1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:24,369 --> 00:00:26,854 BRUCE: Actually, they only said it was gonna be 12 to 15 feet, I think. 4 00:00:27,613 --> 00:00:28,511 MAN: Super deep. 5 00:00:28,545 --> 00:00:29,236 [CROWD CHEERING] 6 00:00:29,270 --> 00:00:30,340 [CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING] 7 00:00:32,618 --> 00:00:34,965 And it was well, well bigger than that. 8 00:00:37,968 --> 00:00:42,180 Just being there and having the opportunity to, like, 9 00:00:42,214 --> 00:00:44,527 be that close to something so powerful, 10 00:00:45,424 --> 00:00:47,702 um, it was pretty special. 11 00:00:47,737 --> 00:00:51,085 After what I just saw, I ruled nothing out. 12 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,260 Like, shocked my reality. 13 00:00:53,294 --> 00:00:56,918 There could be a 200-footer behind us for all I know, and we're all dead.[LAUGHS] 14 00:00:58,230 --> 00:01:01,026 The noise that it made coming down the reef... 15 00:01:01,061 --> 00:01:02,752 was out of control. It was... 16 00:01:02,786 --> 00:01:05,651 [ROARING] It was rushing down the reef. 17 00:01:05,686 --> 00:01:07,757 And people are just scratching to get out of the way. 18 00:01:09,793 --> 00:01:13,590 It was the White Rhino. It's good to, like, be in awe of it. 19 00:01:14,488 --> 00:01:17,007 The power, and the beauty, 20 00:01:17,042 --> 00:01:18,699 and, you know, just God's creation, 21 00:01:18,733 --> 00:01:21,219 right there, alive and in effect. 22 00:01:28,778 --> 00:01:31,574 DAVE: On the maps, this is the biggest swell 23 00:01:31,608 --> 00:01:33,093 anybody's ever seen 24 00:01:33,127 --> 00:01:34,473 come through the Tasman Sea. 25 00:01:35,957 --> 00:01:39,685 On the maps, it looks incomprehensible. 26 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:41,894 It is so big, it's so purple, it's so tight, 27 00:01:41,929 --> 00:01:43,689 and it's a direct shot up the guts, 28 00:01:43,724 --> 00:01:45,139 right to the Tavarua. 29 00:01:45,174 --> 00:01:46,382 KOHL: A set came in and broke 30 00:01:46,416 --> 00:01:48,384 on the outer ledge, and everyone was on the boat. 31 00:01:48,418 --> 00:01:51,249 It's like, you couldn't get your fucking board ready fast enough. 32 00:01:51,283 --> 00:01:52,940 Everyone's freaking. 33 00:01:52,974 --> 00:01:55,253 BRUCE: That barrel was the vision I had. 34 00:01:55,287 --> 00:01:57,324 That memory I got is like... [EXHALES SHARPLY] 35 00:01:57,841 --> 00:01:59,084 incredible. 36 00:01:59,119 --> 00:02:00,982 [CROWD CHEERING] 37 00:02:01,017 --> 00:02:04,158 It was pretty incredible to have a swell that was that big, 38 00:02:04,193 --> 00:02:06,298 with that great of conditions, 39 00:02:06,333 --> 00:02:07,575 that was actually open 40 00:02:07,610 --> 00:02:09,163 to the most talented surfers in the world 41 00:02:09,198 --> 00:02:10,716 all at one time. 42 00:02:18,828 --> 00:02:22,418 NATHAN: There's Wonders in the world, you know? 43 00:02:22,452 --> 00:02:25,214 If you're a surfer, that's like one of the Wonders of the world. 44 00:02:27,630 --> 00:02:29,839 PETER: I witnessed... 45 00:02:29,873 --> 00:02:31,496 what is probably 46 00:02:31,530 --> 00:02:33,049 the biggest wave I've ever photographed. 47 00:02:33,083 --> 00:02:34,602 The biggest barrel I've ever photographed. 48 00:02:34,637 --> 00:02:37,571 Maybe 50-foot high and about 60-foot throwing out. 49 00:02:37,605 --> 00:02:40,056 BRIAN: The mindset of the big wave surfer 50 00:02:40,090 --> 00:02:41,851 is so different 51 00:02:41,885 --> 00:02:43,784 than just your everyday surfer. 52 00:02:43,818 --> 00:02:46,476 They're out there to get the craziest wave ever ridden. 53 00:02:46,511 --> 00:02:47,615 That's their dream. 54 00:02:47,650 --> 00:02:48,789 KAI: Nobody just shows up 55 00:02:48,823 --> 00:02:50,239 anywhere and rips. 56 00:02:50,273 --> 00:02:51,654 [CHUCKLES] I don't care who you are. 57 00:02:53,207 --> 00:02:54,243 [UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING] 58 00:03:06,910 --> 00:03:08,395 North Shore native Kalani Chapman 59 00:03:08,429 --> 00:03:10,293 had to be brought back to life 60 00:03:10,328 --> 00:03:12,192 after a bad wipeout at one of his favorite... 61 00:03:12,226 --> 00:03:14,918 I had quite a few different wipeouts. 62 00:03:14,953 --> 00:03:17,473 Pretty much all of 'em feel like you're gonna die. 63 00:03:25,412 --> 00:03:26,999 DAVE: At that moment, 64 00:03:27,034 --> 00:03:29,588 I'm lacing up my leash on my board 65 00:03:29,623 --> 00:03:31,763 I look over at Kelly, I'm like, "Did you see that?" 66 00:03:31,797 --> 00:03:33,765 Kelly's taking off his leash, 67 00:03:33,799 --> 00:03:36,354 and he said to me, "That's not what I'm here for." 68 00:03:44,362 --> 00:03:46,226 [JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING] 69 00:03:58,928 --> 00:04:00,481 [JAZZ MUSIC CONTINUES ON STEREO] 70 00:04:00,516 --> 00:04:01,862 MAN: [ON PA SYSTEM] Big welcome 71 00:04:01,896 --> 00:04:06,107 to the Sunset Beach Pro. The first event for 2017. 72 00:04:06,142 --> 00:04:09,352 APP, Association of Professional Paddlers. 73 00:04:14,633 --> 00:04:17,464 BRIAN: I think it was the photography that really 74 00:04:18,223 --> 00:04:19,604 got me motivated. 75 00:04:19,638 --> 00:04:21,122 Just seeing beautiful photographs, 76 00:04:21,157 --> 00:04:22,503 I loved them, just like 77 00:04:22,538 --> 00:04:24,850 every other surfer does when they open the magazines. 78 00:04:24,885 --> 00:04:26,300 And I don't know what the difference was. 79 00:04:26,335 --> 00:04:27,715 Everybody else, including myself, 80 00:04:27,750 --> 00:04:30,373 looked at surf photos and it made them want to surf, 81 00:04:30,408 --> 00:04:33,273 but it also made me want to be a photographer. 82 00:04:33,307 --> 00:04:35,344 I decided I was going to be a surf photographer, 83 00:04:35,378 --> 00:04:37,898 bought myself a camera, told everybody I was going to be a surf photographer, 84 00:04:37,932 --> 00:04:41,281 but I neglected to actually use 85 00:04:41,315 --> 00:04:43,938 the, uh, camera. I just couldn't stop surfing. 86 00:04:55,674 --> 00:04:57,883 And, honestly, it took a near-fatal accident 87 00:04:57,918 --> 00:04:59,506 where I hit the reef headfirst, 88 00:04:59,540 --> 00:05:02,509 and my head got all infected and I almost died, 89 00:05:02,543 --> 00:05:03,958 and after about 90 00:05:03,993 --> 00:05:06,271 a month of actually learning how to use my camera equipment, 91 00:05:06,306 --> 00:05:07,652 I think I... 92 00:05:07,686 --> 00:05:08,998 I actually started taking some pretty good pictures. 93 00:05:09,032 --> 00:05:10,448 But I would have never become a surf photographer 94 00:05:10,482 --> 00:05:11,966 if I hadn't hurt myself. 95 00:05:12,001 --> 00:05:15,522 I just could not quit surfing long enough to take pictures. 96 00:05:17,317 --> 00:05:19,560 To me, photography... 97 00:05:19,595 --> 00:05:22,080 you know, God's created this beautiful world. 98 00:05:22,701 --> 00:05:24,531 And I've got this tool 99 00:05:24,565 --> 00:05:27,568 to show my vision of what God has done 100 00:05:27,603 --> 00:05:29,950 with this beautiful planet. 101 00:05:29,984 --> 00:05:31,745 And I really try to think about it like that. 102 00:05:31,779 --> 00:05:34,023 I want to be edgy, I want to be cutting edge, 103 00:05:34,057 --> 00:05:35,611 but I don't want to be a negative cutting edge. 104 00:05:35,645 --> 00:05:36,922 And I don't think you have to be. 105 00:05:36,957 --> 00:05:38,303 I think you can show the beauty 106 00:05:38,338 --> 00:05:41,375 and still be right there on the edge 107 00:05:41,410 --> 00:05:45,206 and come up with some really cool, original things. 108 00:06:06,020 --> 00:06:08,609 NARRATOR: Do you ever wish you could go back to a moment in time? 109 00:06:10,197 --> 00:06:13,200 A photo has the power to take a fleeting image 110 00:06:13,234 --> 00:06:15,340 and hold it in that moment forever. 111 00:06:16,824 --> 00:06:18,550 The introduction of the camera 112 00:06:18,585 --> 00:06:21,484 has changed the way we perceive the world around us. 113 00:06:21,519 --> 00:06:24,660 It has the ability to inspire the uninspired. 114 00:06:26,316 --> 00:06:29,216 Inspiration comes in many different forms. 115 00:06:29,250 --> 00:06:33,289 For Brian, information comes in the form of music. 116 00:06:33,323 --> 00:06:36,672 Music which has a direct connection to his photography. 117 00:06:50,271 --> 00:06:52,412 [BRIAN HUMMING] 118 00:06:55,829 --> 00:06:58,590 BRIAN: My record collection. 119 00:06:58,625 --> 00:07:01,904 Well, I certainly have the best record collection of anybody I know. 120 00:07:01,938 --> 00:07:04,078 I'm sure somebody out there's got a better one, but I don't know 'em. 121 00:07:04,941 --> 00:07:05,666 Um... 122 00:07:06,322 --> 00:07:07,668 This is all my... 123 00:07:07,703 --> 00:07:08,911 remastered... 124 00:07:09,739 --> 00:07:12,328 and more expensive ones, which is why 125 00:07:12,362 --> 00:07:14,606 my children are probably not going to go to college. 126 00:07:14,641 --> 00:07:16,366 I kind of invested a lot in all this. 127 00:07:17,367 --> 00:07:18,714 And then I've got, of course, 128 00:07:18,748 --> 00:07:22,062 the original '60s and '70s rock and roll. 129 00:07:22,096 --> 00:07:24,029 Along with jazz, '80s. 130 00:07:25,272 --> 00:07:29,103 Everything from Frank Sinatra to, uh, Johnny Cash 131 00:07:29,138 --> 00:07:30,001 and in-between. 132 00:07:32,106 --> 00:07:34,074 It's an addiction, what can I say? You know. 133 00:07:35,282 --> 00:07:36,386 Better than drugs, I guess. 134 00:07:40,356 --> 00:07:42,323 I have this crazy connection to music 135 00:07:42,358 --> 00:07:44,671 and it really does inspire my photography. 