(CNN) As a child, Nic von Rupp had an abject terror of rocks. Von Rupp looks every bit the modern-surfer, tanned, in shape and his hair partly bleached by the sun and sea. While the advice was to stay inside, Von Rupp took to the water at Mullaghmore, Ireland, with five to 10 other surfers. It was different to a few surfers talking about riding big waves. At 27, Von Rupp is young for the big-wave surfing genre and he's well aware that as he rides those big waves that he's perilously close to the precipice.

Source: CNN October 04, 2017 13:30 UTC