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Shane introduces himself, growing up in Kona and falling in love with surfing at a young age. He explains his move to the North Shore, his competitive career, and why he eventually shifted his focus to big wave surfing.
Welcome to the Fallen Rise podcast.Today we are joined by surfer Shane Dorian.Shane, can you please introduce yourself for us?
Sure, I'll do my best.Good morning.I'm here in Hawaii.I live on the big island of Hawaii in a town called Kona and I'm a professional surfer.I'm in my early and I've been a prourfer since I was 18 years old.I was born and raised in the little town that I still live in and ended up falling in love with surfing when I was 5 years old and it's been kind of the passion of my life ever since.
Shane, you've had many big moments in surfing from your championship tour days to your big wave surfing.Can you talk a bit about why you chose the big wave surfing?
Sure.Um, I guess that that kind of takes me back a bit.I was, you know, I grew up being a competitive surfer and, you know, being born and raised in Hawaii, there's there's a lot of big waves in Hawaii and and when I was 15 years old, I moved tothe north shore of Aahu.And for those who don't know anything about surfing, that the north shore of Aahu is like Mecca for surfing and and especially really big wave surfing.It's kind of like, you know, through the winter months here in Hawaii, the north shore of Aahu is where like thousands of sur thousands of surfers kind of congregate.And if you're like a young upand cominging surfer who wants to prove yourself or become known or really kind of challenge yourself, that's the place to be.So, I moved there when I was 15 years old in high school and like slept on my friend's floor and had a super shitty beat up car and barely had any money at all to live and and and
that was just my dream.I I wanted to, you know, become a pro surfer and sort of see if I had what it takes.And so, I moved there.I started competing a lot and surfing bigger waves and then I, you know, I got pretty good and then I eventually went on the championship tour for about 12 years and competed full-time.I was a bit of an overachiever as far as that was because, you know, my amateur career was very weak as a as a competitor.I was never a great competitive surfer as a as a young kid and I was far from the best kid when I was young.you know, being able to qualify for the championship tour and kind of compete and for a world title and travel around the world for 12 years at like the highest level was something I I never thought really was
that possible when I was a kid.So, it was an amazing run.And then I kind of got burnt out on the competition thing.And so, I I was really passionate about big waves.And I just had I had this feeling that I really wasn't meeting my potential as a surfer.I I was competing and I'd be in events at like a really high level and I just wasn't passionate about it.I didn't feel emotionally connected to my wins and I didn't really care if I lost and I just knew something was not, you know, I was still like living the dream surfing for a living, but I just didn'tfeel like I was doing I I felt like there was this untapped potential, I guess, and and surfing really big waves was something that I was super passionate about.And I I really did feel like I had the potential to become the best big wave surfer on the planet.
And and so I kind of talked to my sponsors and and made a plan, you know, with myself with I just really wanted to like kind of stop competing completely and focused all my efforts and all my energyinto really really getting physically and mentally ready to become a really good big wave surfer.
He describes the mental pressure of leaving competition behind and preparing for the dangers of big wave surfing. The discussion covers his physical conditioning, breath-hold training, and the confidence-building methods he used to stay calm underwater.
Wow.
Wow.Along the way, really long answer.
No.No.But we want to hear about your story.So you can talk as much as you like along the way when you're facing all these challenges and setbacks.Mentally, what did you do to keep yourself calm, collected, and you talk about strategizing how you're going to move forward?How did you mentally keep yourself in check?
Yeah, it wasn't easy to be honest.You know, I mean, I I was I had this established career.If you can, you know, anytime you're you're kind of competing in sports and have an athletic career, you really have almost no job security.you have this job that like thousands of kids want, right?And I was like an aging competitive prourfer and I was starting to look at it like, okay, I have this kind this kind of comfortable existence in my career, but I felt like it was really fleeting.I really wanted to kind of move on and do something that I was more passionate about and felt like I had more potential.But it was really unprecedented at the time.There wasn't there wasn't a real example of somebody who was a was a was was a highly rated competitive surfer with a long career who moved into focusing on big waves.
There were like most of the guys who surfed big waves at that time were guys who could have never made it on the championship tour.So I was trying to do I was trying to move from one into the other sort of the highest level that that's what I really wanted to do.And so I guess just doing a lot of like uh you know I guess the best way to describe it is especially specifically for surfing really huge waves there's a lot of risk at that time I had abunch of friends in like a 10-year period that had passed away surfing really big waves you know it's just extremely dangerous and so that was on my mind and so I really wanted to get in the best physicalcondition as I possibly could.So I started physically training for that specific goal of like surviving the biggest waves in the world and getting and that kind of fed into my mindset and my mental game to you know if I felt like if
I was really prepared physically that it would help me mentally you know just be really prepared for it.
