Blog – Freddy Olander | Big Wave Surfing, Speaker Events & Performance Insights
Freddy Olander

Stories from
the Waves

Speaker events, media appearances, big wave surfing insights and performance stories from Nazaré, Portugal and around the world.

Speaker & Events
Freddy Olander Keynote & Workshop
Speaking to a room full of high-performing women on competition, leadership and performance. Insights from 20 years of big wave surfing applied to the boardroom. Available for keynotes and workshops worldwide in English and German.
February 2026 Read more
Speaker & Events
Basalt AG CEO Speaker Event
Risk management lessons from the ocean to the boardroom. Freddy speaks to a room full of CEOs at one of Germany’s leading companies about preparation, teamwork and mindset under pressure.
October 2025 Read more
Media & Press
ProSieben Galileo X-Plorer
Freddy Olander and ProSieben Galileo make a dream happen. A full documentary showing what it means to ride the biggest waves in the world at Nazaré with the Big Wave Experience team.
June 2025 Read more
Media & Press
RTL Portrait: Die Jagd nach den Wellen
RTL spends the winter season with Freddy Olander in Nazaré. An inside look at big wave surfing, the Big Wave Experience and the event location at the Nazaré harbour.
April 2025 Read more
Media & Press
Kookhausen Podcast
Freddy talks to Till Rudolph about his journey from Berlin to Nazaré, the Big Wave Alliance with Gary Linden, near-death experiences in the ocean, and building a life around the biggest waves in the world.
January 2025 Read more
Media & Press
Blue Magazine Feature
Blue Magazine – Surf, Travel, Creative Living. A feature on Freddy Olander: the German big wave surfer who always went his own way, now living and surfing in Nazaré.
January 2025 Read more
Media & Press
SAT.1 Frühstücksfernsehen
SAT.1 Frühstücksfernsehen features Freddy Olander in a TV documentary about big wave surfing in Nazaré. One of Germany’s biggest morning shows covers the story of the Berlin-born surfer conquering the world’s biggest waves.
January 2025 Read more
Big Wave Surfing
Mercedes-Benz Nazaré Winter Session
The Mercedes-Benz Nazaré Winter Session awards return to the Nazaré Canyon. Freddy Olander in the water as the world’s best big wave surfers compete at Praia do Norte.
January 2025 Read more
Speaker & Events
Speaker Event & Podcast with Mayer Brown
Freddy joins Mayer Brown’s NextGen Talks podcast Season 4. From business administration to the world’s biggest waves: a conversation about risk, courage and the mindset that drives extraordinary performance.
January 2025 Read more
Big Wave Surfing
Big Wave Alliance
Freddy Olander and Gary Linden found the Big Wave Alliance: a rebel big wave tour with six events, a new seeding system and athlete-driven prize money. Covered by Stab Magazine and international surf media worldwide.
January 2025Read more
Speaker & Events
ASYS Speaker Event
Freddy Olander delivers a keynote at ASYS on big wave surfing, extreme performance and leadership. An inspiring Berlin-born big wave surfer motivates with stories from Nazare and frameworks applicable to any high-performing team.
January 2025Read more
Media & Press
Wellenreiten Magazine
Wellenreiten Magazine Ausgabe 7 portraitiert Freddy Olander: Jeden Winter verlaesst er Berlin, um in Portugal die groessten Wellen zu reiten. Ein Gespraech ueber Werdegang, Angst und Vorbereitung.
January 2025Read more
Interviews & Features
Surf Talk Podcast
Freddy Olander on the Surf Talk Podcast: Big Wave Surfing in Nazare, training, fear, and the life of a professional big wave surfer. Available on Apple Podcasts.
January 2024Read more
Interviews & Features
Hauptstadt Podcast
Wie man als Berliner zum Big Wave Surfer wird. Freddy Olander im Hauptstadt Podcast ueber Wellen lesen, Vorfahrtsregeln im Surfen und das Gefuehl einer Wand aus Wasser.
January 2024Read more
Media & Press
RTL Interview 2024
RTL interviews Freddy Olander about big wave surfing in Nazare. A German prime-time television interview giving millions of viewers an inside look at the world’s most demanding surf break.
January 2024Read more
Media & Press
ntv Interview
ntv features Freddy Olander in a segment on big wave surfing at Nazare. The German news television channel gives its audience an inside perspective on the sport from Germany’s leading big wave surfer.
January 2024Read more
Big Wave Surfing
Challenging Nazare
Article by Heidi Hansen on Freddy Olander and the pursuit of the world’s biggest waves at Praia do Norte. A detailed portrait of paddle-in big wave surfing at the Nazare Canyon.
September 2023Read more
Interviews & Features
Surfers Today Feature
A German perspective on surfing the big waves of Nazare. Surfers Today publishes a feature on Freddy Olander and what makes his approach to big wave surfing unique in the international community.
September 2023Read more
Interviews & Features
The Surfer Lifestyle
Heidi Hansen’s feature on the daily reality of living as a professional big wave surfer in Nazare. Training, routine, waiting and the rhythm of a life defined by the Atlantic ocean.
September 2023Read more
Media & Press
Surfers Mag: Vom Grossstadtcowboy zum Big Wave Surfer
Surfers Mag portraitiert Freddy Olander: Vom Grossstadtdschungel in Berlin zum Big Wave Surfen nach Nazare. Die Geschichte eines Berliners, der alles hinter sich liess.
September 2023Read more
Media & Press
GEO Magazine Feature
GEO Magazin portraitiert Freddy Olander und den Nazare Canyon. Das renommierte deutsche Wissenschafts- und Naturmagazin beleuchtet den Berliner Big Wave Surfer und die ozeanografischen Hintergruende von Nazare.
September 2023Read more
Big Wave Surfing
Boys Are Back in Nazare
Freddy Olander and his team return to Nazare for a new big wave season. Article and interview by Stefano Nicoli, images by Heidi Hansen and Stefano Nicoli. The beginning of a new chapter at Praia do Norte.
September 2023Read more