[00:00:00]Luke Storey:  I'm Luke Storey. For the past 22 years, I've been relentlessly committed to my deepest passion, designing the ultimate lifestyle based on the most powerful principles of spirituality, health, psychology. The Life Stylist podcast is a show dedicated to sharing my discoveries and the experts behind them with you. Here we are, man. We're off the wave on a chair. How does it feel to be on dry land?

[00:00:34]Garrett McNamara:  It's just another wave. 

[00:00:36]Luke Storey:  Yeah, sure is, isn't it?

[00:00:37]Garrett McNamara:  A little more intense.

[00:00:38]Luke Storey:  Yeah, I know.

[00:00:39]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah.

[00:00:39]Luke Storey:  Yeah. I guess out there, to some people, would be intense, but to you, perhaps real life might be more intense if that's where you find your flow.

[00:00:47]Garrett McNamara:  A little more challenging to navigate, for sure.

[00:00:50]Luke Storey:  So, I'm going to jump right in here. Tell us about the new documentary that I've got wind of, what's the status of that?

[00:01:02]Garrett McNamara:  We got super lucky or unlucky, I guess I shouldn't say I'm lucky. I injured my shoulder pretty good and hadn't been back, really back for three years, and went to Indonesia, did a month of yoga, Forrest Yoga three hours a day, like the most intense, amazing, transformational yoga I've ever experienced. My wife was taking the teacher's training. And then, we went to go have some fun after a month of yoga, and I break my foot on the way to Portugal.

[00:01:33] We're filming the documentary. The documentary is about my partner, Andrew Cotton, my brother and I, CJ Macias, and our injuries that we've had, and we've been told not to go back to giant waves or not a good idea. For me, they said, I probably should never surf big—probably won't be able to, what they told me. Cody, I don't think his injuries ever slowed him down. CJ definitely was not interested. So, both of us overcoming our injuries and going back to Nazare, surfing the biggest waves in the world. 

[00:02:11] And just showcasing that everything's possible and sharing more about the ocean, and the water, and the challenges is what we're hoping the movie to be more about. We got Chris Joe Lewis, the producer. He is a co-founder of Amazon. He came in as a producer. And then, Chris Smith, just the Fyre Festival. He came as the director. And I'm pretty sure it's going to pretty much go that way, but when a director gets a hold of it, he has his ideas and he's such an amazing director that I trust his judgment and where he wants to take it. But right now, I really don't know what it's going to be.

[00:02:59]Luke Storey:  That could be a good sign as long as you have the right people that know the vision. But I'm looking forward to that. That's going to be cool. So, I wanted to start off with that because this will be coming out in early first quarter of 2020. So, we could probably hope that that's going to come to fruition next year in 2020, you think?

[00:03:18]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah. But they want to get it knocked out this winter, but it could go into next winter if we don't get a giant wave this winter. It was going to end with a giant wave unless they find a different ending, which to say, The Road to Nazare was the working title that we presented to them with the story. And then, it turned in to The Hundred-Foot Wave, and we're just like, okay, Hundred-Foot Wave, yeah, everything in life is a hundred-foot wave. I just approached life that way, work on being that happy and that excited about everything I get myself into. Like I'm riding the hundred-foot wave right now with you. So, you just got to envision yourself just having the best day of your life on the biggest, best, most, biggest wave of your life all day, every day.

[00:04:05]Luke Storey:  So, you, like most people, I find, that are achievers and have accomplished great things in life, if not most, many had a pretty rough childhood. How do you think that's contributed to your striving to break records and achieve success in your chosen field?

[00:04:25]Garrett McNamara:  You know, people have been touching on that lately and I just find myself thinking back, wondering, and thinking what, I did it, really? And it definitely made me, I had to work for everything. Nothing was given to us. My brother and I both. And we didn't have to scrap, and fight, and want to be the best, but we chose to. And I have friends that I looked up to as a young surfer, and they were like light years, they're surfing circles around me. And since we took the approach of just being so hungry, and never giving up, and having to just make it happen or nothing's going to happen, I'm 52 years old, my career is better than it's ever been. And the guys that I really looked up to, their careers ended at like 25. So, it definitely helped me be more, I got hungry and focused. I was always really focused on my big-wave sessions and the year I had to achieve something, I had to accomplish something, or I might not get a check, I might not get another contract. So, I was really focused on achieving something great every year.

[00:05:41]Luke Storey:  Were you ever tempted to go to abusing drugs and alcohol as a way to deal with some of the negative experiences that you had growing up, and especially in Hawaii? I know many people from Hawaii have gone down that path because it's prevalent in certain circles there.

[00:06:00]Garrett McNamara:  In Hawaii, you're with the boys. And my brother and I, we hung with older guys. So, started out smoking a lot of pot, having a blast smoking pot. And they always say, oh, yeah, past the gateway. And I'm like, just plain old gateway. And then, all of a sudden, somebody shows up with some white powder. And all of a sudden, you're doing that. And that's fun. And I don't feel I was trying to escape anything ever. I feel that it was just there and we'd just hang out with the wrong people, and then you start down these different roads. And then, all of a sudden, it can get a hold of you and it might not let you go unless you make a really valiant effort to get away. And yeah, I definitely had some challenges. And when it's not fun anymore, it's ugly. And you don't ever want to go down that road because they could go ugly.

[00:07:02]Luke Storey:  What's it like to surf a tsunami wave created by a caving glacier? I find that to be one of the most fascinating things you've done.

[00:07:11]Garrett McNamara:  It was the craziest, maybe dumbest. Again, trying to accomplish something that nobody's done, and make a name for myself, keep my sponsors happy, get new contracts. I mean, the focus of that was to surf a wave that was generated from a different force other than a low pressure system that we can predict, and we can see where that low pressure system is, and how strong the winds are blowing, when the swell will arrive, and how big the swell will be, in what direction the wind will be. But with the glacier, it's 300-foot glacier looming over you and you're 50 feet away from it, waiting for it to crumble and break off. And if it like just detaches and plunges straight in, it makes a nice wave. But if it goes flat, you're dead. So, it wasn't really a good idea, but it was fun. It was fun.

[00:08:11]Luke Storey:  So, you're kind of waiting, I want to just picture the mechanics of this. So, you're kind of waiting out there in a boat or what? I mean, how far away are you from the glacier as you're watching this happen?

[00:08:28]Garrett McNamara:  So, we started out about 300 yards away from it, safe distance. And then, there's a jet ski, and then a safety ski, and then a tow rope. So, I'm on the tow rope, sitting in the water, and my partner, Keali'i, is on the tow rope. And one of us was driving, and we see it started to crumble, and see it, where it's going to break off, and okay, it's going to fall. It's not going to go flat. It's going to come straight in. Okay. Okay. Okay. When it starts falling, then you drive straight.

[00:08:54] And then, trying to throw the guy at the wave and we were getting there too late. It was already over by the time we got there. So then, we got about 50 feet away from it. And we're just sitting. I'm on the rope, he's on the ski or he's on the ski and I'm on the rope. And this thing is looming over us and we're waiting for it to fall. And we're hoping it falls properly and it doesn't crush us. 

[00:09:15] And the first wave that we've towed at, it was a perfect plunge-in, and this little mountain rises. And he tows me at it. And I'm in the perfect spot. He throws me at it, but doesn't really break is more of a swell, like about five, six feet tall. And I'm riding the swell, I was like, wow, so glassy, and so smooth, and so beautiful. And then, all of a sudden, I look up and I processed the thought of it, bookshelfing right there.

[00:09:45] A bookshelf is when it falls flat and turns into the biggest bomb. And it's like the biggest shotgun in the world just, but we're 50 feet away, we're squashed. So, I envisioned getting squashed by the next cabbing glacier, and fear that I encountered was so overwhelming. And I had put the whole crew together, I got the sponsors, I was part of the production. All this money was on the line that I was very involved in the project and I was like, I'm done. I'm throwing the towel. I'm out of here. I went back, I called my wife, I'm crying on the phone, and my partner, Keali'i is a big Hawaiian guy. He actually talked me through it and said, "Just relax, just go to sleep. 

[00:10:37] And when we wake up in the morning, there's only two hours of—it's only dark for two hours, and it's not really dark. So, the whole thing was eerie and weird. And the glacier is creaking all night, popping and cracking, and like lightning and thunder. But it's just thunder, there's no lightning. And we're in this hotel that's old. Actually, brand new, but half-built and it's been half-built for about three years, so it's kind of a funky, little lodging area that was supposed to be a hotel, but it wasn't any—it was like a Bates Motel. And it's like a horror film, like full-on horror film. 

[00:11:14]Luke Storey:  When it comes to fear tolerance because when you're doing extreme sports like you, something that fascinates me a lot about it is your ability to handle extreme amounts of fear. It's not like fear of like you check your mail and you get a letter from the IRS, you're kind of like, I'm a little nervous about this or you've got to go talk to your boss about that raise, you have a little fear. Kind of fear that you've subjected yourself to is abject fear that is mission-critical. Meaning like one wrong move, one force of nature that you didn't calculate for, and you're literally dead.

