If a surfer conquers a monster wave and nobody films it, did the wave actually exist? Technically, in the realm of big-wave surfing, which sees disciples attacking – or being attacked by – waves up to 20 feet high, the answer would be an emphatic “no”. Such is the life of Ryan Hipwood, Australia’s big-wave extraordinaire who traces the planet with his small team of fellow big-wave riders and film crew looking for magical experiences and stunning footage.

“Hippo” hit the big-time in this thrill-seeking world when he was captured in action at Shipstern Bluff in Tasmania, a ride that won him a nomination for the Ride of the Year gong at the prestigious Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards in 2009. That beast almost claimed his life. You probably saw it on the news; it made headlines around the world.

His most recent claim to fame was the long, spitting wave he caught at the famous Cloudbreak in Fiji, which saw him go close to winning that same award two years later. Again, no cigar. Never mind though, the Gold Coast native knows he has time on his side. “There are a lot of guys who are at the top of their games and are in their early 40s ... I’m about to turn 28, which is quite young for a big-wave surfer. If I stay fit and healthy and still want it, then I’ll keep doing it. I think you know when your time’s up. If you feel that you don’t have that hunger to want to do it anymore, you’re probably doing it for the wrong reasons.” Hunger’s certainly no issue for Hipwood, who took Inside Sport through the process of competing in one of the most dangerous sports in the world.

ON LOCATION

“All my big-wave surfing is documented by a small film crew of Chris Bryan and Tim Bonython. They enjoy shooting really big waves, dramatic situations. They shoot everything; a lot of the high-performance stuff in smaller waves as well. I think they get pretty excited when the wave’s big. My job is the surfing part and they like filming it.”

BIG-WAVE BUG

“This wasn’t something I’d always wanted to do. I was competing in junior series, just like all young aspiring professional surfers, but I kind’ve went more the free-surfing route; I was pushed that way by my sponsor at the time. For me, it just progressed from free-surfing perfect waves all over the world, before it got to a point where I was looking for that next step and the waves just seemed to be getting bigger every time I went away. I got comfortable after a few trips and really caught the bug for it. Now it’s pretty much what I get paid to do.”

WEATHER WITH YOU

“There’s a handful of surfers I do a lot of my travelling with, like Mark Mathews, who’s another top, big-wave free-surfer. We push each other as much as we can. We’ve gotten really good at reading maps. We know when certain places are going to be good and we like to keep an eye on them. The weather-reading systems and websites are so good these days; you can set up alerts that come straight to your Hotmail. We’ll usually make an absolute call two or three days out on whether it’s going to be worth going or not.