136 00:07:44,705 --> 00:07:46,811 I mean, right down to, uh, 137 00:07:46,845 --> 00:07:50,884 you know, when I decide to make a limited edition print, 138 00:07:50,918 --> 00:07:52,368 I'll go through my record collection 139 00:07:52,402 --> 00:07:55,198 and I'll find a name from one of the albums 140 00:07:55,233 --> 00:07:56,924 that I think fits the print. 141 00:07:56,959 --> 00:08:00,272 The really sounds cool. That really matches the photo. 142 00:08:00,307 --> 00:08:01,619 You know, basically just works with it. 143 00:08:01,653 --> 00:08:03,517 The other thing too, is I love 144 00:08:03,552 --> 00:08:05,933 putting together slide shows to music. 145 00:08:05,968 --> 00:08:07,210 So, same thing, is I'll pick a... 146 00:08:07,245 --> 00:08:08,833 I'll pick a song that really works and I'll... 147 00:08:08,867 --> 00:08:09,972 And I'll use that, 148 00:08:10,006 --> 00:08:11,525 and I'll put a bunch of photos together 149 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:13,147 and make a two or three-minute slide show. 150 00:08:13,182 --> 00:08:15,633 And it's like my own little version of a mini movie. 151 00:08:15,667 --> 00:08:17,289 But it all starts with the music. 152 00:08:19,844 --> 00:08:21,397 [ROCK MUSIC PLAYING ON RECORD PLAYER] 153 00:08:23,364 --> 00:08:27,886 Yeah, as a surfer back in the, uh, late '70s, 154 00:08:27,921 --> 00:08:29,163 there was a photograph that I saw 155 00:08:29,198 --> 00:08:30,717 by a photographer by the name of Erik Aeder, 156 00:08:30,751 --> 00:08:32,581 it was the most beautiful shot I'd ever seen. 157 00:08:32,615 --> 00:08:34,997 It was Nias before we'd ever seen Nias. 158 00:08:35,031 --> 00:08:36,964 And it was this perfect blue barrel 159 00:08:36,999 --> 00:08:38,310 with palm trees on the side 160 00:08:38,345 --> 00:08:40,865 and this little fishing boat right on the edge of the wave. 161 00:08:40,899 --> 00:08:42,832 I'd never seen anything like it. 162 00:08:42,867 --> 00:08:44,765 It sparked my interest in travel. 163 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,527 It... It made me want to become a photographer. 164 00:08:47,561 --> 00:08:49,874 It was, and still stands in my mind 165 00:08:49,908 --> 00:08:52,048 as one of the greatest surf shots ever. 166 00:08:52,083 --> 00:08:54,810 It was the first photograph that showed me that 167 00:08:54,844 --> 00:08:59,539 there's a whole world out there, just waiting to be discovered. 168 00:08:59,573 --> 00:09:03,163 I wanted to go out there and find my own place 169 00:09:03,197 --> 00:09:06,131 that I could photograph that people would see for the first time. 170 00:09:06,166 --> 00:09:09,479 A photograph that could inspire them the way I was inspired. 171 00:09:33,055 --> 00:09:35,678 And I'm looking for the... They have another version of it in here that's... 172 00:09:36,368 --> 00:09:37,611 even cooler, I think. 173 00:09:39,164 --> 00:09:40,787 Ah, this swell right here. 174 00:09:40,821 --> 00:09:43,099 You know, this was right when 175 00:09:43,134 --> 00:09:44,860 Cloudbreak opened up to the public. 176 00:09:46,689 --> 00:09:50,313 NARRATOR: On the west coast of Fiji, lies Cloudbreak, 177 00:09:50,348 --> 00:09:52,971 the Holy Grail of waves. 178 00:09:53,006 --> 00:09:56,112 Although one of the most aspired ways to surf, 179 00:09:56,147 --> 00:09:59,150 Cloudbreak was off-limits for the majority of the population. 180 00:10:00,461 --> 00:10:04,569 In 2010, the Fiji government opened the break to the public, 181 00:10:04,604 --> 00:10:07,952 allowing surfers who had been chomping at the bit for years 182 00:10:07,986 --> 00:10:11,714 to finally see what this legendary place had to offer. 183 00:10:14,165 --> 00:10:15,787 BRIAN: Once the word got out that the government 184 00:10:15,822 --> 00:10:17,651 was allowing anybody to surf out there, 185 00:10:17,686 --> 00:10:20,481 people from around the world started flying to Fiji. 186 00:10:23,415 --> 00:10:25,176 KOHL: You know, you had to go to these 187 00:10:25,210 --> 00:10:28,351 high-end resorts, Tavarua, Namotu. 188 00:10:28,386 --> 00:10:30,699 And then when they opened it up to the public, 189 00:10:30,733 --> 00:10:32,735 I was like, "Hey, you kidding? I'm going!" 190 00:10:32,770 --> 00:10:34,461 There was this big swell. 191 00:10:34,495 --> 00:10:37,464 I remember, that was the first swell after the decree 192 00:10:37,498 --> 00:10:39,190 to open the break up to the public. 193 00:10:39,224 --> 00:10:42,849 NATHAN: It was the first time it was legal to go surf there. 194 00:10:42,883 --> 00:10:46,887 BRIAN: No longer was Tavarua the only way to get out there 195 00:10:46,922 --> 00:10:48,406 to surf Cloudbreak. 196 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:52,859 It was almost Cloudbreak's big coming out to the world party. 197 00:10:52,893 --> 00:10:54,205 BRIAN: And this was kind of like 198 00:10:54,239 --> 00:10:56,103 the first time it was ever going to be surfed 199 00:10:56,138 --> 00:10:57,933 and on possibly the greatest swell 200 00:10:57,967 --> 00:10:59,797 that they ever had before. 201 00:11:01,453 --> 00:11:03,283 So I was working for Volcom at the time, 202 00:11:03,317 --> 00:11:04,802 because Bruce Irons had gotten me the job 203 00:11:04,836 --> 00:11:06,286 to be his personal photographer 204 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:08,495 and travel with him, and... 205 00:11:08,529 --> 00:11:09,738 we found out about the swell 206 00:11:09,772 --> 00:11:12,879 and both of us had our tickets booked immediately. 207 00:11:15,744 --> 00:11:16,952 My partner, lifeguard partner, 208 00:11:16,986 --> 00:11:18,988 I was working at Rockpiles, my partner came up to me 209 00:11:19,023 --> 00:11:20,714 and said, "Have you seen this swell on the map 210 00:11:20,749 --> 00:11:22,958 "heading to Fiji? It's amazing! 211 00:11:22,992 --> 00:11:27,031 "Perfect conditions, and it looks like kegging 15 to 18 feet." 212 00:11:27,065 --> 00:11:29,274 I said, "No, I haven't seen it, I'm scheduled to work 213 00:11:29,309 --> 00:11:31,932 "the next week straight, so I can't make it." 214 00:11:31,967 --> 00:11:33,727 "So I'm going up to talk to the boss right now, 215 00:11:33,762 --> 00:11:35,522 "I'm going to go." 216 00:11:35,556 --> 00:11:37,558 So he goes up, he comes back down, now he's got a frown on his face, 217 00:11:37,593 --> 00:11:39,146 What's wrong? 218 00:11:39,181 --> 00:11:41,770 "Boss said because I'm a ski operator, I can't make it. 219 00:11:41,804 --> 00:11:45,497 "If I was just a beach lifeguard like you, I'd have a chance." 220 00:11:45,532 --> 00:11:46,947 I said, "Oh, really?" 221 00:11:46,982 --> 00:11:49,432 So I marched upstairs, talked to him, he said, 222 00:11:49,467 --> 00:11:51,607 "I can cover you, I can't cover the other guy, 223 00:11:51,641 --> 00:11:53,126 "but go for it, good luck." 224 00:11:59,788 --> 00:12:01,375 KOHL: We saw this thing just push up, 225 00:12:01,410 --> 00:12:02,514 and everyone's freaking out. 226 00:12:02,549 --> 00:12:04,102 "Oh, it's going to be epic. Let's go." 227 00:12:04,137 --> 00:12:07,036 So everyone was just freaking, and we all flew down there. 228 00:12:07,071 --> 00:12:09,763 I remember jumping on a plane with... 229 00:12:09,798 --> 00:12:11,661 you know, a bunch of guys from Hawaii. 230 00:12:11,696 --> 00:12:14,216 And most of them had never been there. 231 00:12:14,250 --> 00:12:16,080 But this was our... Our opportunity. 232 00:12:16,114 --> 00:12:18,323 There was big swell, we were going to Cloudbreak. We'd all heard of Cloudbreak. 233 00:12:18,358 --> 00:12:20,670 We didn't know how to get out there, we didn't know where it was, 234 00:12:20,705 --> 00:12:22,569 but we'd seen these picture books 235 00:12:22,603 --> 00:12:24,605 and we'd seen these pictures, we'd seen this videos, 236 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:25,883 and we were like, "We're going to Cloudbreak 237 00:12:25,917 --> 00:12:28,161 "because it's the most perfect wave in the world." 238 00:12:28,195 --> 00:12:30,680 It's the longest left-hand barrel we'd ever seen. 239 00:12:30,715 --> 00:12:33,269 And everyone keeps talking about this wave, so we've got to go. 240 00:12:33,304 --> 00:12:35,547 DAVE: Next thing I know, I'm on a plane, 241 00:12:35,582 --> 00:12:39,034 and I show it up in Fiji, and it's just like they said. 242 00:12:39,068 --> 00:12:42,002 It's 10 to 15 feet, it's bluebird conditions. 243 00:12:42,037 --> 00:12:43,383 It was one of those moments 244 00:12:43,417 --> 00:12:46,041 where you just thought to yourself, 245 00:12:46,075 --> 00:12:48,146 "I... I can't even believe that I'm here, seeing this." 246 00:12:48,181 --> 00:12:49,630 It wasn't even crowded. 247 00:12:49,665 --> 00:12:52,599 KOHL: Huge, perfect left-hand barrels. 248 00:12:52,633 --> 00:12:55,464 Sunny, bluebird, not a drop of water out of place. 249 00:12:56,637 --> 00:12:57,811 And it all came together 250 00:12:57,846 --> 00:13:00,469 and it was exactly what we expected. 251 00:13:31,741 --> 00:13:32,915 NATHAN: To this day, I don't think 252 00:13:32,950 --> 00:13:34,296 that they've really had a day 253 00:13:34,330 --> 00:13:35,849 where it was that big and glassy. 254 00:13:35,884 --> 00:13:37,713 They've had big days, and this and that, 255 00:13:37,747 --> 00:13:39,611 but, for some reason that was like 256 00:13:39,646 --> 00:13:43,581 five or six hours of just perfect Fiji glass. 