[00:11:51] So, you obviously have done a lot of work on mastering fear. Do you think that that was a gradual process as you're a teenager, you guys are surfing kind of regular, normal waves in Hawaii, and you're kind of working your way up. You have a few close calls or scrapes with fate, and then you realize that you survived and you're building up courage over time or were there like a couple pivotal experiences on the water that just cured you of that fear? You know what I'm saying? Is it a piecemeal thing that you get little by little or did you go, oh, shit, that was a 70-foot wave, and I'm here to tell the tale, I'm good now, like kind of an awakening or an enlightenment to fear moment?

[00:12:33]Garrett McNamara:  Definitely piece-by-piece. Up until 16, I was never going to surf a wave over 10 feet tall. I vowed and I hung out with these two guys that they didn't surf waves over 10 feet. And they were professional surfers and they were the guys I looked up to. So, I'm like, I'm going to be just like them. And I had a bad experience at 15. So, 16 came along and a friend of mine forced me to go out, again, at the same spot where I had a bad experience, but he gave me the right board, 7'10" Sunset Point, Pat Rosen gun, and he gave me the perfect advice, told me exactly how to paddle out, exactly where to sit.

[00:13:14] And all of a sudden, I was catching all these waves. And that's where my passion started for—surfing was my passion since 1100. At 16, it became big waves, became my passion from that one single session, but it was gradually going bigger and bigger. And quickly, though, I got to Waimea Bay. At about 18, maybe 19, I was already at Waimea. And then, quickly, was like I get barreled. And then-

[00:13:44]Luke Storey:  Explain some of the terminology as barreled and things like that. Give me like a little glossary of maybe the top five terms that you're going to use in this conversation or that you use an ongoing basis for people that aren't familiar with surfing at the level that you are.

[00:13:59]Garrett McNamara:  What barreled is when the wind blows against the wave coming forward and causes it to go hollow cylinder-like. And our goal as surfers is to get inside of it. And you're in your own little world. You're in this vortex of just so beautiful. And if you're really deep, you can't even see out. But normally, you can see either some green mountains, or some cliffs, or whatever is out there, some houses, and you're just working on getting there.

[00:14:29] But you're also in this moment in time that seems to stand still. And actually, it's weird because everybody says, how does it sound? And sometimes, it goes silent. And other times it's like a fire hole. And other times, it's back-dropping. And the whole time, you're just like, whoa, it's like the most beautiful place on earth, to be in the barrel. I like being in barrel so much that I named my son, Barrel. 

[00:14:56]Luke Storey:  I know. He's not here today. We have one kid, but not Barrel.

[00:15:00]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah.

[00:15:00]Luke Storey:  What are a couple of the other terms that we might be covering here today? Just so people know that that, like I said, aren't familiar. 

[00:15:06]Garrett McNamara:  Other terms.

[00:15:07]Luke Storey:  Yeah. Like swell. And I've only served once in my life, which I'll, perhaps, talk about later, but-

[00:15:14]Garrett McNamara:  Well, there's paddle-in surfing where we use our arms to catch the waves and there's tow-in surfing where we use the personal watercraft or jet ski. I use a Waverunner, see Yamaha Waverunner. And the Waverunner drives towards the shoreline with the wave coming, and you're on the rope 30 feet behind, and the Waverunner pulls out, and you look down. This sport was created to ride waves that were thought not humanly possible to catch.

[00:15:43] And then, we actually implemented flotation. And then, now, we got inflation. And now, pretty much, if the conditions are just right and you can put yourself in the right spot, almost any wave is catchable. Are there certain waves? Once they get over 60 feet, they start moving a lot faster. So, it feels like glassy day and you had a white-water chip shot, you could probably still catch something over 60 feet. But 60 feet is kind of the cutoff, where it's just a little bit too dangerous and a little bit too hard to get the right spot.

[00:16:20] But everything is possible and people could paddle-in the waves over 60 feet. So, there's tow-in versus paddle-in. The swell is the swell in the ocean coming towards the shoreline. The barrel. Mushy waves and crumbly waves are when the wind is more onshore. If the winds offshore, it creates perfect waves. Offshore, glassy. But if the wind is onshore, it creates waves that are almost unridable, very undesirable, very choppy, and crumbly, and ugly, and they close out.

[00:16:54]Luke Storey:  Are phenomena like undertow an issue for surfers or not because you've got a wet suit, and something to hang onto, and people watching? Is there ever risk of being dragged out further than you want to be? 

[00:17:05]Garrett McNamara:  In certain place, like in Tahiti, I think in Indonesia as well, anywhere where you have a really small channel, reef on each side, and then the channel comes in, and then you have like a bay inside. At high tide, it brings all the water in. And at low tide, it sucks out. So, you could be surfing a wave right on the edge. And if the current is sucking you out and you can't get into the impacts on, you can get sucked out to sea. Nazare, there's a lot of those sort of river riptide current lines that are coming out from all the water just moving forward and no place for it to go, so it has to go out somewhere. So, that's why it creates peaks. And each peak has a current line going through it. So, it makes it really, no matter how clean it is, it's still pretty bumpy and challenging.

[00:17:58]Luke Storey:  When you broke the world record at Nazare in Portugal for riding the largest wave ever at 78 feet, when you were doing that, did you have a feeling that you were breaking the record? Did you have a sense of like how big that wave actually was?

[00:18:16]Garrett McNamara:  I honestly had no idea it was that big. And still today, I look at all of the waves that have been ridden after, and there's so much waves that were way bigger than my wave. For some reason, they wouldn't measure them bigger than my wave. I don't know why. Every year after my wave, somebody got a bigger wave, bigger wave, bigger wave, bigger wave, bigger wave. I had no idea it was that big. And I wasn't even going to surf that day. I was 100% out there to support my friends.

[00:18:50] And then, they have both lost their boards. And luckily, I brought my board. Otherwise, I wouldn't have ever caught that wave. And luckily, I had a good team, good guys around me who encouraged me to catch one. And as I came down the wave, I got to the bottom, the truth of the story, I was super frustrated on the wave. I was having a good time, but I wanted to enter from behind into the barrel. And my partners put me on the shoulder and I was like late into last second so I could get deeper.

[00:19:22] And because of where he put me on the wave, I ended up going all the way to the bottom. So, when they actually measured it, you can get the true measurement. Normally, we're kind of half, mid-face running. You don't really get to the bottom on these waves. So, because he put me where I didn't want to be, ended up measuring perfectly. And that was the only reason we got the world record wave. As I got to the bottom, I turned hard, tried to go up in the barrel, and it hit me really hard.

[00:19:50] And right when it hit me, that's when I realized it was a wave of consequence, it was a good-size wave. And like I said, I wasn't interested in surfing that day. So then, now, I'm kicking out of this wave, and super excited, and super amped to catch more waves. I get on the sled and I'm yelling, "Next wave, put me deeper." And then, my wife comes on the walkie talkie because she was ship-to-shore communication, and she's like, that was it, that's the biggest wave ever, we're going back to the harbor. I was like, I'm kind of excited, I want to surf.

[00:20:25]Luke Storey:  And how do they measure them? Are they on the shore photographing and looking at the scale of how tall you are versus that? I find that so fascinating.

[00:20:35]Garrett McNamara:  It's fascinating, and very subjective, and political, and controversial, and there's a lot of different rules that they have in place. And they change them a little bit here and there every year. Right now, they have a really good formula. The only thing that's missing is the bottom of the wave. They get the top and they figure out where the top is pretty easy. They figure out how tall the surfer is, which is pretty subjective, depending if he's crouching and all these different things. They can't really tell how big the surfer is, but they figure out a measurement on the surfer and see how many times that fits in the wave, from the lip to wherever they decide the bottom is.

[00:21:17] And that's the subjective part because they usually decide in the bottom right after the surfer, maybe they'll put one or two—I don't know. I've never been in the room when they're judging, but the bottom is at least another 20, 30 feet from where they're measuring, at least 10, if not 20. But it's really tough because you want a measure from here to there, but the waves are sloping. So, is it how long the slope is or how tall the wave is? And is the height of the wave that or is it just from the ocean floor to—so, it's not scientific. It's surfers figuring out what they want.

[00:22:03]Luke Storey:  And so, technically, you held that record for like nine years?

[00:22:06]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah. I think it was eight, maybe nine, yeah.

[00:22:08]Luke Storey:  Eight years.

[00:22:09]Garrett McNamara:  The funny thing is a lot of industry people doing all the judging who are either sponsors or that most people have some kind of agenda. They have their favorites. They have their favorite waves. They have their favorite this or that. In the past, it was Billabong, an actual company, who was doing all the judging, so it was overseeing it all. Now, it's WSL, which is more for everybody, for the surfers. But at the end of the day, it's a company trying to get the numbers to dictate their decisions.

[00:22:43]Luke Storey:  I'm curious psychologically what happens when you have a worldly achievement like that? How do you maintain some sense of humility and down-to-earthness when you've been put in a position now in your sport where you're the Michael Jordan or the Muhammad Ali? I mean, I'm assuming like breaking a record like that kind of puts you at the top of the food chain, at least in the sector of surfing that involves big-wave surfing. Does that start to go to your head and you want to like start wearing gold chains, buying Rolls Royce, and having a bevy of surf groupies around you? Like how do you still be Garrett, be a regular, down-to-earth, cool guy and not let that start blowing you up.

