Aussie surfer Matt Formston says being blind a 'benefit' when riding giant Nazaré waves

The adrenaline-pumping waves of Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal, attract surfers from over the world, including three-time World Parasurfing champion, Matt Formston. The differentiating factor is, he is blind.

Matt Formston, the professional cyclist who turned to surfing big waves is 'legally blind', which he says, can be an "advantage"

Highlights

• Australian Paralympian Matt Formston attempts surfing’s most difficult challenge, in Nazaré, Portugal
• With help from his team, he rode waves estimated to be over 12 m high
• Mr Formston is at the centre of an upcoming documentary about his life and surfing without the ability to see the wave

The scenario is scary.

Praia do Norte is home to some of the biggest surfable waves on the planet.

Paralympian and three times para-surf-world champion, and big-wave surfer, Matt Formston, conquered his biggest challenge.

The waves here can tower up to 25 m (82 ft).

This place is known as "the holy grail of surfing" and only a few big-wave surfers are brave enough to take on these giant water walls.

Riding these awe-inspiring waves at the most popular big wave surf destination on the planet, is a visually-challenged Matt Formston – going with the flow, guided by the mere sound of a whistle.

But this Australian Paralympian and three times Para surf world champion is not scared.

The professional cyclist who turned to surfing big waves is 'legally blind', which he says, can be an "advantage".

"I was going very fast, like the fastest I've ever been in the ocean in my life and I've surfed for over 30 years," Mr Formston tells SBS Portuguese.

“Sometimes being blind helps take on the biggest waves, you can’t see them,” he adds.

Apart from being a daredevil, Mr Formston is also a World Cup gold medallist in tandem cycling, husband and father of three.

‘Why Nazaré? Why not?’

Also known as the ‘Blind Surfer’, Mr Formston spoke to SBS Portuguese from his home in Lennox Head, a seaside village in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.

At the age of five, he lost 95 per cent of his vision. But what is it like to be 'legally blind'?

“I can see shapes and lines. Everything is a big blur. I can see the horizon as a line between the blue sky and the ground.

"But I can't see any details. People look like cartoons to me. I can see the outline of their faces, sometimes, if they're very close to me, ” he says.

Matt Formston: more important than a title or breaking a record by a blind surfer, is the ability to ‘to see’ what is your limit

But this couldn't stop him from riding the wave of his dreams.

He recently attempted the most fearsome and dangerous challenge for a surfer: big wave surfing.

It was time for Portugal.

“My whole life I wanted to be in Nazaré. I've loved the feeling of surfing big waves,” Mr Formston recalls excitedly.

He and his team arrived in Portugal in November 2022, with a camera crew in tow, to produce the documentary The Blind Sea, to be launched later this year.

Spoiler alert: “the riding of the big waves in Nazaré will be the climax of the film,“ he says.

Team work makes the dream work

Considering the gigantic waves of Nazaré, some surfers may not go in. But not Mr Formston.

Guided by the sound of a whistle: his teammates would let him know it was time to let go of the tow rope. "I trusted them with my life," says Matt.

Probably a benefit to me is that I can't see the waves. Even when I surf, like, 20-foot waves. My friends and team say, ‘you are lucky you can’t see the waves today; they look very scary and if you could see them you wouldn't go out

Surfers usually stand on the fortified headland at Nazaré, next to the iconic red lighthouse and decide whether it is the day for them or not. The waves can be that scary.

Bu he doesnt make the decision to go out to sea. He simply trusts his team.

"My jet ski driver, Lucas with my teammate Dylan Longbottom, would guide me," he added.

Former surf champion Brazilian Lucas Chumbo, was in Nazare at the time, and towed Mr Formston to the highest waves.

"Lucas Chumbo is one of the all time legends of big wave surfing, so it was a privilege that he gave us some of his time to tow Matty out there," says Daniel Fenech, The Blind Sea director.

As for Mr Formston, he says he must let his team make the important decision.

“When I am taken in, I can’t see when to let go of the tow rope. I am directed by my teammate on the jet ski. He blows the whistle and I let go," he explains.

On top of the world

How was the feeling at the top of the gigantic waves, for Mr Formston?

He recalls that, while riding riding, he wouldn’t know how high he was.

I only found out how big the wave was when I got to the bottom of it because I could feel how far and how incredibly fast I'd dropped

Back row: Matt Formston, Daniel Fenech (director), Chris Bland ACS, front row: Michale “Crispy” Crisp, Sam Bloom. Competing at the 2021 ISA Para World Championships in Pismo Beach California USA.

"I'm standing still and everything is controlled, I can see a little bit of what is going on, but when I'm surfing big waves, I can't see anything.

It's all feel and fear. I'm using feel.

"I feel the wave under my surfboard – and I use my front foot, basically – as my cane, like I were using a stick on land, to feel the ground. My front foot becomes my cane and feels the water. And then I ‘see’ things that are important to me.

“The Nazaré waves sound like a bomb when they explode, but I didn't hear that because I was so focused on the information I needed. And that information was the whistle.

People assemble at the iconic lighthouse in Nazaré to witness some of the biggest waves in the world. Credit: RichardALock/Getty Images

“Lucas Chumbo would blow the whistle when I had to let go of the tow rope and then he would blow the whistle again, just as I got to the bottom of the wave.

"I know then that I will need to turn and go across the way. He whistles a third time when he wanted me to kick, when I would ask to kick out and finish the wave. So, using that process, we caught about 25 waves in there,” explains Mr Formston.

It's a big risk on the jet ski driver and teammate, he says.

"They're taking a blind person to ride up to 15 m (50 ft) tall waves, a five-story-building of water.

“It's very dangerous. It's a big honour for me,” he adds.

Mr Formston explains the process involves mutual trust.

"I trust them with my life but if something goes wrong, they're jeopardising their careers because you know, if they kill a blind person in the surf, you know, that would be really bad for everybody.

"We're all trusting each other to do the right thing. I'm trusting them to put me in the right position and they're trusting me to surf the wave.

The Blind Sea documentary artwork by Brick Studios

When I dropped, I was going very fast. The feeling of speed was very strong and as I dropped it was so steep. I was, you know, we're going almost 70 km per hour

Matt Formston, the Blind Surfer

Matt Formston is also a tandem cycling champion.

Matt and his team stayed in Portugal for 12 days, catching waves ranging from 20 feet up to 50 feet. He says there is a wave his team is still measuring but that is around 50 feet.

For him, more important than a title or breaking a record by a blind surfer, is the feeling of being able to compete, to be able ‘to see’ what is possible.

I'm still trying to find my limit

Matt

The Blind Sea, a documentary, by Brick Studios, will air late 2023 or early next year, and will feature him chasing the big, dangerous, adrenaline-fuelled waves, of his beloved Nazaré.

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