With surf that’s head high only a couple of times a year, it’s hard to believe that Anna Maria Island could produce big wave surfer Izzi Gomez.
Izzi, 26, may have gotten some of it from her grandfather, Jim Brady, who founded West Coast Surf Shop in 1964 on the island. He and his wife, Ronee, still run the shop, the oldest in Florida.
But most of it is all Izzi.
Fresh from winning the 2026 Big Wave Challenge Women’s Ride of the Year on Sept. 19 for charging a monster wave at Teahupo’o, Tahiti, she’s celebrating a personal victory that’s even more important to her.
She conquered “stress, anxiety, depression, whatever you call it,” to get back out in the big surf, and put her journey on film in the Red Bull Media House Film, “Chrysalis.”
“My goal was to tell the story that no matter what area of life you’re in, you can do it,” Izzi told the Tampa Bay Beacons.
While most surfing films are “go, go, go” and aimed at a surf culture that doesn’t leave much room for admitting doubts or fears, Izzi said her film is meant to inspire.
“People need to open up more,” she said.
Her entry into big wave surfing was a sequel to winning five women’s stand-up paddleboarding world titles. But self-doubt and a hesitation developed that makes it dangerous to attempt waves several stories high.
“A couple years ago I had to step away from big wave surfing,” she said in the film. “I was questioning myself and my abilities to the point where it just wasn’t safe for me to be out there. So I stopped surfing big waves completely.”
To get her stoke back, Izzi started small, taking trips with friends to chase waves in Mexico.
“I just had to remember why I loved surfing in the first place,” she said.
Once the smile was back on her face after those surf sessions, the next stop was British Columbia, to take the next step out of her comfort zone.
For more pressure, she then chose Mavericks in California, now her home state, where she was towed into a wave that became a wipeout, bruising her ribs and her confidence.
Unlike baseball, there is crying in surfing.
While many surfers would have changed direction after that setback, Izzi decided to go bigger after she recovered, and headed to Hawaii.
“Jaws (a surfing break on Maui where waves can reach 80 feet and more) is heavy at any size and I just have a huge respect for the wave,” she said, admitting a “teeny, tiny fear” of getting hurt.
This time, she didn’t.
What better place to tackle next than Teahupo’o, Tahiti, one of the world’s most awe-inspiring - if not terrifying – waves?
Izzi not only lived to tell the tale, that’s the wave she brought home an award for.
“You need to trust yourself,” Izzi said. “Don’t second guess yourself. That’s the biggest thing.”
Cindy Lane is a staff writer for the Tampa Bay Beacons. She can be reached at clane@tbnweekly.com.