I feel so blessed and honoured to have been invited to explore this canyon and its special town. The waves here are such a mystery.
I feel very strongly that we, as athletes, should not endorse alcohol.
I was out there because I live for big waves, it’s what I love to do! It is not necessary to have a Billabong panel measure it.
I went to Alaska a while back and surfed the waves generated from a glacier calving and ever since then, I’ve never been afraid in the ocean. I feel very comfortable in the ocean.
It looks smooth but it’s not. It’s like bouncing down moguls. You hit every ripple in the water.
It was only when I got in the wave that I saw the size. I was in awe.
Nazare is the most challenging, dangerous wave I’ve ever surfed. It’s the only place in the world in which a giant canyon reaches all the way to the beach.
No rush, so it’s probably not 100 feet. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
Usually I don’t have time to look around but you see me look round twice and then I get hit by the white water on the shoulder and it feels like a ton of bricks. I’ve been hit like that before and I’m thinking: I’ve got to make this. I’ve never been held down by a wave that size and I’ve ridden big waves. I’ve seen waves rip a guy’s arms off so there is nothing holding them on but skin and I’m thinking this could tear my head off.
We were surfing in zones we haven’t surfed, so it was a little overwhelming.
You just have to stay in the moment, stay focused on what you’re doing. We’re really comfortable here, but some of those waves…
