Lowey’s performances in big waves around the world in recent years have afforded him the self belief to pit himself against such a challenge. Earning the respect of heavy watermen from across the globe has allowed him not only to narrow his focus on keeping up with the best, but to aspire to push the boundaries further, stepping into the unknown, doing the hitherto unseen.

“I was on a magazine trip to Ireland when I was 21,” he remembers. “We had an incredible session at The Cliffs. After the surf I walked up the cliff with Tom Greenaway feeling so alive, we sat and talked until dark watching the waves. Greenaway left for home the next day, and that was the last time I ever saw him. I was in the Canaries a few weeks later when I got a call saying there had been an accident.” In what was almost a freak incident, Greenaway had been killed by a bus while crossing a road in London. “Being on that trip with him just before it all happened intensifies my feeling for Ireland even more so,” says Lowe. “The Cliffs of Moher are deep for me. I’ll always remember the way he charged so hard on our trip, and the fun times we had.”

Following the tragic loss of his friend, Lowey started spending more and more time in Ireland surfing some of the waves they’d discovered together, hooking up with fellow Cornishman photographer Mickey Smith, and up and coming local Irish pro Fergal Smith (no relation).

The Cliffs, aka Aileen’s and other heavy reefs in County Clare are where Lowey, Fergal and Mickey went from local scene standouts to household names in the surf world. At least households which had an internet connection that would allow online viewers to have their minds blown by the beauty and raw power of the surf on Ireland’s west coast. Tube riding and big wave performances by Tom and Fergal, and the artistry in capturing their exploits shown by Mickey made the surf world stand up and realise that Ireland not only had legit world class big wave spots, but also the resident talent to do them justice.

“He dislocated his shoulder under the Cliffs of Moher, Europe’s tallest sea cliffs, in giant, frigid, life-threatening surf with no lifeguard safety net back up.”

This coming winter, Europe will be the focus for Lowey, namely Nazaré in Portugal, another mainly tow surfing spot that holds the Guinness World Record for the biggest wave ever ridden. But the focus will again be paddling. “I want to concentrate on paddling some big lumps at Nazaré. I had a pretty good feel for it at Christmas last year, I had one that if I’d have made it, it would have been biggest wave I’ve ever caught. Plus of course, based around Europe, always watching the charts, I’m only ever a short hop away from Ireland should the Mully scenario unfold.”

A recent BBC4 documentary on the St Ives school lauded the town’s world class achievements in the art world. “St Ives went on to produce some of the most exhilarating art of the twentieth century” it claimed. “For a few dazzling years this place was as famous as Paris, as exciting as New York and infinitely more progressive than London.” The same could arguably be said of the town’s celebrated surfing son. In terms of excitement and progression, Tom Lowe’s big wave riding is up there with the best in the world.