[00:23:28]Garrett McNamara:  Well, lucky, first couple years, few years of my life, I was in a hippy commune, so I was pretty grounded, and humble, and humility was there. But then, the Irish in me, and the hunger, and the focus, and the desire, I could have let that really take over and just been probably the worst guy in the surfing world, but luckily, I'm reading some really amazing books at that time. Deepak Chopra, Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. That was like my Bible.

[00:24:04] And then, my wife is just the most amazing person ever. And she's always sharing with me her views, and how she feels, and what she thinks, and she's 99.9% right. So, I was just really lucky. It's really important who you surround yourself with and really important what you feel, is your heart, always going to your heart when you're making decisions and always think about how your decisions affect everybody around you and the world. And I'm not the best at that at all, but I'm always working on it.

[00:24:39] That's definitely working on making heartfelt decisions always. So, it was pretty easy for me to navigate it all. I'm a Leo, so I love people, and I love having fun with everybody, and I love having conversations. So, all the love that Portugal, the whole country was just like in this crazy love affair, it's like a fairy tale. And everywhere I go, still today, there's just so much love. They're just always, thank you, what you did for my country.

[00:25:08] And it's like this beautiful, beautiful. And I've had to stop and hang out with millions of people—I don't know about millions, but a lot of people over the last 10 years. And I have to honestly say, every single time that they've stopped me, I genuinely enjoyed being there and didn't feel like it was a burden or it was something like, oh, I've got to get out, this is lame. I was always just genuine love and genuine sharing information and mutual.

[00:25:43] And yeah, it's crazy what has transpired. I never imagined my own country showing me that kind of love or being loved by my country like that. And it's the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced. And I'm just so grateful and honored. And Portugal, they ruled the world and won two-thirds of the world. So, they ruled the world and they ruled it through the sea. So, now, to have the biggest wave in the world, they took the sea back. So, they're really proud and I'm really just honored to be any part of that.

[00:26:18]Luke Storey:  That's cool. So, you're kind of the ambassador of the sea for them. It kind of brought the attention back on their country and gave them a sense of national pride.

[00:26:27]Garrett McNamara:  Yes.

[00:26:28]Luke Storey:  Yeah.

[00:26:28]Garrett McNamara:  But when I got there, there was the word that everybody was saying, we're going to collapse like Greece. Tomorrow, we're collapsing. And Greece had just collapsed and they were collapsing next. And so, everybody was just on defense, like just, okay, you better get ready. And then, this happened, and they're like , wow, things are possible. Everything's possible.

[00:26:51]Luke Storey:  I'm curious as a part-time resident there, what do you think the impact of drug legalization has done there in terms of crime, addiction society in general? Have you noticed a difference in the way that that works there? From what I understand and I'm no expert, but crime rates and things like this have fallen dramatically in Portugal due to the fact that they have decriminalized all drugs, if not most of them, to my understanding.

[00:27:19]Garrett McNamara:  I've been there for nine years and I haven't seen any—like the whole time, I didn't see any drugs. Finally, a little pot here and there. You smell it, but since 10 years ago, I haven't seen any drugs. And then, when you go out at night or you're cruising around in a town, you can kind of see what's going on. And I'd never really see anything that resembles like a druggie area or there's drugs going on. It must be really amazing for the country. And I've heard only good things about it. It really baffles me that you can get a half-gram of anything legally. I'm going to say, really?

[00:28:04]Luke Storey:  Is it like Amsterdam, where they have hash bars and this kind of stuff? 

[00:28:08]Garrett McNamara:  No, they're very conservative. 

[00:28:10]Luke Storey:  Okay.

[00:28:10]Garrett McNamara:  So, it's really surprising that they went that route because this is one of the most conservative countries in Europe.

[00:28:16]Luke Storey:  Interesting.

[00:28:18]Garrett McNamara:  I mean, there's no terrorism. The food is amazing, it's affordable. The people are very polite and nice. In a first world country, drinking water out of the faucets, probably better than the plastic bottles. And yeah, it's just best kept secret in Europe, which is now not a secret anymore. 

[00:28:39]Luke Storey:  What about the origins of surfing? I'm really curious if you happen to know who the first recorded people were that surfed, and where they were from, and how it kind of evolved from where it first started? 

[00:28:50]Garrett McNamara:  It started in Hawaii. Hawaii is the sport of kings, and only the kings could surf back in the day. And if you were in the water and you hindered a king's ride, off with your head.

[00:29:06]Luke Storey:  Oh, really? 

[00:29:06]Garrett McNamara:  Yes, true story.

[00:29:08]Luke Storey:  That's how they valued it, huh?

[00:29:10]Garrett McNamara:  Sport of kings.

[00:29:11]Luke Storey:  There were the early surfboards, just kind of crude, carved out of wood or what did they make them out of? 

[00:29:15]Garrett McNamara:  They were just similar to the alaia, but they were just huge big planks made out of—what were they made out of? I want to koa, but koa is so heavy. I think they were made out of koa, originally, I believe. Don't quote me on that. And they were just these massive logs like a giant alaia board. And then, they started hollowing them out and they were still just logs.

[00:29:52]Luke Storey:  What do you think appeals to you about water on a spiritual level? I'm picturing you in the barrel of one of these giant waves and you're hearing, as you said, that wind storm and you can barely see through the other end of it. I imagine that this is a pretty transcendent experience, especially for myself as someone who I just loved the element of water. So, it's weird that I'm not a surfer, actually. I just love being in all natural bodies of water and hot tubs, cold plunges. I mean, everything. Do you ever feel like in terms of your spiritual connection to that element that you've evolved as a creature that has been in water or anything like that? Like do you have any kind of deeper relationship to that element that keeps you in this sport, or in the game, or driving you back to being in the water all the time?

[00:30:47]Garrett McNamara:  When we started out in Berkeley, we were skateboarding. So, when we got to Hawaii at 11, it was just such a natural transition. And we didn't have much when we first showed up and we found a surfboard. And my mom got us a surf board at a yard sale. And once we got in the ocean, it was just heaven. It was like nothing mattered. And it was the most fun place in the world to be. It was like skateboarding, but on the water. And when you fell, there was no cement. 

[00:31:15] So, it's like this beautiful, beautiful transition. It was always just my passion. I never imagined being a professional surfer. It was really a fluke at 17 when I got lucky and became a pro. But it's funny, at about 25, 27, I was doing this paddle board races. And I'd come in from the paddle and my face would be swollen like you've never seen, like I was hay fever on steroids. And we found out that I'm allergic to saltwater. So, for me, as long as I'm above the water, I don't eat it, it's awesome. But if I'm underwater getting pounded, my eyes just get so red, and get my sinuses filled up with water, and I get swollen.

[00:32:06] And I've been known to take a lot of wipe-outs because I was always putting it all on the line. I would just put it as deep as humanly possible. The maximum consequence for the ultimate ride, like if you make it, it's the best ride of your life. But 50% of the time, you're not. So, I came up swollen a lot and I would come to the beach just upside down, cups of water coming out. Do I feel like I evolved? My last name, McNamara, means Hound of the Sea. But with that little bit of being allergic, I don't know. It doesn't feel as natural. I love surfing, I love being above the water, and I love getting pounded, too, but just that swollenness is a little challenging.

[00:32:59]Luke Storey:  That's interesting. That's so funny that you would have that, what a weird like set you up for a love-hate relationship with something, right?

[00:33:07]Garrett McNamara:  It didn't bother me too much, except for when I come in. And I didn't wrap my mind around it, let it bother me at all, but it was there.

[00:33:15]Luke Storey:  And then, speaking of getting tore up by a wave, you had this 50-foot wave just wreck you at Mavericks, and you had an injury. I think you broke your arm and dislocated your shoulder. What's it like to be out in the water, and water that deep and aggressive, and not be able to swim? I mean, have you had situations like that where you're thinking this might be the one that I don't walk away from?

[00:33:45]Garrett McNamara:  Ever since we implemented the flotation into the wet suits and the inflation, it's been really comfortable, big-wave riding. And all of the wipe-outs that I've encountered where I've had fun, I enjoyed them all. That one, it was the normal underwater ride and fun. But then, once I realized I was broken and there was so much pain, and I almost didn't make it on the rock, but luckily the jet ski came. I put my hand on the sled. It pulled me past the rocks. And it pounded me again. There was just so much pain for so long that it definitely changed me. And mentally because I used to not be afraid of anything and wanted to go for anything. It didn't matter what size, where, if I was there, I was going to go.

[00:34:46]Luke Storey:  Did having kids affect your willingness to take on risk like that?

[00:34:54]Garrett McNamara:  It's definitely put me in a state where I'm choosing fear a little bit. I wasn't afraid since Alaska. Since Alaska, the fear was gone in the ocean. It had just disappeared. Honestly, it was gone. Now, I've gone out on a few big days and had fun, and then I've gotten a few poundings on decent-sized days and had fun. But I've had a few poundings on littler days. And while I was underwater, it was cold water in Portugal. And I was just like, I don't know if I enjoy this. 

[00:35:23] And then, I had a heavy duty pounding in Fiji where it beat me bad. And I was kind of thinking, do I want to continue doing this? And that thought had never entered my mind and never let that thought enter my mind. And it's the first time I've been wondering if I want to continue on this big-wave pursuit or definite got to be more patient. It's taught me patience. And I'm being super patient, happily not in the water, getting ready to be in the water. 

