McNamara was born on August 10, 1967 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and spent much of his childhood in Berkeley, California. In Berkeley, McNamara, and his younger brother Liam McNamara, were both known by friends to be rather fearless and to shrug off the pains of rough childhood play, foreshadowing his later ability to face danger while surfing. During his early childhood, his mother took the family to Central America, where she was a victim of domestic abuse and occasionally abandoned him and his brother; at one point, a Guatemalan farmer sought to adopt him, but his mother returned and brought the family back to America. He then returned to Berkeley, where his mother left him with his birth father; McNamara lived with him for several years until his mother returned with a new domestic partner, who moved the family to the North Shore of Hawaii in 1978. At eleven years old, McNamara followed his younger brother's footsteps and began surfing at Sunset, Waimea and the outer reefs in search of giant swells. He entered and placed in the prestigious Hawaiian Triple Crown Series at seventeen and began to gain major sponsors from major Japanese brands. For the next ten years, both brothers joined the competition circuit, traveling and becoming fluent in Japanese. Tow surfing caught on among the surfing community in the early 1990s and McNamara was one of the first to join the movement. Boats and personal water craft enabled surfers to chase down and catch giant waves that were thought impossible, beyond the bounds of surfers paddling with their bare hands. McNamara welcomed and craved the challenge to find the biggest waves in the world, which would instantly become his dream and mission in life.
Career
After training for a year, McNamara and tow-in partner Rodrigo Resende won the $70,000 purse at the Tow Surfing World Cup in Maui at Jaws in 2002. Later that year, he posed for the cover of major surf magazines around the world after being photographed in a dramatic barrel shot off of the coast of Teahupo'o in Tahiti. In 2003 he rode one of his most well known waves. McNamara was once again at Jaws and caught a wave with a barrel where onlookers believed he had been crushed by the lip of the wave. The wave spit and, escaping death, he emerged to the surprise and amazement of everyone watching, including himself. The boundaries of big-wave surfing were pushed once again in the summer of 2007 by McNamara and partner Keali’i Mamala, seeking tsunami formed by calving glaciers in South-Central Alaska. A feature film was made documenting their experience. In January 2016, McNamara suffered a severe wipeout on a 50-foot wave at Mavericks in California that caused him to skip off the water three times before being swallowed by the monster-size wave. Rescuers on jet skis eventually pulled McNamara to safety, and he suffered a dislocated shoulder and a broken upper arm that required surgery. Video of McNamara's wipeout went viral, and local surfers have said it was one of the worst wipeouts caught on video.
World record
In November 2011, chasing storms and tracking swells paid off for McNamara as he entered the Guinness World Records. He caught a wave in Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal, after being towed into the wave from a jet ski riding a 6’0 Dick Brewer Tow Board. His record beat the prior world record by over a foot, but the premature announcement proved a source of controversy in the surf world. Meanwhile, McNamara continued to search for an even larger wave. In January 2013, McNamara broke his own world record by surfing an estimated wave. He also did this off the coast of Nazaré.
Beyond surfing
McNamara became interested in Stand Up Paddle and gave it his own twist by designing and creating SUP boards for a more extreme experience, venturing into big wave venues like Waimea, Puerto Escondido, and Mavericks. He was invited to compete in the World Stand Up Paddle Surfing Championship in June 2009 by the International Surfing Association, where only 32 elite surfers were invited to attend.
Personal life
McNamara is married to Nicole McNamara, an environmental sciences teacher. The couple wed at Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal, in November 2012. They have two children, Barrel and Theia Love Nazaré Celeste Rose.
Activity
;2013 Continuous exploration of Nazaré, Portugal ;2012 Entered into Guinness World Records for Largest Wave Ever Surfed of 78 feet - Nazaré, Portugal
Billabong XXL Awards – Ride of the Year Nominee ;2011 Surfed 78 foot wave in Nazaré, Portugal that will later be entered into Guinness World Records ;2010 Exploration of Praia do Norte - Portugal ;2009 Billabong XXL Awards – Monster Tube Nominee
Billabong XXL Awards – Ride of the Year Nominee def ;2008 2nd Place Puerto Escondido, Mexico SUP Contest
Billabong XXL Awards – Performance of the Year Award
Billabong XXL Awards – Golden Donut Nominee
2nd Place Free Wave Challenge Tube of the Year ;2007 Billabong XXL Awards – Performance of the Year
Billabong XXL Awards – Biggest Wave Award ;2006 1st Place Nell Scott Tow Surfing Championships
Billabong XXL Awards – Golden Donut Award ;2005 1st Place North Shore Tow Surfing Championships ;2004 Surfer Poll – Best Tube Award ;2003 1st Place Jaws World Cup Expression Session ;2002 1st Place Jaws World Cup Tow in Surfing
