Gautier Garanx

Gautier is from Bayonne in the Basque region of France and from the age of 12 has grown up surfing the regions world famous breaks. Local waves like Hossegor and Belharra have fueled Gautier's passion for big wave surfing, which reached a high in 2014 when he won the Billabong XXL Award for the biggest wave surfed that year. He caught a 19m (62ft) wave at Belharra, SW France which secured him a place in the record books and place among the worlds big wave surfing elite.

Gautier loves the ocean and free surfing big waves is where he feels most at home. He is keen on training and physical preparation in and out of the water so he's fully prepared for his next session. Training includes pool swimming, foil surfing and free diving in the sea where he can hold his breath for more than 5 minutes and can dive to 100ft deep just with fins!

"Surfing is sharing a moment, a wave, a passion."

"Surfing is my life and my life is organized around surfing. I'm in love with the ocean, so each moment in the sea is a gift for me. I really enjoy big surf because you feel the power of nature. You have to be respectful, motivated and focused. There's nothing better than paddling into a beast of a wave or towing in on crazy huge waves like Belharra or Nazare! "