ntv Interview Freddy Olander

ntv Interview Freddy Olander: Big Wave Surfing in Nazaré

The ntv Interview Freddy Olander gave a German prime-time audience a rare inside look at big wave surfing in Nazaré, Portugal. ntv, one of Germany’s leading news television channels, dedicated a full segment to the Berlin-born professional surfer and what it takes to ride the biggest waves in the world. Watch the complete ntv Interview Freddy Olander below.

Praia do Norte, Nazaré. The location featured in the ntv Interview Freddy Olander.

Who Is Freddy Olander?

Freddy Olander is a professional big wave surfer from Berlin, Germany. He is one of the very few German athletes competing at international level in big wave surfing, a sport that demands years of physical and mental preparation, deep ocean knowledge and complete trust in a highly trained team. For over 20 years, Freddy Olander has been chasing the world’s biggest waves, from Nazaré in Portugal to Mexpipe in Mexico and big wave breaks across the Atlantic.

Based in Nazaré, Freddy surfs Praia do Norte every winter season, both paddle-in and tow-in, and operates the Big Wave Experience, a professional programme that gives individuals, media teams and corporate groups direct access to the world of big wave surfing at the Nazaré harbour. He is also an internationally active keynote speaker and performance coach.

Why ntv Featured Freddy Olander

The ntv Interview Freddy Olander is not a coincidence. His story represents something genuinely rare in German sport: a Berliner who grew up far from any ocean and built a world-class career in one of the most physically and mentally demanding disciplines in extreme sports. ntv is known for its high editorial standards and its ability to bring complex, specialist subjects to a broad national audience.

What Makes Nazaré the World’s Biggest Wave?

Nazaré is not just another surf spot. The Nazaré Canyon, one of the longest and deepest submarine canyons in Europe, stretching over 170 kilometres into the Atlantic, concentrates and amplifies incoming swells to produce waves that regularly reach 20 to 30 metres in height. No other location on earth produces rideable waves of this size with such consistency.

Since Garrett McNamara first surfed a record wave there in 2011, Nazaré has become the global centre of big wave surfing. Every winter, the world’s best big wave surfers base themselves at the Nazaré harbour, waiting for the Atlantic to generate the swells that produce the biggest days. Freddy Olander has been part of this community for years, and his presence at Praia do Norte is a fixture of the Nazaré big wave season.

Big Wave Surfing: What It Really Takes

In the ntv Interview Freddy Olander explains what professional big wave surfing actually involves. It is not about chasing adrenaline. It is about years of systematic preparation, precise ocean reading, and the kind of team trust that only comes from working together in genuinely life-threatening conditions.

• Swell forecasting: Big wave sessions are planned days in advance. Freddy analyses weather models and ocean data to identify the conditions that will produce the biggest and most surfable waves.
• Physical preparation: Breath-hold training, endurance, strength and mental conditioning are year-round requirements. The off-season is when the real preparation happens.
• Team dynamics: Every session at Praia do Norte requires a team of jet ski drivers, safety swimmers and cliff spotters. No professional big wave surfer goes into the water alone.
• Equipment: Specially designed surfboards, inflatable impact vests and modified jet skis are not optional extras. They are survival equipment, developed and tested over years of sessions at the biggest breaks in the world.
• Mental performance: The ability to make clear decisions under extreme pressure, manage fear and stay focused when the stakes are highest is what separates elite big wave surfers from everyone else.

ntv Interview Freddy Olander and German Media Coverage

The ntv Interview Freddy Olander is one of several major German television appearances. RTL, SAT.1 Frühstücksfernsehen, ProSieben Galileo and ntv have all featured him in significant segments. A clear signal that big wave surfing has arrived in the German mainstream, and that Freddy Olander is the athlete who bridges the sport and the public.

This media presence has a direct impact on his work as a speaker and coach. Leaders who have seen Freddy on television book him for keynotes and workshops because they recognise that the mental and strategic frameworks he uses in the ocean translate directly to the challenges of high-performance leadership and business.

“The biggest risks I have taken in my life were not the waves themselves. They were the decisions I made before entering the water.”