What kind of training were you doing to get yourself in check from the championship tour kind of surfing to your big wave surfing?Yeah, I guess the biggest difference, you know, with with the championship tour type of competitive surfing, it was more like, you know, mobility and being super limber and having that explosive power.And then with big wave surfing, it had a lot more to do with my my lung capacity, you know, being able to keep my heart rate low in intense situations.So, I was doing a lot of physical training that was like highintensity interval training.So like a lot of sprints, a lot of like you know cardio machines like the rower and and running and swimming and holding my breath and stuff like that.And then I was also doing a bunch of like mental training as well.I also did a lot of like breath training like breath holding courses and breath training like for for my lung capacity to build that up because a lot of times you're being held underwater for a long amount of
time with a super high heart rate.So yeah, that's that's kind of the big difference.So, I was doing, like I said, a lot of like highintensity interval training.At the time, I joined like a CrossFit gym.That was really good.I was doing a lot of metcon, which are like uh like metabolic conditioning.So, I was just trying to get, you know, my V2 max like super high.I was trying to get my lung capacity really up there.I was trying to get my heart to the point where it would I would have like a, you know, like a like the lowest heart rate under the most intense situations and be able to hold my breath fora long time.In these intense situations where potentially you've been dragged under an absolutely ginormous wave and your heart rate's through the roof, how do you stay calm in those situations?
Is there anything that you practice to do?So, like a secret,
you know, the biggest thing for me was just like my mindset having the confidence to know that I'm going to survive.That's everything.If you can think of holding your breath as a as like a tank of gas in a car.If you have a if you get a really good breath hold, that's like having a full tank of gas.But if you have a high heart rate, that's like putting your foot all the way to the floor of the gas.So your your gas is running out quick if your heart rate is high.So if you're able to keep your heart rate lower, it's like driving a Prius.Like you can just like kind of go for a much longer amount of time.So the key is keeping your heart rate low.And for me, the the the way that I tried to achieve that was having confidence to know that I could hold my breath for a super long time, which would give me less stress, lower heart rate, and a
longer breath hold.And so when I was doing my breatholding training, like I did this breatholding training with like a it was like a big wave surf surf specific trainer, and he kind of took me through the science of how tohold my breath for as long as possible, both with a a low heart rate and a high heart rate.So, the first thing we did was we built up my static breath hold, meaning like, you know, under calm conditions with a low heart rate, be able to hold my breath underwater.Um, and I worked that up to my my highest time was like 5 minutes and 35 seconds underwater.And that's with a static breath hold, so low heart rate.And then we we we we took that time and my heart my high heart rate sorry my high my high heart rate breath hold should be 25% of my low heart rate breath hold.
So that was about a minute and 45 seconds.So I would go on the side of the pool.I would do sprints first.Then I'd go on the side of the pool and I would do squats with my eyes closed.And someone from behind me while my eyes were closed would push me into the water like completely by surprise.And I had to try to to react in a mo in that moment before I would hit the water, get the biggest breath hold I could possibly get.And I would go underwater and there'd be divers underwater that would spin me around simulating a big wave wipeout.So I'd have to hold my breath for 1 minute and 45 seconds, which was 25% of my static breath hold under those conditions with with the with the best breath breath I could get like before that impact in
the water.So like you can imagine that's like the best kind of sort of big wave wipeout simulation that you can get and and that was as uncomfortable as that was and as much of a suffer fest as that was.I mean for like 3 days I had felt like I had concussion and during all that training I was like throwing up and blacking out and doing all this is like really radical.It was almost like I swear it was like almost like hell week for like the um for the Navy Seals.I felt like I was doing doing that kind of training.But at the end of it, out the other side of it, it gave me a lot of confidence knowing that under like really high heart rate, I can hold my breath for 1 minute and 45 seconds.And you know, being held under for a minute and 45 seconds in a surfing situation is is very unlikely unless you're blacked out.
So I had that I had I was like, as long as I can maintain my consciousness, as long as I not black out, I could probably survive almost any situation under underwater.For those of you listening who have never tried holding your breath at such a high heart rate, it's so hard.Training came in handy when you were at Maverick's couple of years ago where you were held under for a very long time.
Shane recounts a terrifying wipeout at Mavericks and the concussion that followed. That experience led him to help invent an inflatable wetsuit system, which later became widely adopted in big wave surfing.
Can you talk about what it's like?
It sucks.
Yeah, it's funny.I mean, the training helps.There's no doubt about it.The training helps your mindset and it helps you to, you know, maintain positivity in a in a dire situation.But at some point when you're underwater, you start to have doubts, you know what I mean?And yeah, Mavericks, for those who don't know, is is one of the heaviest big wave spots in the world.And it's in Half Moon Bay, kind of just south of San Francisco.And I was there in 2009, 2010 for this session.There was I was feeling super confident.and I had a bunch of good waves under my belt that day and I just told myself I'm like I don't care how big of a set comes in.I don't care how big of a wave comes in.I'm in the spot.I'm going no matter what.Um that's that's kind of the mindset I had because I had a lot of confidence that day.
Everything was I just felt good.My timing was on.My equipment was on.I felt super healthy.So it felt super strong and I had successfully rode a bunch of waves that morning.And so I was just like this is I need to push my risk.This is the moment.And it was the waves were huge.And this wave came in and it was like a building literally.It was like probably a 50 60 foot phase.And I was like in that mo mode where I was like I'm going no matter what.And I just put my head down and went and I had this great entry but like halfway down the face I hit this weird bump and went over the like like you know I lost my balance, went overthe handlebars, hit the water and on impact it kind of knocked the wind out of me.