257 00:13:48,344 --> 00:13:49,898 So, really that day was, 258 00:13:49,932 --> 00:13:51,623 I felt, when I caught my wave, 259 00:13:51,658 --> 00:13:52,935 was the wave of my life. 260 00:13:52,970 --> 00:13:54,350 Probably the best wave I'll ever catch 261 00:13:54,385 --> 00:13:55,938 because it was like... 262 00:13:55,973 --> 00:13:57,837 I don't know, 20 feet. 263 00:13:57,871 --> 00:14:01,185 And just sheet glass, big blue perfect left. 264 00:14:02,427 --> 00:14:03,912 Yeah, that was the best wave of my life. 265 00:14:03,946 --> 00:14:07,191 And then also the experience of sharing the board with Bruce 266 00:14:07,225 --> 00:14:09,918 and having him paddle out and catch the wave. 267 00:14:09,952 --> 00:14:13,231 You know, one of the best waves of his life on the board... 268 00:14:13,266 --> 00:14:15,026 um, on the same day. It was just... 269 00:14:15,061 --> 00:14:16,925 It was really insane. 270 00:14:16,959 --> 00:14:19,479 BRIAN: See, Kohl would always experiment with these different-shaped boards 271 00:14:19,513 --> 00:14:22,620 and I remember he came out with this kind of rounded nose board. 272 00:14:22,654 --> 00:14:24,518 I was like, "Brah, it looks like a mini-tanker. 273 00:14:24,553 --> 00:14:25,588 "Why are you out on that thing?" 274 00:14:26,141 --> 00:14:28,246 And, um, that wave came 275 00:14:28,281 --> 00:14:30,870 and it was definitely one of the standout sets of the morning. 276 00:14:30,904 --> 00:14:34,459 KOHL: It was the biggest close-out I've ever seen in my life. 277 00:14:34,494 --> 00:14:35,184 [PEOPLE CHEERING] 278 00:14:35,219 --> 00:14:36,392 Seen in my life. 279 00:14:36,427 --> 00:14:37,152 Oh, yeah. 280 00:14:39,361 --> 00:14:40,810 And I'm like, "I'm going to make this. 281 00:14:40,845 --> 00:14:43,261 "Yeah, I'm going to make it", and I can see all the boats. 282 00:14:43,296 --> 00:14:46,126 and as I kind of came up, that last bit, 283 00:14:46,161 --> 00:14:48,335 the implosion from the water below 284 00:14:48,370 --> 00:14:50,096 kind of hit the board, 285 00:14:50,130 --> 00:14:52,201 and I... kind of fell... 286 00:14:52,236 --> 00:14:53,133 [SPEAKING] 287 00:15:03,281 --> 00:15:04,973 I didn't even surf the rest of the day. 288 00:15:05,007 --> 00:15:06,975 I just went back to the boat. 289 00:15:07,009 --> 00:15:08,666 You know, that was the best wave of my life. 290 00:15:13,119 --> 00:15:15,155 MARK: What's really interesting is that 291 00:15:15,190 --> 00:15:17,778 where Kohl caught his wave is probably... 292 00:15:18,987 --> 00:15:20,816 60, 70 yards further up the reef 293 00:15:20,850 --> 00:15:23,060 than where Bruce actually got his. 294 00:15:23,094 --> 00:15:25,096 And Bruce is feral, he's a giant. 295 00:15:25,131 --> 00:15:27,754 Like, I remember seeing him and like, "Why the hell is he sitting way in there? 296 00:15:27,788 --> 00:15:29,169 "I know he wants bombs." 297 00:15:29,204 --> 00:15:31,068 But, you know, it's Bruce, 298 00:15:31,102 --> 00:15:32,414 he knows what he's doing. 299 00:15:32,448 --> 00:15:33,553 [LAUGHS] 300 00:15:33,587 --> 00:15:35,451 He knew what he was waiting for and he caught it. 301 00:15:41,457 --> 00:15:45,220 That barrel is the vision I have, the memory I got, is like... [EXHALES] 302 00:15:46,393 --> 00:15:49,224 incredible. That was like one of the best... 303 00:15:50,018 --> 00:15:51,122 you know, surf... 304 00:15:51,157 --> 00:15:53,745 The best waves I've ever surfed in my life. 305 00:15:53,780 --> 00:15:55,851 That day that I got the shot with the red board... 306 00:15:55,885 --> 00:15:57,163 And I almost drowned on that wave. 307 00:15:57,197 --> 00:15:58,371 That was the closest I've been to... 308 00:15:59,959 --> 00:16:01,650 [EXHALES] blacking out, I guess, in the water. 309 00:16:01,684 --> 00:16:03,410 Not... Not... 310 00:16:03,445 --> 00:16:04,860 Not coming up in time. 311 00:16:16,044 --> 00:16:17,252 MARK: For some people, 312 00:16:17,286 --> 00:16:19,392 having to worry about your life while you're surfing, 313 00:16:19,426 --> 00:16:20,980 makes surfing not fun. 314 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:25,018 [CROWD CHEERING] 315 00:16:25,053 --> 00:16:26,088 [CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING RAPIDLY] 316 00:16:27,469 --> 00:16:29,160 MAN: Oh! 317 00:16:29,195 --> 00:16:32,163 KAI: You could tell when they're in trouble on the water when they eat it. 318 00:16:32,922 --> 00:16:34,821 Just by how the board's going. 319 00:16:34,855 --> 00:16:38,204 Once the board starts tombstoning... 320 00:16:38,238 --> 00:16:40,792 and you can see them climbing their leash, basically. 321 00:16:40,827 --> 00:16:43,657 When the water starts doing this, they're climbing, 322 00:16:43,692 --> 00:16:45,107 big time. [IMITATES REVVING] 323 00:16:54,358 --> 00:16:56,567 BRIAN: The mindset of the big wave surfer 324 00:16:56,601 --> 00:16:58,189 is so different 325 00:16:58,224 --> 00:17:00,364 than just your everyday surfer. 326 00:17:03,263 --> 00:17:06,059 They're out there to get the craziest wave ever ridden. 327 00:17:06,094 --> 00:17:07,474 That's their dream. 328 00:17:07,509 --> 00:17:09,959 And they're either gonna get the most incredible ride, 329 00:17:09,994 --> 00:17:11,409 the greatest thrill of their life, 330 00:17:11,444 --> 00:17:14,654 or they're going to take the heaviest... 331 00:17:14,688 --> 00:17:15,965 most death-defying wipeout 332 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,760 that they could have ever imagined taking. 333 00:17:17,795 --> 00:17:20,832 ♪ Watch out Through the up-change... 334 00:17:22,282 --> 00:17:24,836 NATHAN: When I came up, I got whipped so hard 335 00:17:24,871 --> 00:17:26,183 every which direction, 336 00:17:26,217 --> 00:17:28,668 it felt like my spine was just all hot and tingly. 337 00:17:28,702 --> 00:17:30,773 I guess it just felt like it was going to rip my head off. 338 00:17:30,808 --> 00:17:32,603 [CROWD EXCLAIMING] 339 00:17:32,637 --> 00:17:35,778 ♪ Run, run, run to the light 340 00:17:35,813 --> 00:17:40,404 ♪ Ride, ride Through the dark of night ♪ 341 00:17:40,438 --> 00:17:44,442 MARK: Definitely knowing that a jet ski is there helps your mindset. 342 00:17:44,477 --> 00:17:46,996 But, you know, you have to know you can't rely on it. 343 00:17:47,583 --> 00:17:49,206 They might not get you, 344 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:51,449 they might not see you, they might be doing something else, 345 00:17:51,484 --> 00:17:53,072 the jet ski can break down. 346 00:17:53,106 --> 00:17:54,073 There's a lot of problems, 347 00:17:54,107 --> 00:17:55,281 but still, at the end of the day, 348 00:17:55,315 --> 00:17:58,629 knowing that there's rescue is a big deal. 349 00:17:58,663 --> 00:18:00,389 Because you can feel real lonely real quick. 350 00:18:10,330 --> 00:18:11,331 MAN: Come on. Come on. 351 00:18:15,197 --> 00:18:16,578 [INDISTINCT CHATTER] 352 00:18:18,890 --> 00:18:20,651 BEN: North Shore native Kalani Chapman 353 00:18:20,685 --> 00:18:22,239 had to be brought back to life 354 00:18:22,273 --> 00:18:25,173 after a bad wipeout at one of his favorite surf spots, 355 00:18:25,207 --> 00:18:28,590 It happened during Da Hui's Backdoor Shootout at Pipeline. 356 00:18:29,867 --> 00:18:31,489 -[MAN 1 SHOUTS] -MAN 2: This is so scary. 357 00:18:31,524 --> 00:18:33,802 BEN: This new video shows rescue crews 358 00:18:33,836 --> 00:18:35,907 pulling Kalani Chapman from the water, 359 00:18:35,942 --> 00:18:38,738 after he took off on a massive wave during the contest 360 00:18:38,772 --> 00:18:40,740 and failed to resurface. 361 00:18:40,774 --> 00:18:43,087 he didn't have a pulse when he was brought to shore. 362 00:18:43,122 --> 00:18:46,055 Lifeguards from Hawaiian Water Patrol and Ocean Safety 363 00:18:46,090 --> 00:18:48,023 performed CPR and revived him. 364 00:18:48,057 --> 00:18:50,059 [CROWD SHOUTING] 365 00:18:50,094 --> 00:18:53,718 Chapman was taken to the hospital in serious condition. 366 00:18:53,753 --> 00:18:56,928 CHAPMAN: I've always known how dangerous and gnarly it is. 367 00:18:56,963 --> 00:19:01,726 I've rescued people that were in the same exact situation 368 00:19:01,761 --> 00:19:03,107 that I was in. 369 00:19:03,142 --> 00:19:05,523 And some lived, and some didn't. 370 00:19:10,494 --> 00:19:11,771 MAN 1: No way. No fucking way! 371 00:19:11,805 --> 00:19:12,496 MAN 2: No! 372 00:19:12,530 --> 00:19:14,532 MAN 1: Whoa! 373 00:19:15,257 --> 00:19:16,534 That was Peter. 374 00:19:16,569 --> 00:19:18,329 [MAN 2 TALKING INDISTINCTLY] 375 00:19:19,019 --> 00:19:20,469 MAN 1: Fuck! Where is he? 376 00:19:20,504 --> 00:19:21,815 MAN 3: There's his board. 377 00:19:23,265 --> 00:19:24,335 MAN 4: Keep an eye out. 378 00:19:24,370 --> 00:19:26,613 MAN 1: Come up. Come up. Come up. Where's his head? 379 00:19:26,648 --> 00:19:29,202 Come on. Come on. Whoa, whoa, whoa! 380 00:19:29,237 --> 00:19:32,067 Whoa, that's two. That's fucking two, man. 381 00:19:32,101 --> 00:19:32,792 MAN 5: Whoa! 382 00:19:32,826 --> 00:19:34,345 MAN 6: Go, go, go, go! 383 00:19:34,380 --> 00:19:36,451 MAN 1: Go, Skinny, go! 384 00:19:40,075 --> 00:19:43,975 The things they're doing now on waves are incomprehensible. 385 00:19:44,010 --> 00:19:47,047 And it's crazy, and the dangers they're facing, 386 00:19:47,082 --> 00:19:49,947 every single wave ridden is a death-defying wave, 387 00:19:49,981 --> 00:19:51,776 when it comes to huge waves like that. 388 00:19:51,811 --> 00:19:54,710 So many surfers have come so close to dying, 389 00:19:54,745 --> 00:19:58,576 and they're willing to take that risk and they do take it. 390 00:19:58,611 --> 00:20:00,889 But they're... They're willing to pay that ultimate price, too. 391 00:20:00,923 --> 00:20:01,855 And some of them have. 392 00:20:07,689 --> 00:20:10,416 But big wave surfing is a whole different ball game. 393 00:20:10,450 --> 00:20:13,488 It's a whole different frame of mind, state of mind, 394 00:20:13,522 --> 00:20:16,629 um, and the guys that do that are crazy, 395 00:20:16,663 --> 00:20:18,872 and I swear they do not fear death. 