Surfing A Massive Wave

When I was in my early twenties, I would sometimes awaken, bolt straight up in bed, heart pounding so hard it risked bursting out of my chest, my eyes as large as dinner plates, because I had just had another of those nightmares involving a massive tsunami.
Dreams of this nature are very common. They are essentially your classic anxiety dream or nightmare, depicting ones sense of feeling swamped, swallowed up, consumed, helpless in avoiding the inevitable or completely overwhelmed.
For me, simply watching this video inspired many of those feelings, especially after the surfer breaks through the first part of that massive wave. He is seen scooting out through the white churned up water, only to have the second part of the wave hot on his heels. It almost looks like a giagantic menacing hand lurching and clawing at the surfer, from behind his back. The eerie creeping sound of the wave building and then pounding down with all its force is almost sickening.
Are these people fools or heroes for doing this kind of thing? I was certainly left in awe.