I got sucked over the falls.Luckily, on my way over the falls, so like like on my way over the crest of the wave, I was like my my head popped up like this.I like swam up and got my breath and I went underwater and the the water there is probably 30 ft deep where I went underwater.I went straight to the bottom, straight to the to the bottom, which is like a smooth reef.And I was underwater for a super long time and I had to kind of wait for the power of that wave to stop pushing me down.And then as the pressure kind of dissipated, I started trying to swim up.And at that point, I had like these like in I don't know if you for those who have tried to hold your breath for a long time.If you get far enough, your body starts doing these sort of involuntary spa spasms kind of in your throat like that.
And that was happening as I was swimming up, which gets in your mind, right?It's like it's like your brain telling your body like, "Hey, you have to breathe really soon or else you might lose consciousness."That's how it feels.And so I was like swimming up and that was happening and I was still pretty far from the surface and on video you can see my my surfboard is tombstoning call it.So like the surfboard's like this.It's halfway underwater and then there's a leash connected to my surfboard and my foot is connected to my leash and then you can see like a 50-foot wave go right over my board and I'm still underwater and likeum I remember the feeling of like hearing that next wave and immediately as soon as I heard it it smashed me back down to the reef and at that point I was like I might die.
I I had like a really clear thought in my mind that like this could seriously be it.And at the time I was like a young father, had two young kids and a great wife.And I just immediately was like, "Wow, I'm this is a really irresponsible situation I've gotten myself into.All for like my ego, all for like wanting to catch a big wave.I could die in this dumb cold ocean at the bottom of the ocean in San Francisco.Like what am I doing here kind of deal?"It's funny how like your perspective changes so quickly.And anyway, I survived luckily held my breath long enough to get to the surface and um made it out alive and all that, but I had a concussion for a couple days, really bad one.And that situation kind of scared the out of me.And at the time, there was really no sort of safety equipment in surfing.
And um I didn't have any foam flotation.I didn't have like a flotation vest or like a you know like a any sort of anything, right?So I was just like I just had no help.It was just like me holding my breath swimming in a wet suit.And um I was I was on the tarmac flying home like after my concussion went away and they were doing a safety briefing on the on the airplane and and the flight attendant was doing her little safety briefbriefing where it said like hey in a case of emergency you just put this like vest over your over your head and you you pull these tabs and it'll inflate and you'll be safe.And I was like looking at her like postconussion, like looking at her like, you know, I don't know how to explain that, but it was like a surreal moment where I was like, wait, how come I've never thought
of this before, you know, maybe I could put one of those in my wets suit and it would help.And so I was on the plane and then as soon as I got off the plane, I went went on the internet and just had a look and to see if there was any sort of thing on themarket that I could sort of incorporate and sew into my wets suit.And there wasn't.There wasn't anything at the time.And so I reached out to I serve for Bibong wets suits and clothing.I I I I reached out to the the wets suit designer at Bibong.I sent him some sketches of what I was talking about and told him my idea and he loved the idea and so we we went ahead and made it.We went we went we worked with a with a company called Mustang Survival that makes really rad equipment for special ops teams and for some of the military applications that they have.
and we had them essentially build out this customized bladder that's attached to CO2 cartridges for my wets suit.And so I got a prototype made and about 3 months later, like the week after I got the prototype made, Jaws was was huge.And it was the I had never surf Jaws.I had surf Jaws just towing in with a jet ski, right?But I had never paddle surfed Jaws and I wanted to super bad, but I was kind of rattled after this wipeout that I had where I almost died.Anyway, sorry it's a super long answer, but I got the prototype.There's a big swell at Jaws.I went to Jaws for the first time ever and I was wanting to fall because I wanted to test this thing out and I couldn't believe it.I had this huge wave pulled into this huge barrel.
So, I was in the tube and then it smashed me and I went held underwater like straight away and I pulled my tab.It inflated like it was supposed to and I was underwater for like 7 seconds and it was like a 50 foot wave and I just couldn't believe it.Like it pulled me to the surface.It definitely held me under water like for a certain amount of time, but then it just went like a buoy and I was just blown away.I was like, "This changes everything literally."So, it was just a really cool kind of that whole evolution from like horrible wipeout to it gave me a the the suit, the idea and the suit.It kind of helped me kind of justify maintaining surfing really big waves for a much longer amount of time.And then it's really cool now, you know, you go out to Mavericks in at the that surf break I'm talking about or Jaws on Maui or, you know, Dungeons in South Africa or any big wave place around the
world.And almost everybody in the lineup has an inflatable wet suit with CO2 cartridges and an an inflatable air bladder.So, it's really cool that that's it's actually really helped.There hasn't we haven't had a single death surfing big waves wearing one of those suits since then.
He reflects on the nerves and ambition behind paddling into massive waves, especially at Jaws. The chapter also covers his first paddle session at Nazare and how he approached those extreme conditions.
So, it's really cool.From that wipeout, you changed the face of big wave surfing in two ways.The invention of the bladder that brings you to the surface and paddling jaws.At the time, that wasn't something that was done.How did you go into that?How did you manage the nerves paddling into that 60ft face?Uh, I mean, I don't know.I just, you know, it's what I did.I I just I loved it.It's like it's like asking a snowboarder how you manage the nerves, you know, dropping into like a steep face.I mean that that snowboarder has been dreaming of that opportunity of that steep face since he was like a little tiny kid, you know.So for me, I had always dreamed about pushing my limits as a surfer and like, you know, how big of a wave can I paddle?How steep of a face can I can I handle?