396 00:20:24,084 --> 00:20:26,328 The Cloudbreak swell was amazing, 397 00:20:26,363 --> 00:20:28,296 and I think everybody left there feeling like 398 00:20:28,330 --> 00:20:30,712 they had just ridden the best waves in a decade. 399 00:20:42,137 --> 00:20:44,312 From the first wave you ride, 400 00:20:45,589 --> 00:20:48,385 the excitement, the freedom, 401 00:20:48,419 --> 00:20:50,525 just the whole sensation of it, 402 00:20:50,559 --> 00:20:52,285 it's like you know from that moment on, 403 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:53,942 you're gonna be a surfer the rest of your life. 404 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:05,056 It's a total addiction. Especially big wave surfing. 405 00:21:05,091 --> 00:21:06,334 There's nothing like it. 406 00:21:06,368 --> 00:21:08,267 It is life and death. 407 00:21:08,301 --> 00:21:11,062 And once you have that taste, that adrenaline 408 00:21:11,097 --> 00:21:12,995 hit, you're a junkie, you're hooked. 409 00:21:30,047 --> 00:21:32,394 HERBIE: I came out with the jet ski 410 00:21:32,429 --> 00:21:35,535 and started towing people, but even before towing people, 411 00:21:35,570 --> 00:21:37,261 I was riding the outside reefs, 412 00:21:37,296 --> 00:21:40,091 trying to get to tow people, and nobody would tow. 413 00:21:40,126 --> 00:21:42,749 And, uh... So I was riding the outside reefs, 414 00:21:42,784 --> 00:21:44,820 saying, "Hey, listen, guys, 415 00:21:44,855 --> 00:21:48,030 "this is how you're going to learn how to ride big waves 416 00:21:48,065 --> 00:21:49,342 "on the outside reefs. 417 00:21:49,377 --> 00:21:51,551 You've got to be able to get around and see them, 418 00:21:51,586 --> 00:21:55,141 you've got to... be able to be 100 yards away from them 419 00:21:55,175 --> 00:21:56,867 and get to them and tow in. 420 00:21:58,558 --> 00:22:01,423 And so it took a time for them 421 00:22:01,458 --> 00:22:03,149 to even start towing in. 422 00:22:03,183 --> 00:22:06,221 It took about 15 more years, or something like that. 423 00:22:17,266 --> 00:22:18,302 [RECORD SCRATCHES] 424 00:22:18,337 --> 00:22:19,648 You know, everybody out there is professional 425 00:22:19,683 --> 00:22:21,616 and they're the best at what they do on those big days, 426 00:22:21,650 --> 00:22:23,549 but everybody makes mistakes. 427 00:22:23,583 --> 00:22:25,240 The only difference is in our situations, 428 00:22:25,274 --> 00:22:27,449 you make a mistake and it could cost you your life. 429 00:22:27,484 --> 00:22:29,417 Um, I remember, uh, 430 00:22:29,451 --> 00:22:32,558 the jet ski incident with Raimana and Reef. 431 00:22:32,592 --> 00:22:36,803 PETER: I think Raimana has been out on his ski, 432 00:22:36,838 --> 00:22:39,185 I don't know whether he towed anybody in, 433 00:22:39,219 --> 00:22:42,395 but I know that he ended up going, "Hey, hey, Reef. 434 00:22:42,430 --> 00:22:44,224 "Come and tow me in. Come and tow me in." 435 00:22:44,259 --> 00:22:48,332 You know, you can drive the ski and pull me in. 436 00:22:48,367 --> 00:22:50,161 Turned out Reef had never done it before. 437 00:22:50,679 --> 00:22:51,991 [JET SKI REVVING] 438 00:22:57,824 --> 00:23:01,034 BRIAN: What had happened was Reef towed Raimana into the wave 439 00:23:01,069 --> 00:23:04,935 and the ski started to get over the top of the wave, to get out of the wave, 440 00:23:04,969 --> 00:23:07,282 but he didn't do it quick enough. 441 00:23:07,316 --> 00:23:10,181 PETER: So he just let the ski go and Raimana just... [EXHALES SHARPLY] 442 00:23:10,216 --> 00:23:11,907 You know, it went over in the lip. 443 00:23:11,942 --> 00:23:14,703 Any other wave in the world, it would have fallen straight down. 444 00:23:14,738 --> 00:23:17,672 But there's so much water in those lips that 445 00:23:17,706 --> 00:23:21,330 the lip pushes out so far that it just carried this jet ski. 446 00:23:21,365 --> 00:23:22,435 BRIAN: And the next thing you know, 447 00:23:22,470 --> 00:23:23,781 the wave started sucking him back over. 448 00:23:23,816 --> 00:23:25,369 He jumped off the ski, 449 00:23:25,404 --> 00:23:27,785 and that's what went right over Raimana's head in the barrel. 450 00:23:32,272 --> 00:23:34,274 Raimana's just [EXHALE SHARPLY] ducked under. 451 00:23:34,309 --> 00:23:36,898 I mean, it was one of those ones where you looked around after 452 00:23:36,932 --> 00:23:38,347 and go, "Did you just see that?" 453 00:23:38,382 --> 00:23:40,867 Like, it was one of those incredible moments that you went, 454 00:23:40,902 --> 00:23:43,145 "Can you believe what just happened?" 455 00:23:43,180 --> 00:23:47,011 But the funny thing is that Billabong didn't have anyone, I think, out shooting, 456 00:23:47,046 --> 00:23:50,290 It was a day when the contest wasn't on, the shooters weren't out, 457 00:23:50,325 --> 00:23:53,190 and I think they came up to me in the boat, later in the day, 458 00:23:53,224 --> 00:23:55,295 and go, "Hey, Joli, did you get that shot? You get that shot?" 459 00:23:55,330 --> 00:23:58,195 I said, "Yeah, I got the whole sequence. You know, I got it all." 460 00:23:58,229 --> 00:24:00,646 "Hey, look, we might want to use it. Are you cool with that?" 461 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:03,131 I said, "Yeah, well, we can work something out." 462 00:24:03,165 --> 00:24:05,202 So I went back to... back to the house. 463 00:24:06,375 --> 00:24:09,068 You know, six o'clock, the sun's down, 464 00:24:09,724 --> 00:24:11,967 I'm in my room, 465 00:24:12,002 --> 00:24:14,591 towel around my arm, like, ready to go to the shower, 466 00:24:14,625 --> 00:24:17,490 -and it's, "Hey, Joli, Joli, you got that shot?" -[KNOCKING] 467 00:24:17,525 --> 00:24:19,181 I said, "Yeah, I've got it, but, look, 468 00:24:19,216 --> 00:24:21,080 "can you wait 10 minutes? Like, I need a shower." 469 00:24:21,114 --> 00:24:23,013 "Like I've just come out of 12 hours 470 00:24:23,047 --> 00:24:24,808 "out on the boat, I'm ready... I'll... 471 00:24:24,842 --> 00:24:28,225 "Let me have a shower and then I'll... I'll give it to you." 472 00:24:28,259 --> 00:24:31,400 BRIAN: So Joli actually had the better shot, but the funny thing is, 473 00:24:31,435 --> 00:24:34,680 uh, Billabong went over to his house to get it and he was in the shower. 474 00:24:34,714 --> 00:24:38,787 So they immediately raced over to my house and they got the photo from me. 475 00:24:38,822 --> 00:24:40,651 PETER: I'm coming out from having the shower and they're gone. 476 00:24:40,686 --> 00:24:42,688 Finally rang them up, and the guy goes, 477 00:24:42,722 --> 00:24:45,173 "Hey, no, no, it's all right. That's all right. We've got Bielmann's shot. 478 00:24:45,207 --> 00:24:46,485 "It's cool. Everything is under control." 479 00:24:46,519 --> 00:24:47,865 BRIAN: I gave them the photograph 480 00:24:47,900 --> 00:24:48,935 and, honestly, I kid you not, 481 00:24:48,970 --> 00:24:50,696 it probably was in 100 newspapers 482 00:24:51,248 --> 00:24:52,421 in Times Square, 483 00:24:52,456 --> 00:24:55,114 you know, in New York, magazines all over the place. 484 00:24:55,148 --> 00:24:56,046 JOLI: You know, 485 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:57,116 clear bummer, 486 00:24:57,150 --> 00:24:59,428 but, you know, okay, Brian scored one. 487 00:25:07,989 --> 00:25:10,301 BRIAN: Not even a month later, there was another swell 488 00:25:10,336 --> 00:25:12,614 projected to be even bigger than the Fiji swell 489 00:25:12,649 --> 00:25:15,410 and it was going to hit the island of Tahiti. 490 00:25:15,444 --> 00:25:17,446 This could possibly be my opportunity 491 00:25:17,481 --> 00:25:19,552 to finally capture that photo I'd been waiting for, 492 00:25:19,587 --> 00:25:22,106 that line-up shot I've been dreaming of. 493 00:25:23,349 --> 00:25:25,213 As good as Fiji can be, 494 00:25:25,247 --> 00:25:27,905 there's absolutely nothing as scary or dangerous 495 00:25:27,940 --> 00:25:29,562 as Teahupo'o when it's big. 496 00:25:36,293 --> 00:25:38,985 NARRATOR: In the heart of the French Polynesian islands, 497 00:25:39,020 --> 00:25:42,471 lies a wave as thick as it is tall. 498 00:25:42,506 --> 00:25:45,751 Crashing on to below sea level dry reef, 499 00:25:45,785 --> 00:25:49,513 bringing surfers head-on with the prospect of death. 500 00:25:50,410 --> 00:25:53,413 Welcome to Teahupo'o. 501 00:25:55,623 --> 00:25:57,521 There's Wonders in the world, you know? 502 00:25:57,556 --> 00:26:01,283 There's this, you know, Old Faithful, or certain things 503 00:26:01,318 --> 00:26:04,977 and, uh, if you're a surfer, that's like one of the Wonders of the world. 504 00:26:06,323 --> 00:26:08,325 HERBIE: Waves just don't want to be ridden there. 505 00:26:08,359 --> 00:26:10,223 There's... There's certain waves that, like, 506 00:26:10,258 --> 00:26:12,847 it's just like impossible unless you have a jet ski. 507 00:26:19,543 --> 00:26:21,683 BRUCE: The swells are only, like, eight feet, 508 00:26:21,718 --> 00:26:22,995 and then it turns into that, 509 00:26:23,029 --> 00:26:25,031 so, when you let go, you're like, "Oh, yeah, yeah," 510 00:26:25,066 --> 00:26:26,515 and then it just goes... [IMITATES WAVES CRASHING] 511 00:26:26,550 --> 00:26:28,587 It gets real dark, 512 00:26:28,621 --> 00:26:30,658 and then, you know, the ocean goes up high and you go low 513 00:26:30,692 --> 00:26:33,108 and... it's amazing how it... 514 00:26:33,143 --> 00:26:35,283 It's like a toilet bowl, it's just sucking out. 515 00:26:38,182 --> 00:26:39,701 When the whole ocean stands up, 516 00:26:39,736 --> 00:26:42,221 it's moving, there's too much... 517 00:26:42,255 --> 00:26:46,363 power and too much water moving at once to, like, 518 00:26:46,397 --> 00:26:48,330 to handle it. 519 00:26:48,365 --> 00:26:50,505 It's just like you become part of the wave. 520 00:27:14,218 --> 00:27:16,462 DAVE: Mind-blowing. You can't even predict it. 521 00:27:16,496 --> 00:27:18,015 It's pretty much 522 00:27:18,050 --> 00:27:21,225 one of the greatest displays of Mother Nature 523 00:27:21,260 --> 00:27:26,403 that you can see and experience if you want a piece of it. 524 00:27:26,437 --> 00:27:29,578 BRIAN: So much force from the water sucking up the reef 525 00:27:29,613 --> 00:27:33,168 and throwing over that even though it doesn't show any size, 526 00:27:33,203 --> 00:27:35,170 if you're anywhere close to that energy, 527 00:27:35,205 --> 00:27:37,897 you would get sucked over the fall so radically. 