[00:35:53] So, I went back in, in Indonesia on the way to Portugal this year. And also, I wasn't being patient. I was trying to take every wave and back to the same old Garrett, hungry, got to get every wave, got to get all the best wave. And that's why I ended up breaking my foot. I was on the way out, I'm telling myself, okay, just coach people in the waves, have fun, you don't have to catch every wave, just sit in your spot, wait, get one here and there and help everybody get waves. Instead, I'm catching every wave. 

[00:36:25]Luke Storey:  How does water break your foot? Because I'm looking down at your foot. Those of you watching this on YouTube, I don't know if you could see it. Hold it up for YouTube. It's pretty swollen and gnarly-looking, but I'm trying to picture-

[00:36:36]Garrett McNamara:  Well, there's a bunch of metal in there.

[00:36:38]Luke Storey:  How does water break bones or did you hit it on your board, or a rock, or something? Like what are the mechanics of that?

[00:36:44]Garrett McNamara:  This one broke just from hitting the water.

[00:36:49]Luke Storey:  Are you serious?

[00:36:50]Garrett McNamara:  Right, when I first hit.

[00:36:50]Luke Storey:  From the impact?

[00:36:51]Garrett McNamara:  And then, I skipped like a dolphin or a seal, just—like a ping pong ball. And the foot, I was pulling in and somehow, the board went this way and my foot stayed on the board and bent the other way.

[00:37:09]Luke Storey:  I got it. So, there was pressure there from the sort of the geometry of the whole thing.

[00:37:16]Garrett McNamara:  I just done a month of Forrest Yoga. I was probably the most limber I've been in years, but that wasn't very limber. I was really tight when I started that month.

[00:37:23]Luke Storey:  Tell us about Forrest Yoga. What's that all about?

[00:37:24]Garrett McNamara:  It is the best yoga I've ever experienced. The main takeaway that I really love about it is the breathing, and expanding, and getting taller on every breath like you breathe in, straighten up, and then you let go, but you don't let go, you stay there, and then your breathe and get taller, create more space, let go. And every breath, you create more space. And then, you pick your areas. Okay. My shoulder. Okay, I'm going to focus on my shoulder. Oh, my heart, I need to be more loving. Okay, focus on the heart.

[00:38:01] But wherever you want to focus on, you focus every breath into that area at the whole time, lengthening yourself, lengthening your space between your ribs, lengthening your vertebrates. It's the best yoga I've ever experienced, by far. And the thing, she has done a million different yogas and she created her own, Ana Forrest. She has a book, Fierce Medicine, highly recommended.

[00:38:29]Luke Storey:  So, Forrest is a person's name. You're not doing it in the forest.

[00:38:32]Garrett McNamara:  And she's from LA. That's where she kind of, I think, started her career, her books. I don't it was LA. You got to read that book.

[00:38:44]Luke Storey:  We'll put it in the show notes. When you've mentioned Forrest Yoga, I'm picturing you up in the redwoods, and it's misty and dooly, and you guys are all doing yoga out there, but it's a woman whose last name was Forrest.

[00:38:53]Garrett McNamara:  Ana Forrest.

[00:38:54]Luke Storey:  Okay. Ana Forrest. All right. 

[00:38:55]Garrett McNamara:  Fierce Medicine.

[00:38:55]Luke Storey:  We'll put that in the show notes. Okay. So, when you had that injury to your shoulder, and your arm, and now, you have your foot, and I'm sure you've had your ass beat a lot from the sounds of it by this big-wave surfing you do, how do you manage psychologically the physical pain? You've just been injured, it's starting to throb, we all know the sensation of getting something broken or beat on, do you disassociate from your body? Do you take your energy into your shoulder, arm, or foot? What's like your actual kind of practice of allowing that pain to be there without making it worse?

[00:39:39]Garrett McNamara:  This shoulder injury was so intense with so much pain. I was so happy the first round of the doctors in the Bay Area. Gave me, I think it was oxycodones and they gave me the biggest bottle you ever saw and said, "You stay ahead of the pain. You can take up to 18-a-day." I'm just like-. 

[00:40:01]Luke Storey:  Eighteen-a-day.

[00:40:02]Garrett McNamara:  That's what they told me. And I told my wife, she's like, what the hell? Who are these-

[00:40:06]Luke Storey:  You're going to catch a habit.

[00:40:07]Garrett McNamara:  But let me finish. So then, I'm happy because I got these things to take the pain away. I'm good. I'm going to be back in a couple of months. Yeah. Go home to Hawaii. My doctor friend there says, "Garrett, you have to go get an X-ray. You just got to double-check. Make sure everything's fine." "No, I don't like X-rays." "You've got to go get X-ray." So, I go get an X-ray, the surgery failed. There was nine pieces that had shattered and nine pieces like an egg. The shaft broke off the head, put itself in this pec. It was stuck in my pec.

[00:40:39] So, I got the shaft in the pec and the egg up here. They opened it up. They didn't see that nine, but they only saw the shaft off. They get there and like, holy shit. So, they put all back together. And I get home and they do the second X-ray in Hawaii, and one of the nine pieces fell—the eight fell and one stayed up. So, you hear the doctors, like, we got to do it, we got to operate again. So, they cut it open, took everything apart, took all the screws out, put them all back in, wrenched it down, put it in. And I woke up on this machine going like this. I open my eyes and it's going like the movie, Hostel? 

[00:41:32]Luke Storey:  Yeah.

[00:41:33]Garrett McNamara:  I thought I was one of the Hostel people. But they put a nerve blocker on me so there was no pain. They like blocked your nerve, so there's no—I was like freaked, I was like sweating, freaking out. And then, there's no pain. It's supposed to last 18 to 24 hours. In four hours, it was off, and it was 2:00 AM, and I'm in the worst pain ever in my life. And I'm screaming bloody murder. And my wife comes, I'm like, give me another nerve block, give me another.

[00:42:00] And there was no doctor to do nerve blocker. I'm like, could you take me up to the top? I want to jump. I mean, I seriously wanted to jump. That's how bad the pain was. Then, she wouldn't take me up the top. I said, "Put a bag on my head." She wouldn't do that. The pain was so intense that I was—and I don't like pain as you can hear it from what I wanted to do. I'm like, give me something. And they give me some Statinol and whatever kind of drip, that none of them worked. 

[00:42:24] Finally, they gave me some oxycodones. That was the only thing that would take away the pain. And the doctor says, "You got two weeks of these." The other doctor says, "Take as much as you want for as long as you want." This doctor, "You got two more weeks. I'm going to start weening you now. You take three today, and two the next day", whatever, "Just taper down." I was just like, there's a time and a place, and this is the time. And I was so depressed and in pain like you've never imagined for six months. 

[00:43:02]Luke Storey:  That long? 

[00:43:03]Garrett McNamara:  Six months.

[00:43:04]Luke Storey:  Wow. Is it because the shoulder, in particular, is just so slow to heal? I mean, versus breaking your forearm or femurs. I imagine like a joint injury is probably a more complex healing process than just a big ass bone that gets snapped in half and needs to be in a cast, just got to re-fuse.

[00:43:24]Garrett McNamara:  It's mainly the scar tissue was already setting in and the two surgeries in a row. I got violated, like the first one, didn't feel violated. Felt like, cool, I'm going to get better really quick. I'm going to heal and I'm going to be back in the water six months max. Second one just took me out. I felt so violated. It broke me. Fully broke me. My wife is the only reason I came back. We had all these amazing companies send us so many amazing supplements and she would massage me with essential oils every day. 

[00:44:07] And she had two more teas, and everything was just the best of the best with, now, I'm just laying on this bed for three months, and then barely walking around. I always walk around like this, like stay away, I would just stay away like this, literally. Most people don't even realize this, but everything in life, in our control, in the moment is a choice. We can choose whatever we decide. I chose not to enjoy this injury. Chose not to be happy about it. Chose not to accept it as something that happened for a reason.

[00:44:50] The foot injury, broke it, got the X-rays, woke up the next morning, didn't take any. They gave me a bunch of drugs in the Balinese hospital. I didn't take any. I went to surgery in Portugal a week later, three big RUP pins with I think six pins, two little plates. Woke up in the morning, no drugs. They had everything I wanted. They actually had a morphine dripper right there. I took a couple. I didn't need it. I was just—no.

[00:45:27] I just went through. I chose not to do any pain pills. Chose not to be a victim of this one. Chose to enjoy the pain. And chose to enjoy the injury. And chose to be very happy about it. People couldn't believe that I was so happy about what had happened. And I know that it was a little bit of a lesson to slow down, and be patient, and help people get waves, but it was also that I wasn't quite ready to go back to Nazare. I need a lot more time to get this a little further along, more range of motion.

[00:46:05] And I really enjoyed the whole process. I'm still, today, enjoying the process of this broken foot for the last three months. I wholeheartedly chose to love it. And I couldn't choose to hate every swell, I hated every time I miss a swell, be pissed off every time a good wave is caught somewhere in the world that I could have been on, but I'm not because of my foot. Every swell in Nazare, I could have been pissed. Instead, I was happy and really, really wholeheartedly chose to enjoy the whole process. 