How heavy of a wipe out can I handle?Like all those things kind of come together.So for me, I was in that moment of my life where, you know, and I'm not in that moment now, but I was in that moment of my life where I was like, there was this chapter where Iwas like just this is it.Like I'm, you know, full of testosterone and full of energy and full of ego.And I just wanted it all.I was like really ambitious.I wanted to achieve all these things and that I had like this list in my head of things I really wanted to do and I wanted to prove to myself and prove to other people.So like all those things just fueled my ambition I guess and so that matched with obvious like obviously like a lot of experience a lot of experience surfing big waves for years and decades and it kind of came
to the culmination of like that's how I managed it all.That's how I managed the nerves.you know,
some of those situations you've just explained, I've still got to take a second to process.When you're in that situation where things go wrong in big surf, how do you keep yourself calm?
Uh, I mean, I guess besides like relying on experience, which is probably like, you know, 80% of it is just like knowing I've been through heavy situations.I knowing I've been through horrible wipeouts and really big waves and a lot of moments in my life that had a lot of fear and be able to overcome that fear like every time.That's probably the biggest part.And then also breathing, like there's different types of breathing you can do to keep your heart rate lower um depending on the situation.But yeah, so so there there's there's some tools that I used, but most of it it was just like having like a good mindset and a lot of confidence through a lot a lot of um experience and exposureto a a lot of days surfing really big waves and being in the ocean since I was, you know, 3 years old.
Where do you see yourself going now?What changes have you made to your life or the way you act having experienced some of the things you have?
I quit surfing the tour when I was like 34.And then I I told myself I don't want to be surfing really really big waves like life and death situations once I'm 45.So that was kind of my cut off date.And so when I was like sort of 35 to 45 was like this decade window where I knew that like I'm going to leave it all on the line now.Like this is it.this is my this is my chapter to do this and then I'm gonna like chap step into a new chapter.And I didn't want to be that guy who's like that old guy where everyone was like in the lineup looking at him like what is that guy still doing out here?Like why is he out here?I didn't want to be like that.Um and I'm and and uh I guess I'm really first of all I'm really happy that that that part of my life's in the rearview mirror.
I'm really really happy about having that that chapter of my life.It was really important for me.Um, you know, I feel like I achieved a lot personally for myself.Like I ticked ticked off a lot of like my bucket list.And um, yeah, and now number one, I'm still alive, which is huge.My kids are growing up.I have a 18-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter and a amazing wife who stood by me through all that.She probably has some serious PTSD.She has PTSD for sure from all that.You know, she had to like watch me pack my stuff and pack my boards and do last minute trips to Nazareth and Portugal and Tahiti and Fiji for 25 foot swells and to Jaws multiple times and to, youknow, Mavericks a lot of times and being on the phone with me where I told her I almost died and all this stuff and and so she's been through it all and she's at peace now finally because her
husband doesn't isn't doing that exactly anymore, which is great.I do love surfing big big waves still.So like it's just relatively speaking, right?Like um big waves for me now are like sort of 12 to 15 feet or you know maybe a little bit bigger than that.I feel totally comfortable.My mindset is still totally great like as far as like big waves go.My timing is good and physically I'm pretty good.I'm 53 but I'm physically I'm still in pretty good shape.So I do enjoy surfing big waves but I just I pass on Jaws.I pass on Mavericks.I pass on like Nazire and Portugal.I just know that that time should be behind me.
You mentioned that you've traveled all the world to surf these big waves.How does Nazire compare to your big jaws and your big mavericks?
Yeah.You know, Nazare is is a funny one, right?Cuz I I went to Nazare not wanting to tow it.I didn't want to tow surf it.like um 99% of the waves that anyone has ever seen of Nazareth, it's all toe surfing, right?It's like a really good toe surfing place.It's really kind of a bad paddle surfing place.And because of that, it hadn't really been paddled really big.And I had never seen anyone paddle into a big wave there before, like a really big wave.And so that was like I wanted to go there and see if I could actually do it.And and that was really fun.You know, essentially Nazare is like a big beach break.It's like sand bottom.It's like these weird big wedges.It's really different from the type of surfing that I've done in the past, surfing huge waves.
I had a special board made for it.Like my like my board for Jaws on a really big day is like a 106 and I made an 114 for Nazare and the thing weighed like 47 lbs.And so I was just thinking I was trying to catch this wave that is really facy sort of like this.It was like, you know, Jaws is like this and Mavericks is like this, like it jacks up on this reef.Uh, Nazareth is like this kind of looming peak that is looming for like a half a mile before it breaks.And like trying to be in the right spot is really difficult.So, from a positioning standpoint and a paddle power standpoint, I tried to design a board that was like going to optimize all that and allow me, you know, the chance to catch a really big wave.
And I did that.I was lucky.It was funny.So, I pulled the trigger to go to Nazareth for a Swell that was on the map.It was like a last second trip.And I flew there.I got there late at night.I got all my stuff together, my wet suit, my boards, my suit, my cartridge, my my CO2 cartridges.I waxed my board, finned it up, bleach, and then it was like 11:30 p.m., right?Or 12 12 midnight.And I'm like, "Okay, cool.I have enough time to sleep, and I'm going to get up and the waves are going to be 80 ft or something, right?"And I had jet lag, so I felt like I could run a marathon.And I was like really excited about the swell, really excited, nervous, scared, all this stuff cuz Nazar is supposed to be huge.And then I couldn't sleep.
