Being an elite big wave surfer is not for the faint of heart. Not only does it take tons of courage and skill, it requires immense preparation and dedication. For those who’ve dedicated their lives to this endeavor, this means endless days in the gym, countless hours testing and dialing in commitment, hectic travel schedules, and single-minded focus when those powerful swells begin to show their teeth.
Not only this, regularly taming waves taller than buildings puts enormous strain on one’s bodies. This includes broken bones, damaged ligaments and tendons, lesions and gashes, as well as traumatic head injuries (TBI). In fact, as the limits of big wave surfing become increasingly pushed to their limits, TBI’s have emerged as an increasingly common problem within the big-wave surfing community.
TBI’s pose a number of different challenges to those who endure them, including paralysis of facial muscles or losing sensation in the face, loss of or altered sense of smell or taste, loss of vision or double vision, swallowing problems, dizziness, ringing in the ear, and hearing loss. As if those physical symptoms weren’t bad enough, TBI’s can result in some cognitive ailments that can be irreversible if severe.
It’s only fitting that a big wave surfer as accomplished as Santa Cruz’s own Nic Lamb should be involved in bringing a product designed to counteract some of the strain that such fearless surfing places on the human body, especially the brain. After sustaining a number of nasty spills, including one at Nazare in Portugal that resulted in a severe concussion, Lamb began tinkering.