528 00:27:39,519 --> 00:27:42,350 Just the amount of power and energy that it can produce 529 00:27:42,384 --> 00:27:43,662 in one area... 530 00:27:44,283 --> 00:27:46,665 is definitely, um... 531 00:27:46,699 --> 00:27:49,081 different than probably anywhere in the world. 532 00:27:57,365 --> 00:27:58,884 I was just in Tavarua, 533 00:27:58,918 --> 00:28:01,093 and had caught the wave of my life 534 00:28:01,127 --> 00:28:02,888 at Cloudbreak, so, 535 00:28:02,922 --> 00:28:04,303 I kind of went to Code Red 536 00:28:04,337 --> 00:28:06,754 just thinking, "Oh, I'll go to Tahiti on a vacation. 537 00:28:06,788 --> 00:28:09,860 "If I catch some waves, cool, if I don't, cool, whatever. 538 00:28:09,895 --> 00:28:11,275 Just going to see how it goes." 539 00:28:17,937 --> 00:28:20,699 PETER: Billabong started promoting the hell out of it 540 00:28:20,733 --> 00:28:23,287 with Raimana's jet ski going over the fall, 541 00:28:23,322 --> 00:28:25,462 saying, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Look at this. Look at this." 542 00:28:25,496 --> 00:28:28,154 And the Tahitian government freaked out. 543 00:28:28,189 --> 00:28:30,329 Went, "Whoa, this happens out there? 544 00:28:30,363 --> 00:28:31,917 "We're going to create something 545 00:28:31,951 --> 00:28:33,953 "so dangerous, people are not going to go in the water." 546 00:28:36,059 --> 00:28:38,337 BRIAN: The police had put out a warning 547 00:28:38,371 --> 00:28:41,754 to all the boat drivers who were fishermen 548 00:28:41,789 --> 00:28:44,653 that they were going to take their fishing license away if they took anybody out there. 549 00:28:47,656 --> 00:28:49,210 Everybody knew this swell was coming. 550 00:28:49,244 --> 00:28:51,937 Everybody knew it would be too big for the... for the contest. 551 00:28:51,971 --> 00:28:54,249 And everybody knew there was going to be towing. 552 00:28:54,284 --> 00:28:55,561 And we woke up in the morning, 553 00:28:55,595 --> 00:28:58,253 and it was just overcast, dark, ominous. 554 00:28:58,288 --> 00:28:59,738 Just creepy as hell. 555 00:29:11,094 --> 00:29:13,786 PETER: So, we turned up at the dock to go out... 556 00:29:13,821 --> 00:29:16,202 that morning, and it shut down. 557 00:29:16,237 --> 00:29:18,135 The police, the water police were there. 558 00:29:18,170 --> 00:29:20,931 Nobody's allowed to go out. And we can see people out there. 559 00:29:20,966 --> 00:29:23,002 But nobody's allowed to leave the marina. 560 00:29:28,663 --> 00:29:30,492 BRIAN: Everybody was hanging around the docks 561 00:29:30,527 --> 00:29:31,700 trying to figure out what to do. 562 00:29:31,735 --> 00:29:34,393 Nobody wanted to take out their boats. 563 00:29:34,427 --> 00:29:35,532 And little by little, 564 00:29:35,566 --> 00:29:37,085 guys started sneaking out in the water. 565 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:38,777 Taking the boats and sneaking out. 566 00:29:40,813 --> 00:29:41,987 MARK: We went out there, 567 00:29:42,021 --> 00:29:44,092 we were trying to be one of the first teams on it. 568 00:29:44,127 --> 00:29:45,749 BRUCE: I told him, "I don't even want to look at the waves. 569 00:29:45,784 --> 00:29:47,406 "Let's just go straight out there because 570 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:48,925 "the more you look at it, the more scared you're gonna get." 571 00:29:48,959 --> 00:29:50,374 BRIAN: The line-up started filling up, 572 00:29:50,409 --> 00:29:53,170 and within two hours, pretty much everyone was out there. 573 00:29:53,205 --> 00:29:55,138 Except me and a handful of other photographers 574 00:29:55,172 --> 00:29:56,864 who were there working with Billabong 575 00:29:56,898 --> 00:30:00,108 because Billabong didn't want to take any responsibility for it, 576 00:30:00,143 --> 00:30:02,110 so they just shut off all their boats. 577 00:30:02,939 --> 00:30:03,940 So I was pretty devastated. 578 00:30:03,974 --> 00:30:05,700 I remember seeing Kelly Slater come in, 579 00:30:05,734 --> 00:30:08,461 and he looked at me and he goes, "What are you doing here?" 580 00:30:08,496 --> 00:30:10,843 And I just felt like... 581 00:30:10,878 --> 00:30:13,294 the biggest moment of my career, and I was blowing it. 582 00:30:13,328 --> 00:30:14,674 I wasn't even on a boat. 583 00:30:14,709 --> 00:30:16,642 PETER: So we're with Ian, 584 00:30:16,676 --> 00:30:19,024 and he's going, "No, I can't, you know. 585 00:30:19,058 --> 00:30:21,474 "I've got a tourist license. I can't go out. 586 00:30:21,509 --> 00:30:25,030 "I'd be jeopardizing my, you know, license if I go out." 587 00:30:25,064 --> 00:30:26,755 And he's going, "Look, you guys, 588 00:30:26,790 --> 00:30:28,619 "do you want to come over to my house for coffee?" 589 00:30:28,654 --> 00:30:30,380 And we're going, 590 00:30:30,414 --> 00:30:31,864 "Yeah, okay. Okay." 591 00:30:31,899 --> 00:30:34,004 And what we did, we jump in the boat, 592 00:30:34,039 --> 00:30:37,836 and he burns off in the opposite direction to Teahupo'o. 593 00:30:37,870 --> 00:30:39,078 Gets about 594 00:30:39,113 --> 00:30:42,461 two or three hundred yards out into the lagoon and stops. 595 00:30:42,495 --> 00:30:43,772 And he says, "Okay, here's the deal. 596 00:30:43,807 --> 00:30:45,844 "If you guys are prepared to pay for the fine, 597 00:30:46,845 --> 00:30:48,087 "will you go for it?" 598 00:30:48,122 --> 00:30:49,882 And we're just looking around, going, 599 00:30:49,917 --> 00:30:51,159 -"Let's go!" -[SNAPS FINGERS] 600 00:30:51,194 --> 00:30:54,128 And we just burnt out to the reef and just straight in. 601 00:30:54,162 --> 00:30:55,784 So we're out probably 602 00:30:55,819 --> 00:30:57,234 40 minutes before any other boat. 603 00:30:57,269 --> 00:31:01,135 It's...[EXHALES SHARPLY] 25 feet, 30 feet, 604 00:31:02,101 --> 00:31:04,517 and Ian puts it into gear to go forward, 605 00:31:04,552 --> 00:31:07,382 and then all we hear is this... [IMITATES MOTOR WHIRRING] 606 00:31:07,900 --> 00:31:09,902 We look around, 607 00:31:09,937 --> 00:31:12,629 and the cable had broken, we only had reverse. 608 00:31:12,663 --> 00:31:13,906 And we're in the line-up... 609 00:31:14,907 --> 00:31:16,771 tiny little runabout, 610 00:31:16,805 --> 00:31:19,429 it's 25 to 30 feet, and we're going, 611 00:31:19,878 --> 00:31:21,500 "Holy..." 612 00:31:21,534 --> 00:31:22,811 He whistled up, 613 00:31:22,846 --> 00:31:25,918 um, George Riou in a big... one of the big boats, 614 00:31:25,953 --> 00:31:29,128 and they came in and grabbed us and towed us out of the line-up. 615 00:31:29,163 --> 00:31:31,890 They had to tow us back to the marina. 616 00:31:31,924 --> 00:31:33,270 BRIAN: So there was me and three other photographers 617 00:31:33,305 --> 00:31:34,720 sitting in the dock and, uh, 618 00:31:34,754 --> 00:31:36,722 I had another boatload of photographers, 619 00:31:36,756 --> 00:31:39,311 come in towing a boat that got stranded out there. 620 00:31:39,345 --> 00:31:41,623 And, uh, funny enough I looked over and it was 621 00:31:41,658 --> 00:31:44,557 three other surf photographer buddies of mine, Joli... 622 00:31:44,592 --> 00:31:46,007 PETER: We got back there, 623 00:31:46,559 --> 00:31:47,836 tie the boat up, 624 00:31:47,871 --> 00:31:49,873 George is getting ready to go back out, 625 00:31:51,081 --> 00:31:52,807 and I'm... Ted and I are sitting there, 626 00:31:52,841 --> 00:31:55,189 and Tim McKenna, we're just sitting there going, 627 00:31:55,223 --> 00:31:57,881 "We've just lost our boat. We haven't got a boat." 628 00:31:59,020 --> 00:32:00,159 And, um, 629 00:32:00,194 --> 00:32:02,541 we go, "Hey, George, 630 00:32:02,575 --> 00:32:05,095 "is it sort of cool if we come with you?" 631 00:32:05,130 --> 00:32:08,478 And he's going, "Well, it's Mick Fanning's boat. He's hired it, you know. 632 00:32:09,444 --> 00:32:11,550 "But, yeah, okay. Come on, let's go." 633 00:32:11,584 --> 00:32:12,827 [CHUCKLING] So three of us 634 00:32:12,861 --> 00:32:15,243 jumped on the boat and went back out. 635 00:32:15,278 --> 00:32:17,073 And they basically dropped off the boat, 636 00:32:17,107 --> 00:32:20,179 and just took off and left me in the harbor. 637 00:32:20,214 --> 00:32:22,078 So I went back to the house where I was staying 638 00:32:22,112 --> 00:32:24,252 which was right in front of Teahupo'o, 639 00:32:24,287 --> 00:32:26,565 and I walked out in the dock, and luckily I saw 640 00:32:26,599 --> 00:32:29,016 one of the guys that worked for Billabong, and he was on a ski. 641 00:32:29,050 --> 00:32:31,018 And I told him what was going on. 642 00:32:31,052 --> 00:32:33,123 He said, "Jump at the back of the ski. I'm gonna get you out there right now." 643 00:32:33,158 --> 00:32:34,711 So I jumped on the back of the ski. 644 00:32:34,745 --> 00:32:37,058 We drove out and we started driving up to all the boats. 