I couldn't I couldn't sleep all night.I was like wide awake like tossing and turning.And then of course I woke I at like 7 in the morning like the tide was wrong.It was foggy.And so the waves did really didn't get good until about like noon.And so we went out at noon and I was I felt like someone had shot me up with fentinel.Like I was I couldn't stay awake.Lit.I was literally literally falling asleep on my surfboard in between waves, nodding off.But I stayed awake long enough to catch a couple waves and and it was a great session.So I actually only paddle surfed there one time and I kind of ticked it off my bucket list.
Shane talks about the importance of mentors in big wave surfing and how the sport has become more organized and safety-focused. He also compares the challenges of Pipeline and Tahiti, explaining why those waves remain so intimidating.
The big wave surfing community is a big thing now.How would you say that having like mentors in that community benefits big wave surfing?
Yeah, I'd say it's a huge role.It's huge.I mean, when I was when I was coming up and I was a a little kid surfing, starting to surf big waves, like a couple of my peers that were that were like sort of 15 16 years oldwere were, you know, getting bigger boards and surfing bigger waves and I was going out with them.But then I had a couple friends that they they became my mentors.One of them, his name was Todd Chester.He was probably four or five years older than me.And the other one was Brock Little, who was about that same age.And they were kind of like I was like 15 and they were like 20.And they were like some of the world's big best big wave surfers already.They were young, but they were like firing on all cylinders, surfing the world's biggest waves.
They were they were invited to the Eddie event and they kind of took me under their wing as mentors and they were psyched that I was excited about big waves and so they would take me around.We did surf trips together.When the waves got big, they would make sure that they would give me no excuse.They would be like, "We're going no matter what."And so yeah, I mean it's really good.And then those guys were like cowboys.That was a different time, right?Like when I was a little kid, it was like a long time ago.So like in those days it was like, "Okay, the a waves were big.Go grab your board from underneath the house, wax it up at one big board and grab your surf trunks and go surfing."These days it's like totally different, right?You're like you're you're most people are preparing for a big session 3 or 4 days before the the session arrives, right?
You're watching the the storm.You're watching the maps.You're getting the forecast, wind forecast, swell forecast, buoy readings, talking to all your friends in your network that are all watching the same thing as you.And then, you know, you're preparing, you're eating the right foods, hydrating, like doing all the thing to physically and mentally prepare for your session.So, it's just different.But the the like the role of a mentor is the same like like helping somebody who's young learn to read swell maps and learn to look at buoys and learn to look at wind, learn to look at storms,learn about equipment, learn about safety.There's a lot of things that you just don't know intuitively that are that are not sort of, you know, they're they're just not things you it's a lot easier to learn those things if someone's teaching you.from my like limited experience, the people I've spoken to, they've always, you know, given me tips, helping me out with that.
So, definitely agree with that.
Where do where where do you serve?
I'm based in the UK.So,
yeah,
there's only like one or two big waves that kind of Well, there's Ireland.I haven't done that yet.And I'd love to do I'd love to go to Nazareth.Love to do Jaws and Mavs, all that.But in the UK there's only really like two or three spots that kind of break.One off Nuki, one off Devon.I'm trying to I went to Nuki when I was when I was 13 years old for like the World Juniors and there was a there was a there was a wave off the off the kind of the righthand side of the beach and I remember them saying like in the winter time there's a really big there when the when there's a really big swell there's a wave out there.What's the name of that?
Uh the cribber.Yeah, the criber.I remember them talking about that.Is that how is it a good Is it a good wave?Do you surf there?
I haven't surfed it, but that's what I'm training for this at this point in time.
Like I
I was going to do it a couple of years ago, but I had to have a couple of heart surgeries.
Wow.
I've uh I got in touch with a couple of the local guys and I've I mean the vest is got the impact suit there already.Just got to
keep training.
Well, it's about that time of year, right?I I think your your chance might be coming up.
Yeah, it's definitely soon hopefully.
Very cool.
From all your travels across the world, what's been the most challenging wave that you've surfed and why?
That's a really good question.The most challenging probably pipeline.Honestly, it's I mean there's there's a lot of them, right?There's a lot of like amazing waves that come to mind when I when I think about that.I'd say like Chopo in Tahiti and Pipeline.Pipeline is weird.Like I've been surfing there since I was like a little kid, but it's like this wave that like you never master.Well, you do if you're John John Florence or somebody like that, but it just is always so intimidating whether you're, you know, 16 years old, 18 years old, 20 years old, and then once you're like 30 years old,the wave totally changes.Your mindset at 30 changes.And then your mindset at 40 changes a whole lot more.It's just a young man's wave.Not only the wave and the shape and the speed and the power and the physical danger that the wave is is is threatening on you, but the crowd is so intense and there's so much testosterone and so many
egos.And then you got a lot of people who like just want to surf pipeline.So, it's really dangerous with all these people who don't have a lot of experience and are out there for like all the wrong reasons.And then and then now I'm like 53 and I'm still surfing pipeline and it's it's really hard for me to surf it now.just wrapping my head around going out there just because of the intense crowd.It's really really dangerous.And then also like just pushing myself physically into surfing a wave that's like really a young man's wave.But yeah, I think pipelines up there in Tahiti is like that as well for me.It's always been super challenging.It's like probably the world's most perfect wave and the most flawless wave, but it's it is so perfect that you know that almost every wave is makeable.
