Joana Linhares de Andrade, from Ericeira, is the first and only Portuguese woman who is a big wave specialist that surfs at Praia do Norte, Nazaré, in the biggest waves in the world. She was nominated as one of the top five female big wave surfers in the world for tow-in surfing.
Joana is also an entrepreneur of Progress Surf School in her home town of Ericeira and founder of the first surf school for girls in Portugal. She is an inspiration for both men
and women wanting to face their fears.

Joana’s motto is “Feel the fear but don’t let it stop you.”

She is the focus of the feature film Big vs Small by Minna Dufton and we had the opportunity to meet with Joana while she was in New York for the screening of the film at the NY Wild film Festival. This is the second part of the episode covering Big vs Small.

BIG vs SMALL tells the inspirational story of Joana Andrade, the first Portuguese woman to surf the giant, bone-crushing waves of Nazaré. Finnish director and producer, Minna Dufton’s debut feature documentary follows Andrade throughout a period of her life as she pursues surfing bigger and bigger waves, but must process her deep trauma in order to succeed. Joana shares her deep fear of drowning and it is only when she is introduced to Finnish world champion free diver, Johanna Nordblad for the most unusual of training sessions, that she can help to overcome her fears. BIG vs SMALL is a modern-day fairytale stretching from the raging monster waves in the south to the dark stillness of a far-north, frozen Finnish lake;
it's about power and strength on top of the water, and facing demons under it. It's about trust, it's about letting go, and it's about what happens when two elite female champions share their extraordinary talent with each other.

The Swell Season Podcast is recorded by The NewsStand Studio at Rockefeller Center in the heart of Manhattan and is distributed by The Swell Season Surf Radio Network

Music
Song: Rise
Artist: Eddie Veder
Album: Soundtrack from "Into the Wild"