Big Wave Surfer Luca Padua: This Is How You Master Extreme Fear & Anxiety

Most people think big wave surfers are fearless. Luca says fear is the only place courage can exist. Luca Padua is a big wave surfer from Half Moon Bay, California, who grew up two miles from Mavericks, one of the most dangerous waves on Earth. He surfed it for the first time at 13, lived with Laird Hamilton and Gabby Reece for six years, and now runs Bigger Than Waves, a project supporting veteran mental health through VETS. What surprised me is how honest Luca is about being scared. He was the cautious kid his mom had to walk down the high dive. He argues fear is intelligence, not weakness. Courage isn't innate; it's built through training, like the pool sessions with Laird that once made him black out. That framing runs through every story he tells, from his first drop at Mavericks with the jagged Boneyard rocks below him to sitting shoulder to shoulder with his childhood heroes in the lineup. We also get into his path away from enlisting in the military, the letter from a special operations friend that changed his direction, and why he believes purpose has to come before performance. You’ll learn: [0:00] Introduction [6:04] Big wave surfers aren't fearless, and the only place courage can exist  [10:33] The lore of Mavericks and what makes an 80-foot wave so deadly [23:49] Luca’s fallout with his parents after that first Mavericks session, and finding his path forward [37:16] The lesson Laird Hamilton taught him about being faithful in the small things [42:01] Almost enlisting in the military, and how Bigger Than Waves and VETS was born [53:48] What training with Ido Portal and Christian McCaffrey taught him about being a beginner [1:00:39] Navigating social media as a distraction machine while staying on the righteous path Resources Mentioned: Laird Hamilton | Website VETS (Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions) | Website The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson | Book Inside Maverick's: Portrait of a Monster Wave by Doug Acton | Book In Waves and War | Netflix Find more from Luca: Luca Padua | Instagram | YouTube Bigger Than Waves | Instagram | Website Find more from Ste: Ste Lane | Instagram Radical Health Radio | Instagram | YouTube Heart and Soil Supplements | Website | Instagram | X | YouTube