Stab Magazine | Mark Mathews And The Joy Of Fear, Featuring Sally Fitzgibbons (Part 1)
543 Views

Mark Mathews And The Joy Of Fear, Featuring Sally Fitzgibbons (Part 1)

Friendly conversation about the spectre of terror, featuring two people who scare themselves professionally.

cinema // Oct 11, 2016
Words by stab
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Is there joy in everyday fear? The type of fear that you bring upon yourself? Perhaps! If nothing else, it reminds us we’re here. And, like, without the dark there can be no light. Self-elected fear is a complex emotion; As a surfer, it’s likely you know what it is to paddle over a lump and see a feathering lip on the horizon, and feel that wonderful drop in your gut. But, what about those who take the bizarre activity of surfing to its wildest limits? How do they wrestle the high-voltage fear they regularly encounter? This greatly interests us.

We like Mark Mathews because he has a penchant for swinging on big, black walls of water and putting himself in situations that most of us can’t comprehend (see also: the belly of a bomb at WA’s The Right). Since Mark has such an intimate relationship with fear in his day to day, we asked him to host a series in which he opens the passenger door of his Land Rover to other professional athletes we like, to clock some clicks and discuss the mysterious phenomenon of fear, in its many strange forms.

In this ep, we roll with Miss Sally Fitzgibbons, a perennial World Tour top five from the South-Coast, who’s bright wrappings hide a very gritty competitor. Let’s drop some eaves on their conversation…

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Watch: ‘Vacation 3’ Presented By Monster Energy

Stab Highway East Coast USA winners bask in victory at Kandui Resort.

Dec 25, 2025

Biggest Movers of 2025

Who made the career biggest leap — forward, backward or otherwise — in the past…

Dec 24, 2025

‘Vacation 3’ In 11 Photos

And 11 behind-the-scenes backstories from the POV of a producer on the ground.

Dec 23, 2025

We Tested The World’s Best Wetsuit (According To You)

365 days prove you're (probably) right.

Dec 23, 2025

Quiksilver Is Bringing Back King Of The Groms, And Sending Four U18 Finalists To Hawaii To Compete For $10k

You've got one month to enter, kids.

Dec 23, 2025

Ellis Ericson Is The Winner Of EAST With Mikey February

The first broken surfboard to ever win one of our board tests.

Dec 22, 2025

Exclusive: Noa Deane Stars In Film Of The Year Nominee “Stimulant”

A flawless degustation cooked up by James Kates.

Dec 21, 2025

Meet Our 2025 Stab Surfer of the Year Contenders

And cast your vote for the winners.

Dec 20, 2025

Stab’s 2025 Holiday Gift Guide — Surf Essentials

Meet the boards, fins, traction, leashes and more that are actually used by the Stab…

Dec 20, 2025

The End Of Industry, 2025

How many reigning world champs walk the earth without a sticker on their nose?

Dec 19, 2025

Spoiler Alert: The Winner Of EAST With Mikey February Is…

A gallery of last night's finale premiere at Dreamland in Malibu.

Dec 18, 2025

EAST With Mikey February, Season Finale

And the winner is…

Dec 18, 2025

The Best Wetsuits Of 2026*

According to 7,500 of you.

Dec 17, 2025

Stab’s 2025 Holiday Gift Guide — Wearables & Accessories Edition

For you, or the surfer in your life.

Dec 16, 2025

Does Noa Deane Have SSOTY Fever? 

A full Hawaii part today, a feature-length film coming this week.

Dec 16, 2025

Flash Floods Kill Dozens In Moroccan Surf Town, Just Days After Invitational Surf Celebration

“The worst thing is that tonight and tomorrow are supposed to have worse rains than…

Dec 16, 2025

Watch ‘Ride The Line’ — A Blak Bear Surf Club Film

The most cortisol-spiked surf film of 2025, by Tomo McPherson and Teva Dexter.

Dec 15, 2025

The Long Awaited Return Of Solaman Bailey

From CONEHEAD to BONEHEAD.

Dec 15, 2025
Advertisement