how to start again.

[speaking French]

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- We went to Tahiti
after the injury.

She was not fully recovered.

♪ ♪

[bright music]

♪ ♪

- She really wants
to catch a giant wave

and finish it because she fell
on that huge wave at Nazaré.

[somber music]

- She really wants
to surf with him,

to overcome something
that happened

and to make something
better out of it.

[speaking French]

Beginning of the season,
we decided to throw a party

to, like, big wave surfers,
cameramen,

the friends of the friends.

And honestly, if everyone
I invited, like, they appear

here, it's too many people.

- [speaking Portuguese]

- [speaking Portuguese]

[laughs]

[cheering]

So guys...

[cheers and applause]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- [laughing]

[chatter]

- I was going to their place
to skate or just to cruise.

- Oh, yo, yo!

♪ ♪

- Having lunch, having dinner.

- [speaking Portuguese]

Omelet?

[laughter]

- Vegerit--uh--
[laughter]

- The vibes were
kind of like great.

- [speaking French]

- We did, like, a few
training sessions.

Fred, doing the safety.

I was feeling a lot
of pressure on driving

for Justine, because
it's Justine, you know.

She's one of the best
female surfers in the world.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Justine and Tony,
when they were partnered up,

it seemed like Tony was
doing most of the driving.

Justine wanted to see
if Tony was capable.

It's harder when
you're a young buck

and you're driving Superwoman.

♪ ♪

Driving is surgical
and calculated.

You're providing a service for
your partner who's on the rope.

You're doing your best
to get them on the wave

where they want to be.

So you really got to know
how to read the swells

and really got to know
how to read the ocean.

You got to be on your game.

You got to be present.

It takes hours upon
hours of practice,

then comes confidence.

- Hot shower.
- Warm shower.

- Hot shower.

[chuckles]

[bright music]

♪ ♪

- I think it's just going
to be super fun, you know.

There's enough north in it
to where it should be good.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- You got the biggest swell
of the year on the way.

It's f*cking big.

There's big, really big,
f*cking big.

Garrett, this is kind of
the day he's waiting for.

But I told him, man,
you're done, man.

You're retired.
What are you doing?

Stop it.
[laughs]

- I was very,
very focused on safety,

so I got the best suit--

I'm ready for action.

--in the most visible
colors there are,

the most protective helmet.

You want it really tight
and conformed to your head.

The only thing I didn't test
is the inflation to see

how it feels in the suit.

Wow.

- I finally felt he was
taking his wellbeing serious.

- [laughs]

- Hey.
- What's up, brother?

- Hi.

What's going on?

- Coming into the season,
I was thinking,

ah, do I need to go to Nazaré?

Eventually,
I realized I just really

wanted to get some healing.

I thought that by revisiting
in perhaps a new way,

I could get some
perspective and heal

the trauma that's in my body.

That storm is big out there.

My intention,
when that swell came in,

was to learn, perhaps observing
the waves from the cliff

and be a part
of the rescue team.

- Olá.
What's up, brother?

- I'm good.
- Looking strong, man.

- Yeah, I'm OK.

- No.

I'm nervous, so I just
go easy, you know?

So--
- Yeah, yeah.

- Yes. No, for sure.
No, for sure.

♪ ♪

- Look at that.
Look at that.

Ooh-hoo-hoo!
Oh, yeah, there's some weight.

- Look at these few rights
down here.

- Yeah,
we're going to have fun.

- Oh, yeah, look at that.

- He's still hungry.

And I think that's amazing.

But it also makes me
a little bit nervous as well.

♪ ♪

I appreciate
Garrett tremendously,

and I feel so deeply
that I want to see him whole.

So yeah, of course
I'm there to support him

and help him on his journey
and guide him where I can.

- It's challenging
for me not to be a little

scared of getting concussions.

But fear is something
we choose by choosing

to think those thoughts.

[breathing rhythmically]

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

♪ ♪

- First swell of the season,

everyone just goes
crazy, you know?

Like, everyone
wants that one wave.

And there's
so much adrenaline,

so much expectations.

It's game day.

♪ ♪

- It's--eh, maybe.
- What?

- I'll be out there soon.

I'm just chilling, relaxing.
- You in shape?

- Yeah.

It's OK.

Being up on the cliff,
I can see that the waves just

keep coming in and coming in.

And the feeling is that
any wave could be the wave.

♪ ♪

As a spotter,
I'm trying to see everything

that I can and really
start paying attention.

This is a set, yeah.

Oh-h*-h*-h*.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- Cotty's finally balanced.

Good with the mind.

Good with the body.

Good with the spirit.

And now he can excel
beyond his wildest dream.

♪ ♪

- Oh, h*, h*, h*, h*!

There was definitely
an element of missing out

that I wasn't out in the water.

The wind just came on
a little more intense.

It's starting to show up.

But I really was very happy
being on the cliff and on land

in that moment.

Ooh.

You got to be putting
yourself in serious harm's way

in order to even have a chance
up there with these guys.

- If you're a Nazaré surfer,
either you're all in

or you might as
well not show up.