That it's not the wave's fault that you didn't make it.Like a lot of waves, like you ride it perfectly, but the wave wasn't perfect.So, it didn't work out.But I rode that wave perfectly, but it just didn't let me out cuz the wave was wrong.Like that wave in Tahiti is really not like that.It's like if you ride the wave perfectly, you're going to make it every time because the wave is perfect as well.
He explains how surfing shaped his coaching, professional work, patience, and approach to longevity. The conversation turns to health habits, diet, sleep, stress management, and simple advice for living well.
From all the lessons and learnings you've sort of had through your surfing career, how have you transferred that into your professional life?
Oh man, that's a really good question.You know, it's funny.I So, so these days I still still surf for a living.That hasn't changed.It's it's it's it's kind of like changed shape a little bit, but I still like I have I I have I have I'm I'm a brand ambassador.I have brand partnerships still with surf companies and like non-endemic companies which is amazing at 53 years old.I can't believe it.Incredible.I I'm literally signing my new contract with Bill Bong this week for the next 3 years and I'm 53 years old which is insane.I also the last few years I've kind of shifted gears kind of like compartmentalized my bandwidth with what I want to do and like I've done a bunch of coaching now in the last like five years.started out coaching like some of the top men on the CT in Hawaii like um Italo Ferrer and Ethan Euing and a few other guys like that.
I've coached it for his world title at Pipeline which is super fun.And then that led me to like coaching some junior teams here like the junior teams in Hawaii.I went with them for three years to the world juniors.So it's like a big amateur competitions where kind of junior amateur teams from all around the world from all these different countries kind of congregate and have these big competitions.So I coached those teams the last three years and then last year I was the head coach for the US surf team for the Olympics and that was super fun as well.And so the the my background in surfing, not only surfing but like managing my surfing career and managing pressure and managing the stress and managing fear and all that stuff has really helped me with the coaching for sure.You know, we we talked about mentorship and like kind of helping some of these younger surfers meet their potential, you know, achieve their goals, kind of structure their process and structure, you know, h how they're looking at the
next 1 month, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, that kind of thing.And then I also apart from that, I also have like a sort of a real job now as well.So, and then sort of my surfing experience, especially like my big wave surfing experience and how that all how how I managed all that all that experience has really helped me with my real job now as well.So, it's pretty cool.
How would you say the patience that you need for big wave surfing?Would you say that came from your love for hunting?No, I would say that my patience, the patience necessary for big wave surfing, it just came from lots of experience of surfing.As a kid, I had like and still do have I had really bad ADHD when I was a kid.So, I had no patience.I was really really impatient when I was a kid.And I learned patience from surfing really like basically having to wait.Having to wait like not having any choice but to wait.If you're surfing Wimia Bay or Jaws and you want to catch a good wave, you can't catch shitty waves.You got to pass all the shitty small ones if you want the big one.And so the only way to do that is with patience.
I learned patience the hard way, but I became a really, really, really patient person.And it's helped me in a lot of ways for sure in my life.Like learning patience has been huge.And then also like having children definitely teaches you if you're not a patient person before that, you become a patient person if you want to become a good parent.In terms of longevity, are there any things you do in particular, whether it be training or diet to keep yourself fit and able, ready to go?Are you just eating steak and potatoes all the time?Are you vegan?What do you do?
Yeah, there's a lot of things I do.I'm kind of like a longevity nut.I'm really into my health and wellness.I do like blood work once every 8 to 12 months and I get like a hundred biioarkers checked with like a functional medicine doctor and I try to optimize everything to make sure that like there's no red flagsand I'm like looking at things to make sure that instead of reacting to bad news, I'm trying to optimize my life and my health to not have bad news.So that's been really good.That's sort of been like the last like six or eight years.Um but yeah, I mean I try to like first of all I try to like make sure I'm sleeping well.That's like a massive one that I never appreciated when I was a kid.I do a lot of physical exercise, which is like incredibly beneficial, way more than I would have ever imagined.
Like when you look at like the science data, like doing consistent physical exercise is incredible for you, so good for your brain, so good for your bones, so good for your internal organs, your blood flow is, I mean,it's just amazing in every way.Um, and then as far as food goes, I eat really clean.I mean, like when I'm at home, 90% of what I eat are like like literally 90% of what I eat is like meat and which is mostly like deer.I'm I'm a bow hunter, so I eat a lot of venison.So, it's like meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and Greek yogurt.That's like 90% of my diet, which sounds really boring, but I really like those things.And it's kind of like uh for the for sort of my health goals, that's how I want to eat.And then yeah, so like food, diet, yeah, food, exercise, sleep are probably the biggest ones for sure.
