Australia's Heaviest Wave – Matt Bevilacqua | UNSTOPPABLE NUTRI-GRAIN

It's like the saying, nothing worth having comes easy. If it takes no effort, you won't get that satisfaction. The satisfaction I get is pushing my body to the limit to achieve a dream that you think may be impossible. I'm Matt Bevilacqua, I'm an Ironman. I grew up in Hobart, Tasmania and went to Clifton Beach Surf Club for nippers. I'm really lucky to have grown up down there. I enjoyed every minute of it. We were using our hose to get ice off cars and skis and boards and things for that for morning sessions. It's not easy down there but I just had a love for what I did so I think that was my drive to keep going and enjoy the sport that I was lucky enough to do down there as it was. We've always been amazed by his motivation. It was just really intrinsic, it was part of him. When I first met Bevy, you could see that he was a determined kid. You know, he wasn't always out the front. He had to work hard for what he got. The changes started to occur really late on before I left Tasmania. I would have been, you know, 16. I won my first state Ironman title and it was actually the first title I ever won. One of the biggest reasons for my move to the Goldie was I wanted to be pushed, I needed that next level test and I really wanted to mix it with the top guys in my sport to just see how far I could go. He's been sort of hinting about paddling these big waves for a little while now and I've just been hoping it might all go away. This is completely new territory for Matt. This is testing him beyond his limits. I'm hoping to get the biggest wave I possibly can and prove to myself that you can do this. You can do something that no one's ever done before. Shippies would have to be probably one of the most unique waves on the planet. I actually don't really know if Bevy knows what he's got himself into here. For Bevy to be tackling that on a clubby board, it seems outrageous. The injuries that have occurred over the last few years range from lungs full of water, coughing up blood to broken bones, broken legs, ankles. It's a horrendous wave and it's really going to push him to the limit. He's going to have to do breath hold training, really make sure he's on top of his fitness and just mentally prepare himself for the waves that he's going to have to ride. The main purpose with breast enhancement training is simulating the worst case scenario in a wipeout. A lot of this training is about getting those natural sensations or feelings that we get in a heavy wipeout and getting the body to rewire itself so should the worst case scenario happen, the body is prepared to deal with that better. So what we're going to do now is go down and do some underwater wrestling which is so similar to being wiped out by a big wave. Okay, here we go. Just like with all my other goals and ambitions and dreams, I need the best support team around me. The experts in every area at every stage of preparation. Paddle boards aren't designed to catch these giant waves. I worked with Wayne to come up with a paddle board that is still in every aspect a paddle board but can match the speed of a big wave. We've created the best possible board we can to be able to make this wave and now it's just a waiting game. It's waiting for that perfect swell to see if I can catch it. I'm pretty stoked. I just pitch black darkness in the middle of nowhere. I just, yeah, I want to get out there. I want to see it, see what I'm dealing with. It's when you're not doing something and you actually get nervous. Just don't know what to expect. That's just the unknown of it all. Wave day, it's all pretty real now. Just really keep as close to the face as you can. Yeah. Don't wash off any speed. As soon as you do, you're just hogged. Yeah. That's the main thing but yeah, hopefully on your first wave you'll get a nice feel for it. Yeah. Hopefully your board goes good. That initial impact really hurt. I was terrified. I just thought this is insane. Why have I done this? What was I thinking? The water up the face was just intense and I couldn't get to the bottom. The boys were just saying, get to the bottom and you'll be okay. So I tried to block out all that, focus on what I could control. It was so good to just make one and not copper beating. Marty was like, was that sick? Yeah, it was awesome. It was massive, so fast and awesome. You know, just the biggest adrenaline rush. It's just further emphasised the fact that you can really do anything you want, like if you really want to do it and you believe you can do it.