645 00:32:37,093 --> 00:32:40,682 I was, like, asking everybody if I could get on the boat and no one had room. 646 00:32:40,717 --> 00:32:44,859 We finally went up to Timotei's boat. Timotei's... 647 00:32:44,893 --> 00:32:46,619 He knows the waves super well. 648 00:32:46,654 --> 00:32:48,276 But he's so scary to be in the boat with. 649 00:32:49,484 --> 00:32:52,177 He doesn't like me to say it, but he's crazy. 650 00:32:52,211 --> 00:32:54,662 But he knows what he's doing. But he's still crazy. 651 00:32:54,696 --> 00:32:56,077 And it's... He's terrifying, 652 00:32:56,112 --> 00:32:58,838 and I swore the day before I would not get in that boat with him. 653 00:32:58,873 --> 00:33:01,807 And we got out in the water and I couldn't get anybody else's boat. 654 00:33:01,841 --> 00:33:05,190 I remember looking at Timotei, just going, "Please, please let me get on the boat." 655 00:33:05,224 --> 00:33:06,950 And he just looked at me and went, "Two hundred bucks." 656 00:33:06,985 --> 00:33:08,848 And I just said, "Two hundred, buddy, no problem." 657 00:33:08,883 --> 00:33:11,851 I remember climbing on the boat, I ended up getting in the back of the boat. 658 00:33:11,886 --> 00:33:13,405 I actually had a seat. 659 00:33:13,439 --> 00:33:16,028 And he was sitting so far in, 660 00:33:16,063 --> 00:33:19,031 that basically it turned out from being not on a boat 661 00:33:19,066 --> 00:33:21,516 and stuck on the harbor, 662 00:33:21,551 --> 00:33:23,553 to all of sudden being in the best boat 663 00:33:23,587 --> 00:33:26,694 and the best spot in the boat and the farthest inside. 664 00:33:26,728 --> 00:33:29,559 And when I saw the first set come in, 665 00:33:29,593 --> 00:33:31,871 my God, my first thought was, 666 00:33:31,906 --> 00:33:33,804 "Be careful what you wish for." 667 00:33:33,839 --> 00:33:37,084 CHAPMAN: You know, when you're towing in at Teahupo'o, like, you'll see, like, waves, 668 00:33:38,085 --> 00:33:40,156 but when you see the lumps, 669 00:33:40,190 --> 00:33:43,400 that's when you know that that's the real one. 670 00:33:59,968 --> 00:34:02,281 I let go of the rope way too deep. 671 00:34:02,316 --> 00:34:03,972 And I was coming in to it, 672 00:34:04,007 --> 00:34:06,630 and I remember there being this step. 673 00:34:06,665 --> 00:34:07,804 BRIAN: I've never seen anything like it, 674 00:34:07,838 --> 00:34:10,910 the whole entire ocean was sucking up dry. 675 00:34:10,945 --> 00:34:13,948 CHAPMAN: I went over the step, and I looked up, 676 00:34:13,982 --> 00:34:17,503 and I was way too deep and the wave was so big. 677 00:34:17,538 --> 00:34:21,680 It was one of the biggest, bluest walls I've ever seen. 678 00:34:21,714 --> 00:34:26,098 Teahupo'o isn't really the deep water type of wave. 679 00:34:26,133 --> 00:34:28,963 It's not a deep water hold down. It's just... 680 00:34:28,997 --> 00:34:31,483 When you eat it, it carries you distance. 681 00:34:31,517 --> 00:34:34,210 BRUCE: That was probably the... 682 00:34:34,244 --> 00:34:37,661 That's was one of the heaviest wave I've ever got by far. 683 00:34:37,696 --> 00:34:39,215 And I ate shit on it. 684 00:34:39,249 --> 00:34:41,044 Nosedive, upside down. 685 00:34:45,876 --> 00:34:47,361 MAN: Get fucked. 686 00:34:49,156 --> 00:34:50,847 [MAN WHOOPING] 687 00:34:51,468 --> 00:34:53,125 Get fucked! 688 00:34:54,333 --> 00:34:55,748 -[WHISTLING] -[CROWD CHEERING] 689 00:34:57,785 --> 00:35:00,719 That looked fucked up. 690 00:35:00,753 --> 00:35:04,343 -What was that? -The biggest wave I've ever seen. 691 00:35:04,378 --> 00:35:06,552 Bruce's wave, Bruce caught a really good wave, 692 00:35:06,587 --> 00:35:08,968 dug a rail, kind of ate it. 693 00:35:09,003 --> 00:35:11,695 Beautiful wave right up until that point, but it was just kind of his board, 694 00:35:11,730 --> 00:35:13,594 the equipment he was using, I don't what exactly happened, 695 00:35:13,628 --> 00:35:15,389 but he kind of ate it, nosedived. 696 00:35:15,423 --> 00:35:17,494 BRUCE: I only caught, like, five waves that day. 697 00:35:17,529 --> 00:35:19,807 I nosedived on all four of them. 698 00:35:19,841 --> 00:35:21,843 The board was a pile of shit. 699 00:35:22,844 --> 00:35:25,813 And, uh, yeah, that was the last wave, like, 700 00:35:26,434 --> 00:35:27,884 I nosedived again, 701 00:35:29,196 --> 00:35:30,231 blew out of my straps, 702 00:35:30,266 --> 00:35:31,370 and slapped my head on the water, 703 00:35:31,405 --> 00:35:33,061 and then I got a wakeup call, like, 704 00:35:33,096 --> 00:35:35,754 "Whoa," like, my kids and shit. 705 00:35:35,788 --> 00:35:38,066 Like, I wasn't really thinking before that. 706 00:35:38,101 --> 00:35:40,655 And I was like, "Whoa, I need to... I need to relax." 707 00:35:40,690 --> 00:35:43,002 PETER: Bruce pulled into one, dropped into one, 708 00:35:43,796 --> 00:35:45,522 and was really light. 709 00:35:45,557 --> 00:35:49,181 Like, and it was sketchy whether he was going to come out. 710 00:35:49,216 --> 00:35:51,390 And all he's done is just stood up tall. 711 00:35:51,425 --> 00:35:52,667 He was way, way, way deep 712 00:35:52,702 --> 00:35:54,497 and he just stood up, straight up. 713 00:35:54,531 --> 00:35:56,602 It shut down on him. 714 00:35:57,500 --> 00:35:58,742 The next thing he comes up, 715 00:35:58,777 --> 00:36:00,261 his trunks have been ripped off, 716 00:36:00,296 --> 00:36:02,608 like, he's screaming for Koby to come and get him. 717 00:36:02,643 --> 00:36:04,127 Screaming, screaming. 718 00:36:05,404 --> 00:36:06,785 I didn't feel my shorts come off. 719 00:36:07,441 --> 00:36:08,787 [EXHALES SHARPLY] 720 00:36:08,821 --> 00:36:09,857 And then, like... 721 00:36:09,891 --> 00:36:11,962 Koby is on a ski, he was coming and I was, like, 722 00:36:11,997 --> 00:36:15,587 and then I realized, "Oh." I was like, "Fuck! Really? My shorts are just gone!" 723 00:36:15,621 --> 00:36:17,485 Not even, like... [IMITATES WHOOSHING] 724 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:19,694 Like, I didn't feel it 'cause I was getting rag dolled on that one. 725 00:36:19,729 --> 00:36:21,903 And I knew, I was like, "Fuck!" 726 00:36:21,938 --> 00:36:23,042 I go, "I know, 727 00:36:23,077 --> 00:36:25,976 "I know Koby is going to drag me to the line-up." 728 00:36:26,011 --> 00:36:28,772 PETER: And then he jumps on the back of the ski, 729 00:36:28,807 --> 00:36:30,533 and you can hear him, 730 00:36:30,567 --> 00:36:32,811 "Don't take me through the crowd! Don't take me through the crowd!" 731 00:36:32,845 --> 00:36:36,228 Koby is just laughing and driving him around. 732 00:36:36,263 --> 00:36:38,265 Bruce is, like, trying to keep his legs together 733 00:36:38,299 --> 00:36:41,060 and his butt's showing, and everybody is laughing. 734 00:36:41,095 --> 00:36:43,787 BRUCE: I know because I would do that in a heart beat 735 00:36:43,822 --> 00:36:46,376 if he or any one of our friends 736 00:36:46,411 --> 00:36:47,239 had their clothes come off, 737 00:36:47,274 --> 00:36:49,068 I would've actually did it longer. 738 00:36:51,830 --> 00:36:53,072 [CROWD LAUGHING] 739 00:36:53,487 --> 00:36:55,799 [MAN WHOOPING] 740 00:36:57,387 --> 00:36:59,700 [CROWD WHISTLING AND WHOOPING] 741 00:37:01,288 --> 00:37:02,944 [CROWD CHEERING] 742 00:37:02,979 --> 00:37:04,532 [MAN LAUGHING] 743 00:37:13,817 --> 00:37:14,715 [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS] 744 00:37:14,749 --> 00:37:15,992 BRUCE: Yeah, actually, 745 00:37:16,026 --> 00:37:18,408 everyone remembers that, they don't remember the waves. 746 00:37:18,443 --> 00:37:20,272 Oh, there was awesome waves all morning. 747 00:37:20,307 --> 00:37:21,549 Like, every wave 748 00:37:21,584 --> 00:37:23,379 seemed to be better than the last, 749 00:37:23,413 --> 00:37:24,828 and deeper and crazier, 750 00:37:24,863 --> 00:37:27,797 and more death-defying. It was nuts. 751 00:37:27,831 --> 00:37:29,592 But it was right around the middle of the day, 752 00:37:29,626 --> 00:37:30,662 which none of us realized, 753 00:37:30,696 --> 00:37:33,078 that's when the swell was gonna be the biggest. 754 00:37:33,112 --> 00:37:34,666 And that's when Nathan Fletcher showed up. 755 00:37:35,908 --> 00:37:37,738 And he caught one wave, 756 00:37:37,772 --> 00:37:40,016 and I remember him standing straight up in the tube, 757 00:37:40,050 --> 00:37:41,742 and the thing just annihilating him. 758 00:37:47,886 --> 00:37:52,546 I got a phone call from Garth Tarlow on the boat. 759 00:37:52,580 --> 00:37:55,928 He called me up and he said, 760 00:37:55,963 --> 00:37:59,587 "Nathan just caught the heaviest wave ever!" 761 00:37:59,622 --> 00:38:02,935 And I just went, "What's that mean?" 762 00:38:11,185 --> 00:38:13,429 NATHAN: As it came in, all of a sudden, this thing formed down here 763 00:38:13,463 --> 00:38:15,362 that looked like a gutter. 764 00:38:15,396 --> 00:38:19,124 And, so, that was eventually turning into the wave. 765 00:38:19,158 --> 00:38:22,265 'cause that open ocean swell finally hit dry reef. 766 00:38:22,300 --> 00:38:24,854 And so that little gutter felt like I had to get into that thing. 767 00:38:24,888 --> 00:38:26,890 And once I got into that thing, I got in there and turned. 768 00:38:26,925 --> 00:38:28,271 And it was sucking so hard, 769 00:38:28,306 --> 00:38:30,791 but what it looked like right there was a half-pipe 770 00:38:30,825 --> 00:38:33,587 gone down around the corner of sucking around the reef. 771 00:38:33,621 --> 00:38:36,417 BRIAN: But this wave that Nathan Fletcher had was by far 772 00:38:36,452 --> 00:38:38,592 the biggest wave of the day. It was huge. 773 00:38:38,626 --> 00:38:42,354 He took off so far back and just started pumping 774 00:38:42,389 --> 00:38:45,668 through this giant 20-foot barrel. 775 00:38:45,702 --> 00:38:47,497 And I just remember shooting this thing, 776 00:38:47,532 --> 00:38:49,672 and back then, the cameras, the buffers would go in. 777 00:38:49,706 --> 00:38:53,469 You'd end up running out of shots before the end of the sequence. 