[00:46:35]Luke Storey:  Do you find that it's easy for you to do that or do you have to call in backup from a higher power or God in order to be able to get your mind right like that? I know for myself, I understand the concept that life is not what happens to me, it's my interpretation or my reaction to it. And I really do my best to live like that. For me, sometimes, when I experience—I haven't had a broken foot, but I've had broken hearts and all kinds of other broken shit, a broken bank account. 

[00:47:07] And I'll want to keep a positive attitude, but it's like the needed power is not there. It's like the resource to be able to do it, I find that I'm lacking. And where I find the power to do that is through prayer. Do you have a spiritual practice that helps you keep your mind right or do you find that you're able to just kind of pull yourself up by your bootstraps and just be like, I'm not going to be a victim here, I'm going to control my experience by controlling the way that I perceive it?

[00:47:33]Garrett McNamara:  Well, definitely, just recently, I came to terms with God. I was a Christian forever. And when I was a kid, up, I don't know, until about 40. And that was my sense of security anytime—but I usually just thank Him. I didn't ask Him for much. Always thank God, thank God, thank God because I always just got everything given to me. I don't know. I was so lucky. I always had a really amazing life. And the only person that would do something bad to me was myself, making a bad choice. 

[00:48:11] So then, I met my wife and she shared with me all the religions. And my whole time as a Christian, I just couldn't wrap my mind around the concept, is that this person that I know, this most beautiful, awesome, selfless person I've ever met, not a Christian, they're going to hell. That does not make sense. How can that be? No. That can't be true. So then, my wife shared with me all the things that she's learned and knows about religion.

[00:48:38] And then, I just kind of disassociated myself from all religion. And no scientific fact, we are all energy, all connected. So, that sat well with me. We're all part of something. So, we're all part of the same thing. And I still would be in a situation where I wanted to thank somebody or a situation where I needed help underwater, please, God, because I've been underwater going, please, God, many times.

[00:49:08]Luke Storey:  I bet. I was going to ask you about that.

[00:49:09]Garrett McNamara:  I'm like, please, banana. No, that doesn't work. I'm part of this banana. That doesn't work. So, just recently, actually, I've come to terms with calling whatever it is God and wholeheartedly going, yes, please, God or thank you, God. And just because that feels right to me. Maybe because that's what I did for so long. And whether it's God, or it's just energy, or whatever it is, I'm happy to just call it God.

[00:49:39] And some people might think it's a false sense of security. It is definitely a sense of security to have somebody to talk to, and feel, and know. I'm a real believer in manifesting. So, I feel that all these religious groups that got everybody thinking the same things and so much energy going towards a certain direction, things happen. And you had five guys in a prayer circle somehow. Yeah, you guys got a strong mind. You're making it happen.

[00:50:10]Luke Storey:  It sounds like your wife, Nicole, has been a huge grounding element in your life. How long have you guys been together and what do you think it was about her that allowed you to really bond with her in the way that you have? Was there an indication from her that she would be that kind of grounding support for you early on or did it take time for you to really get to know her and see that?

[00:50:37]Garrett McNamara:  Definitely early on. The one thing, like back in the day, I watched that video, The Secret, and I was just like, I'm doing all that stuff. And that was way before Nicole. So, I was already really on track somehow, naturally. But then, once I met her, I always had all these visions, and goals, and dreams. And I was doing it all pretty much myself, make it all happen. And when she came into my life, I knew that she was the missing part of my visions, and goals, and dreams, and the love that I had—like she was the girl, the woman that I dreamed of having my whole life.

[00:51:25] And finally, I met this perfect woman, exactly what I dreamed of, and I didn't really realize it while I was in my first marriage. And she is just the perfect woman. And she complements me beyond, like I'm a discredit to her. But she did a good job with me. She's a teacher. So, I'm always getting taught new things, and gladly, happily. I'm a rebel here and there. But at the end of day, as long as I listen and as long as I'm wholeheartedly present, paying attention, everything's amazing, like amazing beyond. 

[00:52:06]Luke Storey:  Very fortunate. I've noticed that many people who are really successful, not just outwardly but inwardly, a part of that recipe for success seems to be a supportive, fulfilling, healthy relationship. I've met very few people that are really contented and successful on all metrics that are missing that in their life. And I can tell just from talking to you, I'm like, oh, she's a really big part of what makes your life work. 

[00:52:31]Garrett McNamara:  It wouldn't work without her. 

[00:52:34]Luke Storey:  Which is really what it's all about. Like to me, I'm like, why fucking do it if it's not that? 

[00:52:39]Garrett McNamara:  And do you have a-

[00:52:41]Luke Storey:  No. Not right now, I don't. At this current time of this recording, no, I'm single.

[00:52:47]Garrett McNamara:  You hear that ladies?

[00:52:48]Luke Storey:  Easy. Easy. And I'm fine with that, too. I think unless, you get fine with yourself and you enjoy your own company, you're probably going to pick someone based on the wrong motives and maybe be a bit desperate in so choosing. So, yeah, I'm like in a position where I'm open, but like the value I see is the value that I see in you and other people who seem to have something good going on. I go, yeah, that that sounds good. That looks good. I want that in my life. And I have at various times, of course. 

[00:53:19]Garrett McNamara:  Are you going to partake in the ceremony you're going to? 

[00:53:22]Luke Storey:  Yeah, that's what I want to talk to about next.

[00:53:24]Garrett McNamara:  Meet at 1:00?

[00:53:24]Luke Storey:  At 4:00.

[00:53:25]Garrett McNamara:  Okay.

[00:53:26]Luke Storey:  Yeah.

[00:53:26]Garrett McNamara:  And do you have a beautiful experience or a dark, dark?

[00:53:29]Luke Storey:  Oh, yeah. No, it's amazing. Oh, yeah.

[00:53:31]Garrett McNamara:  Okay.

[00:53:32]Luke Storey:  Yeah.

[00:53:32]Garrett McNamara:  So, you know what's important in life.

[00:53:33]Luke Storey:  Amazing.

[00:53:33]Garrett McNamara:  You know what's important.

[00:53:34]Luke Storey:  Yeah.

[00:53:34]Garrett McNamara:  You felt that you know it.

[00:53:34]Luke Storey:  Love is important.

[00:53:35]Garrett McNamara:  Yes, number one.

[00:53:40]Luke Storey:  That's it.

[00:53:40]Garrett McNamara:  Only thing that really matters. That's what we're all looking for. So, back to the recipe for being more present, and more loving, and dealing with situations, and not getting angry, I really have to close my eyes and go to what I know is important and get meditated for a minute, or 30 seconds, or an hour. If I get that one minute focused on what I feel is important, and it's just so easy to get yourself back on track. But you might have to do it 10 times a day. And it's just-

[00:54:26]Luke Storey:  When it comes to plant medicines, to follow up on that thread, yes, so tomorrow at the time of this recording, I'm leaving to Soltara Healing Center in Costa Rica. I have to go through a whole week of that again. And it was a positive experience for me. I'm curious what your explorations in ceremony have been like and what you've gained from it?

[00:54:50]Garrett McNamara:  Well, she was in the first one. She was actually present during the whole thing. My son partook and he's only feels four, but we gave him a little tea, then he thought he was really do it. It was amazing. And it was our family only. 

[00:55:03]Luke Storey:  Oh, really?

[00:55:04]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah. Well, first I did, San Pedro. And it was the most beautiful, best experience ever. And I was done. I didn't need to do anything else anymore. I'm good. And I know I felt what I needed to feel. I learned what I needed to learn. The only thing now is got to integrate it. If you don't do your best to integrate what you feel and learn, it's a waste of time. Some people might be able to do it just through receiving it and doing it.

[00:55:33] Me, I got to write it down. I got to look at it every day. I'm like an old dog. It takes a while to teach me a new trick. And so, I've got to focus, meditate on it every morning, afternoon, and night. I've been getting the mornings down. I'm not good at the afternoons and night. I need to integrate that. And then, I'll be on a really good track of integrating everything I felt and learned. 

[00:55:57]Luke Storey:  Were there any specific insights that you had from that San Pedro or from the following ayahuasca journeys that you had? Did you see where you've gone astray in your life, or there were people you needed to forgive, or deeper access to any sort of wisdom or understandings about your life, or what direction you might go, things like that? 

[00:56:18]Garrett McNamara:  The San Pedro, I got there and we took the medicine. And I was just like, I went to the bathroom, and the walls started melting. And I'm just thinking, this is lame, this is just an excuse to take drugs, what are we doing? I was kind of not happy. I was like, this is not cool. I don't want to be here. I want to be doing mushrooms or hallucinogenics. I don't need to be doing this. And then, I went back to the fire and we're sitting there, and the elders in the tribe is doing their thing. 

[00:56:46] It's beautiful, but I was still like, this is an excuse to take drugs. And then, they told me what to do. And all of a sudden, I started doing, I started focusing, and breathing, and accepting. And boom, I went to this vortex of love, and warmth, and perfect existence. It was just this vortex of the most beautiful, amazing place you could ever imagine being. And it was basically just love. And it was like energy, love and energy. And while I was there, I was just like, how could anybody ever want to go back to the world? I'm just like, wow, I don't think I'm going to go back. 