And they're the ones that like you don't have to be a multi-millionaire.You don't have to have some crazy lifestyle to to to sleep well and to eat well.I mean, it's getting more and more expensive, of course, but there's options and there's ways to do it where, you know, you can optimize your diet even on a budget.And then stress is a huge one that I never really appreciated when I was young.And I never had really had a super stressful lifestyle, but competitive surfing full-time is actually, believe it or not, super high stress.But these days, I try to optimize and design my life to where I have as less stress.I would say a lot less stress, which is good because I do in stressful situations.I I can overstress, which is really horrible for your health.
What kind of tips would you give for those people that have no interest in this stuff, but want to get into it?What tips would you give for getting into the healthy eating the stress-free life?
I mean, keep it simple at the start.I mean, you see my my water bottle, the size of it.Tips.Yeah.I mean, kind of like I said, I mean, I first of all, like, start simple.Like, there's some great great books out there you can read and really good podcasts if you don't want to consume books.But, um, there's a guy named Peter Atia, A T I A, that I follow.He's really great.Andrew Huberman's really good.I started like listening to those guys plus just while I was in the sauna or whatever it was or like on drives and just like simple stuff, but like food is huge.Food is like a decision you're making three times a day at least.So like deciding what you're going to put in your mouth and knowing that what you put in your mouth is going is going to have a real result on your long-term health is important, especially in for young kids
watching this, they probably are like, "Yeah, whatever."But as you get older, you realize like this is like a real thing.like I'm seeing so when I like turned 40 roughly which is a long time ago now I saw like this kind of half of my friends were going like this and half of my friends are going like thislike and I'm only seeing that gap widen like now at this age like people are either either making health choices to try to to try to like be intentional about how they want to live for the rest oftheir lives or they're starting not to give a and they're and they're starting to like you know eat whatever and drink every night and and have all these like habits that are just not conducive to your longevity.Toxic relationships, not sleeping enough, like you know, taking sleeping pills to go to sleep, waking up and having two cups of coffee and then drinking, you know, energy drinks all day and then you're kind of tired so you
drink you eat sleeping pills and eating shitty food, ultrarocessed food, fast food.Like there's just there's so many obvious ways to do it bad.And then once you really are aware of that, there's a lot of obvious ways to do it well.And it the obvious ways are very simple.Drink lots of water.Eat unprocessed foods.Eat whole foods.I mean, whether you're a vegan or on the carnivore diet, like, eat whole foods.I mean, I'm not on either one of those programs, but I eat fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs.If you 90 80% of your diet is that, you're doing pretty well.
Shane reflects on the rewards of his career, the work ethic that got him there, and the sacrifices that paid off over time. He also shares how he approached the Eddie as a celebration of belonging rather than a contest to win.
Shane, what is the most rewarding part about what you do?
Oh, man.That's a really good question.I I don't know.Happiness.I mean, I I've I've been incredibly lucky.So, I don't want to sound like a spoiled brat, but I I mean, I have worked really really hard in my life, believe it or not, to and you don't think that like and you think, "Oh, this guyis I'm watching on this podcast.He's talking about working hard.What does he know about working hard?He's a surfer."But I I was a bus boy when I was a little kid for two years.And I worked my ass off.I worked five nights a week while I was in school trying to surf.That's high school.I had no money.I had like a really I had a lot of adversity when I was a kid.And so I know what hard work looks like.I know what adversity look adversity looks like.
And so I worked really and I was never like the Kelly Slater.I was never like the John John Florence where everybody knew I was going to be a star at a young age.I was the kid that no one thought was going to be a prourfer and I just had to work my butt off like crazy.So So yeah, like now looking back on it, that that work ethic and my discipline were the things that got me to where I am today.and I've had a really long career and because of that like I've traveled the world.I've met a lot of amazing people.Like I have an incredible family.I'm extremely lucky and I'm incredibly grateful about it.So I'm really like really really grateful and super happy.Yeah.Like I mean I I can't complain.I guess I guess I will say one other thing for because most of the people watching are like way younger than I am.
Like I'll I'll tell you right now that the good decisions that I made in my life that were kind of hard to make those decisions and that were a pain in the ass and sacrifices I made when Iwas younger have really paid off.They've really paid off.Whether that's from a health perspective, from a financial perspective of like saving money and trying to invest everything I could instead of like spending it going out or spending it on stupid crap.like all the the decisions I made that easily could have went the other way were I'm really really grateful now that I made those decisions.
You've competed in many competitions.One of the biggest in the world is the Eddie.You mentioned it earlier mentally.Can you talk to us about your mindset going into a competition like that?
Sure.Yeah.I mean I got invited to the Eddie when I was really young, like when I was like 18, I think.And um I remember getting that that envelope in the mail back then.And it was like in the mail and opening it up is like the Eddie Iikow like little address on it and I just couldn't believe it.I was like crying and I opened it and it was like you're invited Shane Doran congratulations you're invited to Eddie I cow and I just couldn't believe it right I was like that was something that I had likenot even dreamed about like something that I dreamed about for other people you know my whole upbringing.So that excitement and like the prestige and I just I couldn't believe that I was going to be in that event with all those guys and then paddling out during the during like the cere like opening ceremony into
the circle and having everyone like welcome Shane Dorian.He's a new invite and he's a young kid coming up and he's new on the big wave scene like let's welcome him to our circle.Like that was such a big moment in my life.feels crazy like and I remember it like it was yesterday and so it was just really an incredible thing to get invited to that event especially back then like it meant the world the world to me and thenbeing a part of it for years like and my mindset with that was like it was never a surfing competition ever for me it was like this club that I got invited to be in because of lots ofhard work and it was like this hyper exclusive club of only people that really belonged in it through they were the best of the best in this little niche thing called big wave surfing.
