Why would someone risk everything for a few seconds of paradise? Surfer Andrew Cotton, and leading psychologists, assess why people are drawn to activities where one mistake can mean injury or death.

To surf at the level Andrew Cotton does, he has to go beyond his natural talent. Mental and physical training gives him the confidence to surf enormous slabs.This is his regimen for facing the giants.

When chasing huge waves, most of the variables are beyond the surfer's control. Andrew Cotton talks about controlling what he can with his equipment and the safety procedures he uses when he surfs.

Andrew Cotton relies on surf forecasters and weather data to predict where and when the biggest swells are hitting. When one heads towards Portugal, he jams to Nazaré to be there when it hits.

‘Apocalyptic’ surf conditions in the North Atlantic are producing huge and hostile waves. But that doesn't stop Andrew Cotton, Barry Mottershead, Dylan Stott and Hugo Vau from dropping in.