[00:57:30] I must say, it was the most amazing place I've ever been. And then, the guy comes with the water at the end and he's, drink, brother. Opened my eyes and there's this guy with this water. And I'm just like, and this is this little thing. And it just lasted for like eternity. And then, I was back, normal, and I felt—I was actually asking, who do I serve and how do I serve were my two questions because I wasn't a Christian anymore. I didn't have God. And it was just love. Love is everything. That's all you need to know. And it was perfect. And be more loving. Love every situation you get yourself into. Love at all, all day, every day because it's a choice.

[00:58:15]Luke Storey:  Love the broken foot.

[00:58:16]Garrett McNamara:  That's what I learned. 

[00:58:17]Luke Storey:  I might call this episode, Love the Broken Foot. No, it will have to have a reference to waves or so.

[00:58:23]Garrett McNamara:  So then, I was not too interested in this ayahuasca stuff, but my wife wants me to figure things out, be more loving. So, you're getting back to normal. Go back to do something else. So, the first one, it was a three-day thing at our house with this amazing shaman. And the first one was intense, but fun and interesting. The second one was dark, dark, dark, dark.

[00:58:54]Luke Storey:  In what way?

[00:58:55]Garrett McNamara:  I went to these weird rooms, in these weird places with weird things going on from way, way, way, way back in the lineage of who knows how many years back, who knows if it was me or if it was my great, great, great grandfather, but it was weird, like it was bad. And I got out of that one and my wife looks me in the eyes, and she can always help me and fix my challenges. And she's like, I can't fix you this time.

[00:59:27]Luke Storey:  You're on your own.

[00:59:27]Garrett McNamara:  Go do another one. I'm like, no way. I'm not doing any more. No way.

[00:59:32]Luke Storey:  Like another cup?

[00:59:33]Garrett McNamara:  No, go to another, three in a row.

[00:59:35]Luke Storey:  Oh, shit.

[00:59:35]Garrett McNamara:  A third one. I didn't even—no. And I was still—my heart and my head were fighting. Logic and love were just battling, and it was just a bad spot to be for three days, and then she's like, there was one more. The guy was doing it a couple of days later up the road. And I went and it was out of this world. Still nothing that great—I mean, nothing that—I learned a lot, felt a lot, but it wasn't just—I'm not into this. And then, we were in Portugal about a-month-and-a-half ago, maybe two months ago, and the guy who introduced us to San Pedro, it's his birthday, and they were doing this one.

[01:00:20] It was a San Pedro ayahuasca ceremony two nights in a row. And it was like, oh, San Pedro, yeah, but no. And my brother-in-law was like, come on, let's go. And my wife was like, yeah, just go, go. I'm like, okay. So, I went. The most beautiful, amazing, loving experience I've ever experienced, better than the—well, it was like where I went with the San Pedro the first time, but eyes open. And with this family that was just—and then, they came back. 

[01:00:57] They came to Portugal a month later and we went over there, did that one too. It's next-level, just so—and I didn't think I needed anything more. I'm good. I just have to integrate it. I've learned. I felt. I know I don't need it. And I went and I learned so much more and felt so much more. And now, all the other times, I didn't really puke, just a little bit, and I puked all the way down to my belly. I mean, I still get there's a little bit left because like it was just, and I was in my intestines, squeezing it out.

[01:01:24] You could see in there. I visually was inside. Just was crazy, but beautiful, beyond, and so overwhelming, meaningful. Yeah. I mean, it's all about who you do it with, it's all about the tribe, the people, and how they do it, and yourself because you have to breathe into it and love it, except go for the ride. If it's dark, cool. If it's light, cool. Wherever you go, wow, that's interesting. Interesting. Interesting. And we hold on tight.

[01:02:11]Luke Storey:  How long can you hold your breath underwater?

[01:02:14]Garrett McNamara:  Not that long compared to the boys these days, but four-and-a-half minutes is about-

[01:02:20]Luke Storey:  And do you train to learn how to hold your breath when you're out in the water?

[01:02:26]Garrett McNamara:  Every meal, I take one big breath and try to eat it all really fast.

[01:02:34]Luke Storey:  Are you fucking with me? I think you never know, man. There's a lot of kind of breath work out there.

[01:02:41]Garrett McNamara:  Everybody believes that one for some reason.

[01:02:43]Luke Storey:  You had me. I was like, I haven't heard of this one. A new biohack.

[01:02:46]Garrett McNamara:  Really good for digesting your food, yeah. The whole beginning of my career, I would do some underwater rock training. I do some laps around my school, Sunset Beach School, and do some hold-my-breath exercises, push-ups, triceps, and leg ups. And the push-up, triceps, and leg-ups were my secret to success. That's what got me through all of my—but I was in the water, always in the water, always building my lungs, always ready. And there are so many new tools, so many new amazing teachers with amazing things to offer. But Mark Visser and the Waterman Survival course. I believe it's called Mark Visser, Waterman Survival course or warrior course, whatever. Mark Visser's course, next-level because it's specifically for surfing.

[01:03:41]Luke Storey:  Oh, cool.

[01:03:42]Garrett McNamara:  But you can also use that in every—if you got in surfing, you're good in all other aspects of the water. 

[01:03:48]Luke Storey:  And you've done some of the Wim Hof method too. 

[01:03:51]Garrett McNamara:  Wim Hof is out of control. Amazing. We worked with Martin Stepanek, FII, a freediving instructor who had the world record for deepest dive with, I think, no fins, nothing, just free dive. And he was the first guy we work in-person with. And he taught us so many. I mean, just the breathing, how you breathe, to breathe up, to oxygenate your body. And then, just listening to all these sensations that go on in your body, so you know where you're at, you know what's coming next, you know how much longer you have, roughly. But a shallow water blackout can come at any time, you don't really know. But when you work on it a lot, you understand what you can handle.

[01:04:37]Luke Storey:  Would you be bored to tears going out to Venice and catching some puny little waves? Would that be like pointless to you?

[01:04:46]Garrett McNamara:  Malibu, I'd be all right on a long board. 

[01:04:48]Luke Storey:  I don't even know if they have waves in Venice.

[01:04:50]Garrett McNamara:  They do have waves in Venice.

[01:04:51]Luke Storey:  They do?

[01:04:51]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah.

[01:04:51]Luke Storey:  Okay.

[01:04:52]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah, I was just there and it looked kind of fun. If I had a stand-up bar, I can have fun or if I was taking her, I would have a lot of fun. But small waves aren't very interesting to me. When the stand-up came in, I had a lot of fun on small waves finally. And then, long board, I'm not that good on a long board, so it was really challenging and really fun to try and cross-step. So, if something challenging and new, I really enjoy it, even if the waves aren't big.

[01:05:22]Luke Storey:  I tried surfing once down in a beach called San Onofre, I believe it's called, near San Diego. And it was quite early in the day. It was pretty cold, overcast. It wasn't California dreaming, typical surf day that you'd imagine. And then, with the friend who was not a professional surfer or teacher, but he kind of gave me the ropes, I think gave me the appropriate size board. And I paddled out a few times. I couldn't really get up on that thing. And I just never getting just beat in the face by waves over and over again. And I think they were quite small waves, right?

[01:05:54]Garrett McNamara:  Beach break. 

[01:05:55]Luke Storey:  Yeah.

[01:05:56]Garrett McNamara:  It's hard to get out.

[01:05:57]Luke Storey:  Yeah, very hard. So, I don't want to discredit surfing because I talk to people like you and I have many friends that are avid, very committed surfers, guys that live from here to Santa Barbara. And they do it every day, and they swear by it. But it was sort of like at the end of that day, and maybe it's because I didn't succeed, and I didn't get up, but I thought, man, this is kind of like snow-skiing, but there's no chairlift. 

[01:06:21] Like every time you get down the mountain, you don't have to climb yourself back up with all your gear, and then you're back down in two seconds because I would just get my ass kicked paddling out, and then just get washed into shore, and beat up. So, I'm curious to get back and try it again. Where would you recommend a guy like me that has an aversion to getting smacked in the face by waves but loves water that could be like a location, would be a good starting point to go give it a shot?

[01:06:47]Garrett McNamara:  I hear one of the best places in the world and my wife was the one who shared this with me is actually where you're going.

[01:06:55]Luke Storey:  Really?

[01:06:56]Garrett McNamara:  Costa Rica.

[01:06:56]Luke Storey:  Costa Rica?

[01:06:56]Garrett McNamara:  Because the water's warm, sandbar, soft, mellow, and there's good teachers. But you got to get a good teacher to take you out for the first time and you need the biggest board possible. You want a stand-up board. You're going to want a 10 to 12-foot stand-up board. And you're going to want waves this big. And whitewater beach break is perfect. 

[01:07:19]Luke Storey:  For those of you not on YouTube, you're about two feet off the ground.

[01:07:23]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah.

[01:07:23]Luke Storey:  Okay.

[01:07:24]Garrett McNamara:  With the biggest board, smallest waves, and sand, on a sandbar.

[01:07:28]Luke Storey:  Well, I'm staying on the beach after my ceremony at Soltara. And I picked the beach just so I could get the sunrise, sunset, and all that. And I have seen that there's a lot of locals offering surf lessons there. So, maybe I'll ask for a recommendation to give it a shot.

[01:07:42]Garrett McNamara:  Ask them for a stand-up board to start.

[01:07:45]Luke Storey:  Okay.