And and so I always just was like on the day I'm going to celebrate being in this club of people and I'm going to celebrate Eddie Aika who was like a legendary water man in Hawaii who saved alot of people's lives just he was a really really good person and to celebrate the day and ride some big waves and I I literally never ever tried to win that contest.I never I never saw it as that.For me, it was just a day to ride big waves with my friends and my peers and kind of celebrate riding big waves.
In the final Q&A, Shane names his mother as his biggest inspiration and talks about being a role model for his children. He ends with advice for younger listeners, emphasizing honesty, patience, long-term thinking, and doing big wave surfing for the right reasons.
Shane, we ask all of our guests three questions.Our first one is who inspired you?
Oh man, I guess if it just had one person, it would be my mom.My mom was like um I think I mean without sounding like a a weirdo like I'm pretty disciplined person like really I would say like if you ask a hundred of my hundred people who know me that wordwould keep coming up and um I got that from my mom.My mom was always like crazy disciplined and super hardworking.Like when I was a kid growing up she always had two jobs and so like I always looked up to her and she was like super inspiring for sure.Is that one of your goals and aspirations for you as a father?Would you say my kids to have that same perspective of me?Most definitely.Yeah.I mean, I talk is cheap as a parent.You can try to give your kids perspective and talk to them till you're blue in the face, but if you're not setting the example for them, they're not going to take you seriously.
You know, like if you're telling them to be responsible and not make stupid decisions and then they see you drinking 24 beers every night and coming home smelling like other women and like do you know what I mean?Like they see from a super young age your actions way more than hear you talking.So I think setting that example is huge.Like like my mom I don't think she ever tried to teach me anything.I just learned a ton from her from watching her and observing how she lived her life and it was super inspiring.So, I hope to be that for my kids.I don't try to teach them a whole lot, but I try to be somebody that, you know, that they want to look up to.
Our second question is, if your younger self could see you now, what would they say?
I don't know.That's a good question.I never really planned my life out.I don't know if anyone ever does, but I'm definitely not in a I never would have ever imagined that I would be in the place I am now.Like I'm um yeah, I mean my life has been a whirlwind of ups and downs and good and bad things as it should, but like you know it's been amazing.I don't I regret nothing and incredibly grateful for everything and definitely would be the little kid like the 10-year-old Shane would be really stoked on how life went.
Shane, the last question we have for you is a message for anyone who's listening.
Oh man, I don't know.I don't feel like I am the person who feels like they need to give sage advice to anybody out there, but I don't know.And I don't really know exactly who your listeners are, but I mean, best of luck to everybody out there.Like, especially the people who are much younger than me, like I'm 53 and like I said, probably the biggest thing honestly is just stay on the grind.Stay focused on what you want to achieve in life.And um like I said, like probably the biggest thing I look back on is like all of the hard decisions, all of the early mornings when like no one knew I was up training and nobody was making meget up and my alarm was making me get up when I was uncomfortable and getting up to train or getting up to work or getting up to, you know, achieve my goals or or setting my goals or or
being, you know, like not buying tons of crap and saving investing my money.like all those like decisions like they really did pay off.So for all you guys in your 20s and your 30s and your 40s like just keep grinding and and make great decisions and good things happen.
I've got one more question for you.What do you want to be remembered for in years to come?
I don't know.Probably being honest.The biggest thing I mean that's the thing that like I don't know.Yeah, that's the that's the biggest thing is um I don't know just I guess maybe a person who is a good friend and a good father and a good husband and somebody who uh lived with integrity and toldthe truth, you know.
What advice would you give to someone like me who's just getting into big wave surfing?
Number one, I would say do it for the right reasons.Like do it because it's in your heart.Don't do it because you think it's good for your social media.Don't do it because you can make some money in a surf contest.like do it because you really truly love the challenge of riding big waves personally like a personal challenge.That's the only reason to to ride big waves.If you feel it in your heart and you love that feeling of being excited and trying to manage your fear and overcome challenges, then by all means pour all of your energy and effort into it and it's epic.The the other thing is I would say to to remember is like it doesn't all have to happen overnight and you can take it in slow steps.Like I didn't surf I didn't ride 60 ft jaws after surfing 8ft waves.
Like it was incremental, you know?I it took me a long long time to work my way up.I wasn't I just didn't like make these big jumps.And and it's it's much better to slowly just learn how to build your confidence, your mindset, your physical fitness, your everything just like building up as you go and expanding your experience and expanding your knowledge.And so yeah, I think not trying to achieve everything in one season is big more more think of it as like this big chapter that you have.
I might write that on my board as to keep that in my mind
because we tend to think like we tend to like we tend to overestimate what we can do in the short term and underestimate what we can do in the long term.That is a human that's a human flaw.And so being realistic in the short term, but having that follow through with a longer term perspective is is huge in life.Not only not only in big waves, but in everything.
Wow.
Yeah.Wow.Shane, thank you so much for coming on and giving us your time.It's been genuinely incredible to hear your story and just speak with you.
I appreciate that, guys.Thanks so much for having me.Punchy.