Meet the blind Aussie surfer who wants to ride 50-foot waves

Matt Formston has overcome multiple obstacles his whole life – so surfing 50 foot waves at Nazare in Portugal doesn’t rattle him to the core.

At the age of five, he developed macular dystrophy and his sight was virtually gone within 12 months. 

He quickly developed a life philosophy – give it a crack, and if it doesn’t work out, figure out plan B.

The legally blind father of three – who has a Diploma of Health Science on his professional CV – doesn’t have everyone in his corner.

Wife Rebecca and his children Max, 8, Elsie, 6, and Jake, 4 are all terrified their hero may badly hurt himself at one of the most notorious breaks in the world.

One mistake could spell serious trouble, and they let him know.

‘Max said, ‘Dad you can’t, you’ll die’,’ Formston recalled to the

‘So after this (Nazare adventure), I’m done. I don’t want to do anything that could risk my children not having a father.’

A former world para-cyclist champion, surfing has always been the passion for the man who learnt the fundamentals on a board at Narrabeen, on Sydney’s northern beaches.

He feels at home in the ocean, but Nazare is a different beast entirely.

Not that Formston is having second thoughts.

‘I feel a responsibility in some way. A lot of people have a disability and go, ‘No, too hard’, whereas I’ve proven a lot of times if you have a crack, you’ll find a way,’ he said.

‘Apart from the fact my eyes don’t work, the rest of me is ready for it.’

In his corner is Dylan Longbottom, a big-wave legend from Kiama, on the NSW south coast.

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Longbottom will ultimately decide if Formston can safely handle the conditions, where it literally is a case of sink or swim.

In terms of records at Nazare, Germany’s Sebastian Steudtner surfed an 86-foot monster in 2020.

And while Formston won’t scale those heights, his determination to conquer his fears at a venue where many able bodied surfers won’t tempt fate means he has won in the eyes of many before even putting his wetsuit on.

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