[01:07:46]Garrett McNamara:  Say, Garrett asked to get the biggest board with the smallest wave in a nice sandbar, so I can just try and get my bearings straight first. And then, once you get that, then you can graduate to the long board, the 10 to 12-foot long board. So, first day on the stand-up. And once you get it, then you might graduate right away because you're-

[01:08:08]Luke Storey:  Well, I used to skate when I was a kid.

[01:08:09]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah, you probably would graduate quick.

[01:08:10]Luke Storey:  And I have done a lot of yoga. I have good balance. I think the day I went out and I gave like surfing a bad name just because it was probably a shitty wave day, and the weather sucked. And it was cold and I didn't walk away from that going, that was fun.

[01:08:24]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah. 

[01:08:25]Luke Storey:  But yeah, maybe I'll do that and I'll show them a selfie of us, too, and be like, this is my regular coach, so you guys-

[01:08:32]Garrett McNamara:  Step it up.

[01:08:35]Luke Storey:  That's great. I'm curious about one more thing and this is just a strange technical question, but when you were sponsored by or partnered with Mercedes, you went to Germany and you guys developed a special kind of surfboard, as I understand it. What was that process like and what's different about that board compared to the average board you go by at the shop?

[01:08:56]Garrett McNamara:  The process was a dream come true. On 2012, they emailed me and said, "We want to pitch you on an idea we have. We're coming to Nazare to pitch and we'll bring in our deck." And they brought it and they said, "We don't want to just sit on the cliff in the car watching. We want to get in the water with you. I'm not sure if you understand, Garrett, but Mercedes, most people don't know this, Mercedes emblem, air, land, and sea. We don't do much in the sea. We want to get back in the sea with you."

[01:09:31] So, they said, "We want to help you produce the magic board so you can survive, so you can come home to your family." And I mean, when do you get pitched by Mercedes? So, we went to like the next day on a plane to Germany, brought my magic board with me. And I brought my two favorites. It was actually a stretch board and a brewer. My two favorite boards, and I had made a board that was in between both of those, and I brought that board with me. 

[01:10:06] And we brought it to the design room. And I walk into this design room and there's a bunch of like seven-foot tall Germans and just all excited. And they unveil this huge, just like a chalkboard, but it was like this whole room put together, actually like that and that. And they unveiled this crazy ad campaign with me and this Jetsons space suit with board, with motors, and all this crazy, crazy, futuristic. I was like, really? And they're like, yeah, we're going to build a surfboard, we're going to build a surfboard. 

[01:10:44] These seven-foot tall Germans are running around like little kids, just all excited. And we figured out what would be the best recipe for the best board. And we produced it. And it is by far the best board. Every single guy who is coming to Nazare the first five years after us got pretty much the same board by the production company, that gave them the ability to produce for other guys if they wanted them. So, everybody's on the same technology. Before that board, people were not surfing. They were barely, barely making the wave. Now, we can actually surf the waves.

[01:11:21]Luke Storey:  Damn, that's cool.

[01:11:23]Garrett McNamara:  And the Mercedes relationship is still flourishing. Amazing.

[01:11:32]Luke Storey:  She wants end of podcast, And I think we've just about covered it. The last question I have for you is, what's next in your life? Do you see your passion and commitment to your sport continuing on or what are the projects do you have in mind other than the documentary we talked about? 

[01:11:54]Garrett McNamara:  We started a foundation focused on giving children—I like to focus on a disadvantage to kids who don't have a chance to get in the ocean and maybe have never seen the ocean. And we started in Nazare with these orphans of Nazare, foster kids that actually live on the top of the mountain that overlooks the waves. So, they've been there the whole time with me. And we take them surfing, or take them hiking, or take them whatever the day allows or the day that we have with them twice a month.

[01:12:31] And we journal with them, and we share with them goal-setting, and road-mapping. And we've only done two sessions with them so far, just started. First session was amazing. My brother and I, CJ, is running the foundation. And he's the most, I don't know, a really beautiful person that's really wholeheartedly sharing whatever he feels at that moment, but he's super smart, like a genius. So, he's just so articulate and he's really, I don't know, the epitome of a perfect man. He's the guy. And he's running the foundation. And it's going really, really well. And he really loves what he's doing. He's been searching for something to do.

[01:13:23] He's like a guy who, anything he does, he's the best. And it just falls in his lap. He was number one in the nation in volleyball during college years for kills, and he's only 6'4". And he was a coach for the Italian Olympic team last year. And now, he just falls into whatever. And he was a lifeguard. We said, "Come to Hawaii, live with us. Run the preschool." So, we did that for a little while, but we had a preschool setup at the house. And then, this just fell in his lap and he thought, this feels right, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. So, we got so lucky. And he's running the foundation.

[01:14:03]Luke Storey:  That's cool. Yes. I had a feeling probably be answering in that way. It seems like many people, when they achieve a certain level of success and it seems to kind of happen after 50 for some reason, too, which I'm like, I don't know, I feel like I'm doing a lot to contribute myself now, but I am still getting paid for the things that I did to contribute. So, I'm like, yeah, I wonder when the part comes when I get into something that's more a nonprofit and that kind of thing. So, that's very cool. I appreciate that.

[01:14:28]Garrett McNamara:  What are you doing? What are some of the cool things you're doing right now?

[01:14:31]Luke Storey:  Well, man, I mean, just all the content I produce based on the feedback I get from people is very transformative. I spent a lot of time sharing content about spirituality, mindset, metaphysics, meditation, all kinds of biohacking, and health, and things like that. And most of the time, what I'm doing is really just exploring things myself, finding what works, what doesn't. And then, really passing it on to people in ways that is relatable and accessible, where something-

[01:15:00]Garrett McNamara:  That's the best one, is relatable because they come in with all the scientific terms and everything, and people like-. 

[01:15:04]Luke Storey:  And luckily, I'm like maybe just smart enough to understand this stuff, but just dumb enough to be able to explain it to people that don't want to learn the technicalities of it, whether that be an esoteric spiritual practice, or integrating a plant medicine experience, or getting into the science of how to fix your elbow, injecting peptides into it, or whatever the case may be.

[01:15:28]Garrett McNamara:  You want to know the best way to fix any elbow?

[01:15:30]Luke Storey:  What? I got a bad one right now and I'm shooting peptides into it every day.

[01:15:33]Garrett McNamara:  Fixed in two weeks.

[01:15:34]Luke Storey:  All right, I'm listening.

[01:15:35]Garrett McNamara:  Finger rubber band.

[01:15:37]Luke Storey:  What?

[01:15:38]Garrett McNamara:  We do this our whole life. 

[01:15:39]Luke Storey:  Right.

[01:15:40]Garrett McNamara:  You never do that.

[01:15:41]Luke Storey:  Oh, to expand? 

[01:15:42]Garrett McNamara:  Which is with the connecter, and just like that.

[01:15:46]Luke Storey:  Are you serious?

[01:15:47]Garrett McNamara:  Definitely be gone in two weeks.

[01:15:49]Luke Storey:  Get out of here.

[01:15:49]Garrett McNamara:  Gone. 

[01:15:50]Luke Storey:  Because I have like Apple, I think it's from the mouse all these years honestly, and from also playing guitar and bass, and having like a band. 

[01:15:57]Garrett McNamara:  And it's right in there or in here?

[01:15:59]Luke Storey:  I'm more like on the right, on the outer part of the elbow joint.

[01:16:03]Garrett McNamara:  Anything here, it's the fingers.

[01:16:05]Luke Storey:  Cool.

[01:16:06]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah.

[01:16:06]Luke Storey:  Dope. Well, there you go.

[01:16:08]Garrett McNamara:  Finger rubber bands.

[01:16:09]Luke Storey:  So, is there a special device or you just-

[01:16:12]Garrett McNamara:  Online, you'll find it.

[01:16:13]Luke Storey:  Oh, sick.

[01:16:13]Garrett McNamara:  They're sick. And they have three levels. Both of them are not-

[01:16:17]Luke Storey:  Oh, so they stick on the end of your fingers?

[01:16:18]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah.

[01:16:19]Luke Storey:  Oh, okay.

[01:16:19]Garrett McNamara:  And there's a thing that connects it all the way.

[01:16:22]Luke Storey:  Oh, tight.

[01:16:23]Garrett McNamara:  And it can do different.

[01:16:26]Luke Storey:  Done.

[01:16:26]Garrett McNamara:  And go slow both ways. 

[01:16:28]Luke Storey:  And you can do that while you're driving, and sitting on the airplane, and shit.

[01:16:30]Garrett McNamara:  Just put it on your gear, your little blinker thing outwards, so you see it.

[01:16:34]Luke Storey:  Sick. Wow.

[01:16:35]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah. It's amazing.

[01:16:36]Luke Storey:  I didn't know I was going to get back here-

[01:16:38]Garrett McNamara:  You're cured.

[01:16:38]Luke Storey:  Much more pleasant than injecting peptide because when I get these insulin syringes every morning, I shoot it in there. But man, when you hit the bone or the cartilage, it doesn't feel that hot. So, you've taught me so much today, including how to fix my elbow. Who have been three teachers or teachings that have influenced your life that people might be able to go learn from? 