778 00:38:53,503 --> 00:38:56,955 So I was trying to click as slow as I could possibly shoot, 779 00:38:56,989 --> 00:39:00,268 but this thing was a monster and I just was trying to hold back. 780 00:39:00,303 --> 00:39:03,099 And I remember he rode this thing all through the inside. 781 00:39:03,133 --> 00:39:05,308 It was like slow motion watching it. 782 00:39:05,343 --> 00:39:08,587 And I just went, "Holy shit! How did he do that?" 783 00:39:08,622 --> 00:39:10,762 BRUCE: We're seeing him, going, "Holy shit!" Like... 784 00:39:11,935 --> 00:39:14,006 "Fuck, he might be dead." 785 00:39:14,593 --> 00:39:16,250 And that was a big... 786 00:39:16,284 --> 00:39:18,425 And on the ski, and you're looking in and little... 787 00:39:18,459 --> 00:39:22,290 In that huge thing. You're like, "Holy shit! That was heavy." 788 00:39:22,325 --> 00:39:24,223 BRIAN: He did a wheelie in the barrel. 789 00:39:24,258 --> 00:39:28,400 And that's because the wave, like I said, was standing up so fast all at once. 790 00:39:28,435 --> 00:39:31,852 He had to do that to even make it as far as he did. 791 00:39:31,886 --> 00:39:32,991 NATHAN: What I was doing was, 792 00:39:33,025 --> 00:39:34,544 it was like, went through the foam ball 793 00:39:34,579 --> 00:39:36,270 and it sucked me up real high. 794 00:39:36,304 --> 00:39:39,687 And right there I figured the only chance I had 795 00:39:39,722 --> 00:39:44,278 was to try and, like, jump down and reconnect. 796 00:39:44,312 --> 00:39:47,212 And, so, it was kind of like a last chance effort. 797 00:39:47,246 --> 00:39:50,422 But this was one of those waves that was as heavy as it looked. 798 00:39:50,457 --> 00:39:53,114 And there were surfers all over the world asking the question, 799 00:39:53,149 --> 00:39:55,634 "How did Nathan Fletcher not die in this wave?" 800 00:39:55,669 --> 00:39:58,844 I probably got one or two covers 801 00:39:58,879 --> 00:40:02,261 from that... that shot. Um... 802 00:40:02,296 --> 00:40:05,575 I think what that sequence 803 00:40:05,610 --> 00:40:08,060 I probably shot about 50 frames. 804 00:40:08,095 --> 00:40:09,959 The cool thing about it is that 805 00:40:09,993 --> 00:40:12,686 Nathan nearly pearls three or four times. 806 00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:14,342 Like, if you go way back 807 00:40:14,377 --> 00:40:17,553 when he's a dot in the bottom of the frame, 808 00:40:17,587 --> 00:40:21,211 you can see him punching through sections, you know? 809 00:40:21,246 --> 00:40:24,836 And I... It was... Like, I look at it and his nose 810 00:40:24,870 --> 00:40:26,458 is just under water a couple of times, 811 00:40:26,493 --> 00:40:28,978 or the white water comes up and he bounces over the top. 812 00:40:29,012 --> 00:40:31,325 I mean, it was an amazing, amazing wave. 813 00:40:35,571 --> 00:40:37,124 BRUCE: He didn't even know how big that wave was. 814 00:40:37,158 --> 00:40:39,402 Like, he left the next day. 815 00:40:39,437 --> 00:40:41,887 I remember I sent Nathan a picture going, "Fucking..." 816 00:40:41,922 --> 00:40:43,924 Someone had a shot looking into the barrel, 817 00:40:43,958 --> 00:40:46,202 and he looked so little. I remember it was like a... 818 00:40:46,236 --> 00:40:48,515 It was like a phone shot, and then I sent it to him. 819 00:40:48,549 --> 00:40:50,896 NATHAN: The next day, the next morning, um, 820 00:40:50,931 --> 00:40:54,797 Bruce texted me a picture of somebody's shot of it. 821 00:40:54,831 --> 00:40:55,970 What I thought it really was 822 00:40:56,005 --> 00:40:58,628 was me jumping off on the first wave, 823 00:40:58,663 --> 00:41:00,734 and I thought I was halfway under water. 824 00:41:00,768 --> 00:41:03,668 And then I realized, "No, that was how small I was." 825 00:41:03,702 --> 00:41:05,635 BRIAN: You know, honestly, I still, to this day, 826 00:41:05,670 --> 00:41:07,879 say it's the craziest wave ever ridden by a human being. 827 00:41:07,913 --> 00:41:09,777 And Nathan kind of came out 828 00:41:09,812 --> 00:41:13,056 and cut that giant monster and it just sort of, 829 00:41:13,091 --> 00:41:14,161 it just made it. 830 00:41:14,195 --> 00:41:16,163 It sort of ruined it for the rest of tow surfing. 831 00:41:16,197 --> 00:41:19,718 Because no one could ever top that. 832 00:41:19,753 --> 00:41:21,444 At the end of the Teahupo'o swell, 833 00:41:21,479 --> 00:41:25,172 I knew I had gotten some of the best images of my life, 834 00:41:25,206 --> 00:41:26,898 probably, with the Nathan Fletcher shot, 835 00:41:26,932 --> 00:41:28,762 probably the best image I'd ever get. 836 00:41:29,487 --> 00:41:31,730 But... it just felt like 837 00:41:31,765 --> 00:41:35,423 I hadn't quite gotten that perfect shot. 838 00:41:35,458 --> 00:41:38,357 Like the one that inspired me years ago, Erik Aeder from Nias, 839 00:41:38,392 --> 00:41:41,326 that perfect line-up, just dream shot 840 00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:43,052 that every surfer dreams about. 841 00:41:43,086 --> 00:41:45,641 We'd gotten great shots, but they were all terrifying, 842 00:41:45,675 --> 00:41:48,436 death-defying, not every surfer's dream by any means. 843 00:41:55,340 --> 00:41:57,653 PETER: June 2012, 844 00:41:57,687 --> 00:42:00,379 we're in Fiji for the Volcom Fiji Pro. 845 00:42:00,414 --> 00:42:02,450 And... we're getting the news 846 00:42:02,485 --> 00:42:05,626 of this swell, this massive, massive swell coming. 847 00:42:05,661 --> 00:42:06,972 It wasn't even ten months later, 848 00:42:07,007 --> 00:42:09,388 and we were headed back to Fiji. 849 00:42:09,423 --> 00:42:12,564 And the maps were showing that this could possibly be the greatest swell, 850 00:42:12,599 --> 00:42:15,049 the biggest and the most perfect swell that ever hit. 851 00:42:15,084 --> 00:42:18,328 On the maps, it looks incomprehensible. 852 00:42:18,363 --> 00:42:19,329 It is so big, 853 00:42:19,364 --> 00:42:20,538 it's so purple, it's so tight, 854 00:42:20,572 --> 00:42:22,056 and it's a direct shot up the guts, 855 00:42:22,609 --> 00:42:23,955 right to the Tavarua. 856 00:42:23,989 --> 00:42:25,750 KOHL: It was another huge swell, 857 00:42:25,784 --> 00:42:30,099 um, right during the Volcom surf contest. 858 00:42:31,203 --> 00:42:32,826 BRIAN: Two days into the event, 859 00:42:32,860 --> 00:42:35,656 we started hearing about this giant swell that was gonna come. 860 00:42:35,691 --> 00:42:38,141 And we started hearing reports that big wave surfers 861 00:42:38,176 --> 00:42:41,524 were starting to all fly in for this swell. 862 00:42:41,559 --> 00:42:44,044 There was about 40 people 863 00:42:44,078 --> 00:42:46,253 that weren't actually there for the contest, 864 00:42:46,287 --> 00:42:47,668 that all flew in on the hopes 865 00:42:47,703 --> 00:42:50,498 that it was gonna be too big for them to run the event. 866 00:42:50,533 --> 00:42:53,881 They're like, "We're not gonna run the event. It's gonna be way too big. 867 00:42:53,916 --> 00:42:56,781 "We're gonna go. For sure. There's no question." 868 00:42:56,815 --> 00:42:59,473 "You know, the contest was possibly being ran 869 00:42:59,507 --> 00:43:01,682 "and we might not even be able to surf, 870 00:43:01,717 --> 00:43:04,996 "and we'd have to sit down and watch 20-foot Cloudbreak." 871 00:43:05,030 --> 00:43:07,515 DAVE: I went there as a commentator. 872 00:43:07,550 --> 00:43:09,690 I went there as a commentator. I didn't even bring a board. 873 00:43:10,311 --> 00:43:11,692 Three days prior 874 00:43:11,727 --> 00:43:14,557 to this surf event showing up in Fiji, 875 00:43:14,592 --> 00:43:17,284 I started calling back home. I started believing the hype. 876 00:43:17,318 --> 00:43:18,147 But I said... 877 00:43:18,181 --> 00:43:19,320 Called back to Mark Healey, I said, 878 00:43:19,355 --> 00:43:21,875 "You've gotta bring down my biggest board." 879 00:43:21,909 --> 00:43:24,222 MARK: Dave likes to ride humongous boards. 880 00:43:24,256 --> 00:43:25,706 And, um, 881 00:43:25,741 --> 00:43:28,951 he has this uncanny knack of hitting me up to drag 882 00:43:28,985 --> 00:43:32,057 his humongous boards across the world for him every time. 883 00:43:32,092 --> 00:43:34,266 You know, he's had some reason 884 00:43:34,301 --> 00:43:37,476 why I'm the person who's supposed to do that on top of my board bags? 885 00:43:37,511 --> 00:43:39,651 "It's a 10-2," he said, "That'll never work. 886 00:43:39,686 --> 00:43:41,273 "Yeah, the swell's huge... 887 00:43:41,308 --> 00:43:43,724 "It's not gonna fit the wave. I'm not bringing it." 888 00:43:43,759 --> 00:43:45,657 I said, "Just bring it. 889 00:43:45,692 --> 00:43:48,556 "We're friends. I'll owe you a favor." 890 00:43:48,591 --> 00:43:51,283 So he did hit me up to bring a giant board on that trip. 891 00:43:51,318 --> 00:43:55,011 And I was like, "Brah, you did not need a board that big to surf Cloudbreak." 892 00:43:56,185 --> 00:43:57,773 When the thing finally hit in the morning, 893 00:43:57,807 --> 00:43:59,257 everybody was out surfing 894 00:43:59,291 --> 00:44:01,569 before the contest periods started, and it was big. 895 00:44:01,604 --> 00:44:02,709 It was big and gnarly. 