Andrew Cotton feels like there’s a big gaping hole in his life when he isn’t chasing giant life-threatening waves. “I don’t wanna just exist,” he protests, “I wanna live!” I seem to recall that in the film 12 Years A Slave, Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays the part of Solomon Northup, says something similar: “I don’t wanna survive. I wanna live!” Solomon Northrup was a free African American from New York who was kidnapped in the mid-19th century and sold into slavery in the South. Cotty is a plumber cum big wave surfer from Devon. Contrasting situations, to be sure, but perhaps there’s a message in there somewhere.

“I’m a pretty average surfer,” is something Cotty also says. He’s one fuck of a good plumber though, to be fair to him.

Meanwhile, psychologist Dr. Eric Brymer says this: “We have managed to remove any risk or danger from modern day living. It actually isn’t that healthy. Living or doing something risky where there’s a chance of death is actually quite a positive thing. Fear is a natural and healthy. Overcoming your fears should be encouraged.”