[01:16:58]Garrett McNamara:  My wife, first of all. And she's about to start sharing with people how to—sharing solutions for all the challenges they're facing. Mainly, focusing on helping people reach the positive, being in their positive, which is where we all need to be to reach our peak. Deepak Chopra, definitely. Seven Spiritual Laws, all of his books I like, but Seven Spiritual Laws of Success was my Bible. Ana Forrest, next-level, Fierce Medicine, out of control.

[01:17:35] There's this one death meditation. You just envision yourself 24 hours, 12 hours, six hours. What are you doing? What do you want to be doing? And then, you end with, holy shit, I'd better be doing whatever you realize I'm supposed to be doing or what I want to be doing, not what the world's got his claws on me that I think I need to do and have to do. No. But sometimes, you got to go back to when you were three to even find out what you really were passionate about and what you really love before the world gets a hold of us.

[01:18:06]Luke Storey:  Yeah. And also, going back sometimes through meditation, medicines, et cetera, to look at, for me, it's been really useful finding where like original traumas, original hurts were because you're not pissed off at the traffic ticket you just got, you're pissed off for being victimized when you were two, or three, or eight. You know what I mean?

[01:18:28]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah.

[01:18:29]Luke Storey:  Looking at that, there's a T-shirt there. Like a friend of mine that has this other place called Rhythmia, where I went and did ayahuasca before, and remember the '80s, the Dare logo like, dare: just say no to drugs, it's that logo, but it says it's the acronym DARE, do ayahuasca and remember everything. And meditation does that too. I mean, I don't think you have to do psychedelics to have that experience, but it's remembering like who you are at the core and all the good. But also, sometimes, looking back and seeing like where were those turning points that I was sent astray. So, man, great conversation today, dude. It's really fun to get to know you. I appreciate you coming on the show. Do you have any social media, website, or anything you want to send people to? 

[01:19:15]Garrett McNamara:  My Instagram's always fun, McNamara_S, we're always trying to share uplifting, good things, but a lot of it is just fun, day life. But we face a lot of challenges, and we love to share our challenges, and love to share the solutions. We just started doing some, for lack of a better word, vlogs by they call them episodes, and they're going to get deep. We're just skimming the surface right now, getting into it, and we'll start getting deep in the future with different things. 

[01:19:45] So, definitely love sharing the amazing products that we come across, and really love, and stand behind, but just amazing, fun life that we have, and the challenges we face, and the solutions we find, and the people we run into, both on the Instagram, and I don't think—But this Instagram stuff, if you're sharing meaningful content that can provide some insight on things and share more, instead of just me, me, I, I, it's really challenging. And it's challenging not to just, oh, I just did this. And sometimes, that's cool, but you got to balance.

[01:20:30]Luke Storey:  How do you ride on a private jet and not post that shit, man?

[01:20:33]Garrett McNamara:  Right? Yeah, I felt a jump on one a day or two, but I might not.

[01:20:39]Luke Storey:  I got a buddy, my buddy, Khalil, he owns this chain.

[01:20:43]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah. Khalil's one of my best friends.

[01:20:44]Luke Storey:  You know Khalil?

[01:20:45]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah. 

[01:20:45]Luke Storey:  Okay.

[01:20:45]Garrett McNamara:  I'm supposed to jump on that jet with Rick.

[01:20:47]Luke Storey:  Okay. So, yeah, he's fucking hilarious, dude.

[01:20:49]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah.

[01:20:50]Luke Storey:  Because he owns these juice places.

[01:20:52]Garrett McNamara:  SunLife Organics. 

[01:20:53]Luke Storey:  Sunlife Organics. And he's expanding and he's doing great. And I've always watched him on Instagram, and I'm like, I know he has a few of these juice spots, but like private jets, I don't think people realize how expensive, not to own one, but even just to travel privately. So, it's one of my goals, not so I can Instagram it, just because I hate flying. And I just would like to be on a smaller plane with less people.

[01:21:15]Garrett McNamara:  Well, when you go private, it's so hard to go back.

[01:21:17]Luke Storey:  Same with first class.

[01:21:18]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah.

[01:21:18]Luke Storey:  I'm fucked now. There's no going back. So, traveling is very expensive. It's like, I get paid to go speak somewhere and usually, I eat up my fee flying myself if they don't want to pay, it's a fucking disaster. But anyway, that's not the point. Back to Khalil, I love what he—so, I started asking him, I'm texting him, be like, dude, you're crushing. He's like, no, that's my rich friend's. I reinvest all my money into my franchise—or not franchise, but my different shops and stuff. I said, "Oh, okay." And then, he started doing his Instagram feeds where he'll do a feed post that has a number of images. And then, it's like him in his Instagram life, with some hot chicks in the Mediterranean.

[01:21:56]Garrett McNamara:  That was Dan. He was with Dan.

[01:21:58]Luke Storey:  Okay.

[01:21:59]Garrett McNamara:  Dan Milner.

[01:22:00]Luke Storey:  And then, like the next one will be him in his real life in some busted-ass motel. And it's just funny. He does like these A, B kind of reality versus Insta-life does.

[01:22:10]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah. The busted-ass hotels don't happen too often unless he has to go to Ohio.

[01:22:13]Luke Storey:  Right.

[01:22:13]Garrett McNamara:  And they might not even have a nice hotel where he is.

[01:22:15]Luke Storey:  Yes. So, I like that where you're like doing the horrible brags on Instagram, but you admit it. You're like, hey, here's what it really looks like.

[01:22:23]Garrett McNamara:  Oh, he's the most real person. He is so real.

[01:22:26]Luke Storey:  Yeah, he is. That's cool. I didn't realize you guys are buddies. That makes sense though.

[01:22:29]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah, he's actually one of our best friends.

[01:22:31]Luke Storey:  Oh, cool.

[01:22:31]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah.

[01:22:32]Luke Storey:  Awesome, man. Well, listen, man, we did it. Thank you so much for coming on the show. And I look forward to watching what you're up to in the world. 

[01:22:39]Garrett McNamara:  And Terrell at Forest Maddox. We love him. He's the one who got us hooked up.

[01:22:42]Luke Storey:  That's right.

[01:22:43]Garrett McNamara:  Yeah. 

[01:22:43]Luke Storey:  That's right. They are one of my longtime sponsors of the show. I made a coffee this morning, just to keep it real, I put a chaga and a Rishi packet in my coffee. And yeah, one of my favorite companies to-. 

[01:22:59]Garrett McNamara:  The funny thing is full circle, Khalil introduced me Terrell. Terrell introduced you to us.

[01:23:02]Luke Storey:  Oh, really? That's funny. That's great. I love it. It's one of greatest things about what I do, man, is the people that I get to meet. If I was just living up here in Laurel Canyon not having this job, I would be a very lonely man. So, thanks for keeping me company today and inspiring me.

[01:23:17]Garrett McNamara:  Thank you.

[01:23:18]Luke Storey:  Appreciate it.

[01:23:19]Garrett McNamara:  Really honored to be on your show and it would be interesting to watch this. Uh-oh.

[01:23:25]Luke Storey:  You did great. I like that your daughter was part of the show, too, which is kind of nice. And I learned that my dog. I mean, I don't think he would've heard her, but I've never seen her like even nip or anything close to that. So, Cookie, I learned your dark side today. 

[01:23:40]Garrett McNamara:  She was being really rough.

[01:23:41]Luke Storey:  Yeah. Well, now, I know.

[01:23:43]Garrett McNamara:  It was merited.

[01:23:45]Luke Storey:  I'll be mindful of my vicious dog.

[01:23:46]Garrett McNamara:  We do that too.

[01:23:48]Luke Storey:  Oh, yeah. And for those of you watching on YouTube, this is an amazing cover to Hound of the Sea. This is Garrett's book. And it's a really, I don't want to say a heroine tale, but it shows his life has had a lot of contrast. We didn't get too much into that, but you had a pretty wild-ass childhood. And it's one of those origin stories that's really beautiful and profound. So, not only does it have a cool cover, but what's inside is awesome, too, so go check it out. Hound of the Sea. We'll put a link to that in the show notes, too, for anyone that wants to hop online and grab a copy of it. But a great book, very highly reviewed also.

[01:24:25]Garrett McNamara:  You want to hear a funny tidbit about it?

[01:24:28]Luke Storey:  Yeah.

[01:24:28]Garrett McNamara:  So, this cover, I mean, this is my favorite photo, but I wanted to name it—okay. So, I was in a hippy commune, and that's my favorite part of the book. The first 10 years of my life was just crazy. And I remember when I was like four running around in the grass field, just eating watermelons. I would just eat watermelons all day long, and it would be naked, running around eating watermelon. And I would look down and see watermelon seeds everywhere. And so, I wanted to scribble a little naked boy and tie watermelon seeds up my ding-dong.

[01:25:04]Luke Storey:  That's one of the chapters at least.

[01:25:06]Garrett McNamara:  Yes, they did it. My wife vetoed it and the publisher vetoed it, but at least they put the chapter in there.

[01:25:12]Luke Storey:  Today's climate, I think they were probably well-advised. All right, dude. Well, thanks for joining us. Thanks for contributing to the world in the way you do. And stay safe out there, man. We need you in the world. We need more inspiring people. So, be mindful and don't get yourself in trouble in those big-ass waves.

[01:25:29]Garrett McNamara:  Thank you.

[01:25:30]Luke Storey:  All right, dude.

[01:25:44]

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