WRITTEN BY
Staring up at a towering black wall of water, Mark Healey thinks to himself, “You didn’t have to be here. You chose to be here. You did this to yourself.” He’d just paddled up and over a cresting 30-foot set wave at Cloudbreak, where he’d positioned himself far inside to get a good look at the transition. Safely on the other side, the spray starts to clear and he looks up to see the next wave of the set looming towards him. It’s the biggest one of the day, nearing 50 feet. There’s no catching this wave. Just surviving it.
Mark is steady, focused on his next few moves. A wave this big pulls so much water off the reef that it sucks you out towards it—delivering a helpful surge of momentum if you’re caught inside. He takes advantage and rides the current, powering through every stroke, rips his leash off with well timed rhythm, steadies his breathing, and rides that momentum right on through and underneath the wave. He swims for what feels like an eternity, eventually coming up for air on the other side. He can hold his breath for a solid six minutes, a handy skill for situations like these.
Mark is no stranger to “oh shit” moments. As a professional big wave surfer, freediver, and shark tagging specialist, part of his job description is staying calm in the face of chaos. Studying storms and chasing swells all over the world requires a unique combination of discipline and madness. A measured, level-headed approach to hunting down that extreme adrenaline rush—and, of course, surviving it. It’s this unexpected rub that makes Mark stand out.
Our crew pulls up to the Honolulu airport to meet Mark and renowned surf photographer, Christa Funk, both Free Fly Ambassadors based out of Oahu. It’s 4:30am and we’re taking a quick flight over to Kona for a day of blue water fishing and freediving. Mark and Christa check their oversized gear bags—loaded with fins, weights, spearguns—and an hour later we’re wheels down on the Big Island. A few locals recognize and say hi to Mark. He’s warm and friendly, even at 5:30am. There’s an obvious respect from his community—almost a reverence.
Of course, Mark’s gear bag doesn’t make it. He shrugs it off with the patience of someone who has a slightly heightened perspective around what “stress” looks like. Staring up at the crumbling face of a 50-foot wave, freediving with sharks at dizzying depths, and hellish travel to the world’s most remote locations can have that effect on you.
While we wait for his bag to arrive, we meet up with Cyrus Widhalm, our captain for the day and a good friend of Mark’s. Just a few months before, Cyrus won the Blue Marlin World Cup with a record-breaking catch, landing an 839-pound marlin. We learn that Cyrus spends his off-season in Colorado bowhunting and farming, both pursuits that he and Mark have in common.
An hour or so later, Mark’s bag eventually makes it and we finally set off on Cyrus’s 43-foot custom-built Cabo named the Kraken. Despite the delay, we end up having a killer time on the water—trolling for pelagics, casting for ulua, and diving just off the bright blue waters at Kaloko Point.
“In my world, if you don’t have patience naturally, you sure better build it fast.”
Mark’s ability to stay composed when things go sideways is a defining characteristic that sets him apart. Several years ago, he earned the nickname “benefit of the doubt” for opting not to beat a guy up for dropping in on him. This was during a time in surfing—especially on the North Shore—when that was par for the course.
Another time, Mark flew halfway around the world to a big wave event at Dungeons in South Africa, lost his luggage, had to get a new passport, and barely made it in time to compete. His boards didn’t make it, so he improvised. He borrowed one from a buddy and absolutely ripped through the first couple heats, landing a spot in the finals. The waves were close to 50 feet.
The finals didn’t go quite as well. Mark’s board snapped in two and he came out of the water with a ruptured eardrum. The damage could have been way worse for waves that size. Still, Mark won decent prize money for his performance. But after paying his buddy out for the broken board plus all of the unexpected travel expenses, it was a wash in the end.
But, of course, Mark didn’t see it that way. His eardrum prevented him from boarding a plane for the next week and half. Another huge swell came through Dungeons later that week, and he ended up catching some of the best waves of his life and had the beach all to himself. Oh, and his boards eventually made it. Whatever you want to call it—composure, patience, optimism—Mark’s got it in spades, and it usually pays off in the end.
Today, Mark’s still chasing waves around the world, just fewer of them—spending more of his time with his wife Kim and family back home on Oahu. He’s moved on from riding 50-foot giants every week and entered what might be an even more challenging and rewarding phase of his life: fatherhood.
“Charging big waves and freediving is still a major part of my life. But I get so much joy out of things I never expected. It takes less to fill my cup these days. And I’m just more thoughtful about my time than ever.”
His daughter Rella is four years old and, like her dad, is a total adrenaline junkie. He’s already taken her out surfing plenty of times. Unlike her dad’s famous goofy stance, she rides regular—and pretty well for a grom her size. She even competed in her first surf event last fall at the Menehune Surf Contest. She takes after her dad in a lot of ways. She’s thoughtful and observant. She’s extremely motivated. She doesn't easily give out hugs or the naive affection of most kids her age—she chooses you, but only after carefully measuring you up. And then she runs circles around you.
“It’s really about balance,” Mark says, reflecting on life after becoming a dad. Fortunately, balance is something Mark has skillfully practiced over the years. Balancing calm with chaos. Discipline with adrenaline. A level head against the world’s biggest waves. Now, it’s a matter of balancing his pursuits, his health, and his time.
“To be the best provider for my family, I have to be the best version of myself. That means making the time to get after it. In the gym, in the ocean, in the outdoors. If it means surfing in the dark and lifting at midnight, I’ll be out here. And I’m happy to be the last one in.”
He might not be able to hit the waves whenever he wants these days, but with a little patience and some thoughtful planning, he always makes it work.
“Becoming a father changes everything. It goes from, ‘what do I need to do to achieve my goals’ to ‘what do we need to do for our family.’ It’s challenging, but there’s nothing like it.”