In that first
swell of the season,

I was really trying
to push harder,

surf deeper,
surf more aggressive.

- There's Nick
heading out right now.

- Right away, I got a b*mb.

Then I got, like,
two waves back to back.

Boom, boom, boom.

♪ ♪

Big wave surfing is a drug.

You get that hype, you know.

It's just--
it's the most amazing

feeling when you're
putting yourself

against nature like that.

- Garrett's out there, those
two skis way out in three,

and he's taking a wave.

- I felt strong and ready, and
the waves were just incredible.

- You see Dad going?

♪ ♪

- I could tell he was fired up.

It was good, you know.

He was, like,
getting confidence.

♪ ♪

- Looks like he's having fun,
that's for sure.

It was great to see him having
that childlike spirit again,

because that's
the beauty of Garrett,

is his childlike
excitement for life.

- Yeah.

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

Whip 'em good.

♪ ♪

To drive poorly and miss waves
at Nazaré is not the anomaly.

That's the higher percentage.

It takes so much, the
teamwork, the communication

to actually get on the wave.

- I'm going to go eat lunch,
and I'm going to stay out

the rest of the day.

We just stay out till dark.
- All good.

Perfect.
- OK.

- All good?

- Yeah, thank you.

I was lit, I was hungry, I
wanted everything and anything.

And there was this kid, Ben,

from UK,
who Red Bull sent over.

- Coming from Scotland,
this is like, everybody's

complaining about the cold,
but I'm like,

man, this is roasting.

- Red Bull had asked
Cotty to take care of Ben.

And Cotty asked me, he always
asks me, what do you think?

And I go, no problem, I'll
help out, whatever I can do.

- Big set coming outside.

- And where's Garrett?

- He's towing Ben up there.
- Oh.

- All right, Ben's riding.

Ben's up and riding.

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- Good kid, good surfer.

I was the one driving.

And then Ben wanted
to take a little break.

We're just sitting there.

And I was bored, so I figured
we'd have a little fun.

There was this massive wave
I wanted to drive down.

As we got to the bottom
and kind of were cruising out,

it exploded
and it just engulfed us.

[waves crashing]

- Oh, sh*t.

[dramatic music]

- 9 out of 10 times
when that happens,

you get blown off the jet ski
and it's a yard sale.

And I was afraid, because I
thought, oh f*ck, we're f*cked.

♪ ♪

- Oh, my God!

- Somehow, by the grace of God,
we came right out like nothing.

And he sh*t his pants.

- Holy sh*t!
- Where's Garrett?

- OK, did you guys see me
and Garrett on the jet ski?

I'm never, ever
getting on a jet ski

with Garrett ever again.

That was horrible.
- He says that now. Wait.

- Nicole was so pissed.

What the f*ck?

Kid's on the back,
and you're being so reckless.

- What happened with Ben
was 100% careless.

How many wake-up calls
before you don't

get a wake-up call anymore?

- Oh!

Knowing that his
life was in my hands

and Nicole was on
the cliff, it created

this overwhelming rush that
I'd been craving and missing.

- Hey, you got the barrel.
[laughs]

- Yeah, good one.

- You never know what the ocean
is going to throw at you.

Whenever you think it's over,
it's not over.

Think again.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[somber music]

♪ ♪

- [speaking Portuguese]

It feels pretty bad.

So--

Any injury you have, it's
always, like, at least a month

out of the water, you know?

Yeah, it sucks, man.

f*ck.

You know, missing out
at the start of the season

is the worst possible
scenario, you know.

You see all these people
surfing huge waves

and you not being
a part of it.

And after coming from such
a solid year like last year

to start off the season with
an injury, it really sucks.

[speaking French]
Yeah?

- [chuckles]

Hopefully, hopefully.

- [laughs]

[soft music]

♪ ♪

- Ooh, that was a barrel.

Look at that right.

You got to go
hunting for those.

[chuckles]

- You'll be at the rope first,
then me.

- Huh?

[laughter]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- There's not much going
through my mind

except for another day
at the office,

just like a normal day.

- I think Garrett was
wanting to be really primed

and in good shape, but he
also was surfing probably more

than he needed to be surfing.

- Some of those rights
look pretty good,

but they're not, like, wide
open gaping or anything.

I think he wanted to just
surf little clean waves.

- We went out there,
and it wasn't clean

as we thought
it was going to be.

But I was just having fun.

- Big set coming outside.

Third peak.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Go, go, go, go!

Go!

- Oh, my God.

- I'm ready.

I can handle a good pounding.

- [laughs]

- He's at this point,
he's fit, he's moving good,

but he's playing with the risk.

He knows,
like one bad heavy wipeout

and he might not come back
from that.

♪ ♪

- It was my last wave.

It was a super long left.

I went up and up and snap.

♪ ♪

I tried to kick out.

Smack.
Smacked me down.

And then pah!

♪ ♪

- Oh, sh*t.

Copy.

♪ ♪

[dramatic orchestral music]

♪ ♪

[bright tone]