896 00:44:02,743 --> 00:44:04,642 And, you know, there were some of the top pros out. 897 00:44:04,676 --> 00:44:07,506 Fanning was out, John John was out, Parker was out. 898 00:44:07,541 --> 00:44:10,406 They were charging, man. They were going for it. 899 00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:12,201 And, um, eight o'clock came, contest started, 900 00:44:12,235 --> 00:44:14,893 and here were the world's greatest big wave riders, 901 00:44:14,928 --> 00:44:17,655 sitting in the boards waiting for them to call this thing off. 902 00:44:17,689 --> 00:44:20,105 NATHAN: We were watching the comp and then 903 00:44:20,140 --> 00:44:21,451 they called it off. 904 00:44:21,486 --> 00:44:24,523 KAI: Well, they had to pull back. It was too big. 905 00:44:25,076 --> 00:44:26,905 You know, it's like... 906 00:44:26,940 --> 00:44:29,114 it's a whole different arena, you know. 907 00:44:29,149 --> 00:44:31,358 I think Raoni Montero got hurt. 908 00:44:31,392 --> 00:44:33,153 Blew his knee out. 909 00:44:33,187 --> 00:44:36,432 And they put it on hold, and then of course, like, 910 00:44:38,158 --> 00:44:40,194 the trolls were like, "Run it!" Like... 911 00:44:40,229 --> 00:44:41,989 [SCOFFS] "Yeah, you go out there." 912 00:44:42,887 --> 00:44:45,372 Come on. You need a ten-foot board. 913 00:44:45,993 --> 00:44:47,408 There was already injuries 914 00:44:47,443 --> 00:44:50,066 and everything else, and they just called it off. 915 00:44:50,101 --> 00:44:53,000 Because, you know, the surfers didn't have the boards, they weren't prepared. 916 00:44:53,035 --> 00:44:54,968 It was whole different mindset. 917 00:44:57,349 --> 00:44:59,455 MARK: We were trying to make it as clear as possible 918 00:44:59,489 --> 00:45:01,181 to our friends on tour that, 919 00:45:01,215 --> 00:45:04,909 "Hey, we have big boards available should this contest run." 920 00:45:04,943 --> 00:45:06,186 The last thing you wanna do 921 00:45:06,220 --> 00:45:08,567 is watch a bunch of amazing waves go unridden. 922 00:45:08,602 --> 00:45:10,777 At least if you're gonna be there and you're not able to surf, 923 00:45:10,811 --> 00:45:13,262 you wanna see the guys having proper dig. 924 00:45:13,296 --> 00:45:16,610 You can't really blame the guys who didn't wanna go out. 925 00:45:16,644 --> 00:45:18,750 'Cause it's just a different thing. 926 00:45:18,785 --> 00:45:20,200 The risk level is different. 927 00:45:20,234 --> 00:45:22,650 DAVE: As a commentator, working for Volcom 928 00:45:23,306 --> 00:45:24,342 I'm an armchair surfer. 929 00:45:24,376 --> 00:45:26,585 I'm sitting there for eight hours 930 00:45:26,620 --> 00:45:29,554 of the best surf movie anybody's ever seen. 931 00:45:29,588 --> 00:45:32,039 DAVE: [ON TV] This is insane. Look at this wave! 932 00:45:32,074 --> 00:45:33,765 Oh, my God. [LAUGHING] Look at that wave. 933 00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:35,077 It's just the wave of your life, 934 00:45:35,111 --> 00:45:38,080 and it's there to be had, and who's this? 935 00:45:38,114 --> 00:45:40,082 Who is it? 936 00:45:40,116 --> 00:45:42,705 -COMMENTATOR 2: I'm not sure yet. -DAVE: Somebody I saw earlier. 937 00:45:42,740 --> 00:45:43,706 COMMENTATOR 2: Is that Jensen? 938 00:45:43,741 --> 00:45:45,846 DAVE: No, Jensen is in trunks. 939 00:45:45,881 --> 00:45:46,916 COMMENTATOR 2: Healey. Mark Healey. 940 00:45:46,951 --> 00:45:48,228 DAVE: Mark Healey. 941 00:45:48,262 --> 00:45:49,747 COMMENTATOR 2: Healey. I saw Healey... 942 00:45:49,781 --> 00:45:51,714 [CROWD CHEERING] 943 00:45:56,788 --> 00:45:59,342 ♪ Watch out Something's coming this way 944 00:46:00,033 --> 00:46:03,001 ♪ It's coming into town 945 00:46:04,037 --> 00:46:07,557 ♪ Watch out Could be a change... ♪ 946 00:46:07,592 --> 00:46:09,214 MARK: I could not imagine, 947 00:46:09,249 --> 00:46:11,009 and I was thinking about this while surfing. 948 00:46:11,044 --> 00:46:13,356 I can't imagine the mindset he must have been in, 949 00:46:13,391 --> 00:46:17,533 having to be commentating that swell. 950 00:46:17,567 --> 00:46:19,431 Like, I don't give a shit 951 00:46:19,466 --> 00:46:21,571 what sponsor might have put me in that booth, 952 00:46:21,606 --> 00:46:23,919 I would've been like, "Drop me, I don't care. I'm going surfing." 953 00:46:23,953 --> 00:46:26,645 [CHUCKLES] Like, "I don't give a damn." 954 00:46:26,680 --> 00:46:29,269 But he stayed in that booth, like they wanted him to, 955 00:46:29,303 --> 00:46:30,822 all the way till the end, and I was like, 956 00:46:30,857 --> 00:46:31,892 "Oh, my God." 957 00:46:31,927 --> 00:46:34,274 Right. They stopped the contest, 958 00:46:34,308 --> 00:46:35,723 all the greatest big wave riders 959 00:46:35,758 --> 00:46:38,002 show up, and are going ham. 960 00:46:38,036 --> 00:46:41,419 I mean, they're going absolutely nuts 961 00:46:41,453 --> 00:46:44,974 in the best biggest waves ever seen. 962 00:46:45,009 --> 00:46:48,944 KOHL: All of a sudden it was like a set came and broke on the outer ledge, 963 00:46:48,978 --> 00:46:50,635 and everyone was on the boat. It's like, 964 00:46:50,669 --> 00:46:53,086 "You couldn't get your fucking board ready fast enough." 965 00:46:53,120 --> 00:46:54,742 Everyone's freaking. 966 00:46:54,777 --> 00:46:56,641 DAVE: And when they finally called it off, these guys paddled out 967 00:46:56,675 --> 00:46:59,609 and put on the show like the world's never seen. 968 00:46:59,644 --> 00:47:01,025 [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING RAPIDLY] 969 00:47:01,059 --> 00:47:02,612 [CROWD CHEERING] 970 00:47:04,373 --> 00:47:05,995 KOHL: So, we paddled out, 971 00:47:06,030 --> 00:47:08,964 and, you know, then it just started getting bigger. 972 00:47:08,998 --> 00:47:12,415 -And bigger, and, you know... -[CROWD CHEERING] 973 00:47:12,450 --> 00:47:13,934 Everyone just started getting... 974 00:47:15,039 --> 00:47:18,180 world-class tube rides on huge waves. 975 00:47:18,214 --> 00:47:19,284 It was epic. 976 00:47:19,319 --> 00:47:21,631 BRENT: Like, that was the best day 977 00:47:21,666 --> 00:47:25,877 of, I don't know, surfing existence in my mind, 978 00:47:25,912 --> 00:47:26,947 that I had ever seen. 979 00:47:26,982 --> 00:47:28,846 It was like the Super Bowl of surfing. 980 00:47:28,880 --> 00:47:31,055 I actually remember Kalani Chapman early in the morning 981 00:47:31,089 --> 00:47:33,712 getting like a 12-15 second barrel. 982 00:47:54,112 --> 00:47:57,875 CHAPMAN: The thing just started barreling 983 00:47:57,909 --> 00:48:01,292 as soon as I dropped in, and all I could do is just, 984 00:48:01,326 --> 00:48:04,985 you know, just pump, pump for my life, 985 00:48:05,020 --> 00:48:08,851 and try and make the barrel. 986 00:48:08,886 --> 00:48:11,405 I came out and I was just blown away. 987 00:49:19,301 --> 00:49:20,716 [CROWD CHEERING] 988 00:49:43,049 --> 00:49:45,465 BRIAN: Kohl Christensen was definitely a stand out. 989 00:49:45,499 --> 00:49:49,020 He had a couple of really bad wipeouts in the beginning of the day. 990 00:49:49,055 --> 00:49:51,471 But then he just clicked in and turned it on, 991 00:49:51,505 --> 00:49:53,093 and just started ripping. 992 00:50:22,191 --> 00:50:23,641 NARRATOR: As the day carried on, 993 00:50:23,675 --> 00:50:26,920 the crew scored some of the best waves ever seen. 994 00:50:26,954 --> 00:50:29,026 While hypnotized in the moment, 995 00:50:29,060 --> 00:50:32,443 no one could predict what lied just beyond the horizon. 996 00:50:36,274 --> 00:50:37,793 I knew for a fact... 997 00:50:39,001 --> 00:50:41,210 that the tide was gonna switch... 998 00:50:41,245 --> 00:50:44,524 at about three or four o'clock. Kelly did, too. 999 00:50:44,558 --> 00:50:46,457 And we were waiting and waiting and waiting. 1000 00:50:46,491 --> 00:50:48,217 So at that moment, 1001 00:50:48,252 --> 00:50:50,219 I finished my duties as a commentator, 1002 00:50:50,254 --> 00:50:52,428 Kelly and I jumped on a boat, we went out. 1003 00:50:52,463 --> 00:50:53,912 The first thing we saw 1004 00:50:53,947 --> 00:50:54,879 when we got to the line-up 1005 00:50:54,913 --> 00:50:57,744 is the biggest waves anybody's ever seen. 1006 00:50:57,778 --> 00:51:00,436 BRIAN: When that set first started to appear on the horizon, 1007 00:51:01,506 --> 00:51:03,922 we could just see the lines coming in. 1008 00:51:03,957 --> 00:51:05,476 And it was just absolutely huge. 1009 00:51:05,510 --> 00:51:07,823 Like, I've been out in Fiji ten, twenty times 1010 00:51:07,857 --> 00:51:10,688 and seen huge sets and I've never seen anything like this. 1011 00:51:10,722 --> 00:51:13,139 I mean, the feeling that we all had in our gut 1012 00:51:13,173 --> 00:51:15,279 as this thing hit the line-up... 1013 00:51:19,766 --> 00:51:21,492 MARK: I'm watching it come down the reef 1014 00:51:21,526 --> 00:51:24,736 and just doing these ungodly things. 1015 00:51:24,771 --> 00:51:26,738 And I was paddling over it, 1016 00:51:26,773 --> 00:51:28,947 but I wanted to kind of stall at the... 1017 00:51:28,982 --> 00:51:30,121 'Cause I wasn't really sure 1018 00:51:30,156 --> 00:51:31,950 if I was gonna make it over or not. 1019 00:51:31,985 --> 00:51:35,195 But the second that I knew I was gonna make it over that first wave, 1020 00:51:35,230 --> 00:51:37,370 I tried to go over as slowly as possible 1021 00:51:37,404 --> 00:51:39,130 'cause I wanted a real look at the transition. 1022 00:51:39,165 --> 00:51:42,306 And there was this spray coming off the back of the wave, and I can't see anything yet. 1023 00:51:42,340 --> 00:51:46,448 But what I do see is just black wall of water across. 1024 00:51:46,482 --> 00:51:49,278 BRIAN: I remember thinking "There it is. This is it. 1025 00:51:49,313 --> 00:51:50,728 "This wave is so perfect. 1026 00:51:50,762 --> 00:51:52,695 "I've never seen anything like this 1027 00:51:52,730 --> 00:51:54,214 "in my whole entire life." 1028 00:51:57,148 --> 00:51:59,150 MARK: It was just, like, survival, "Okay. 1029 00:51:59,185 --> 00:52:01,048 "I'm paddling because I'm gonna die 1030 00:52:01,083 --> 00:52:03,741 "if I'm gonna get sucked under this wave." 1031 00:52:03,775 --> 00:52:06,157 DAVE: Okay, I'm shaking talking about it. 1032 00:52:06,192 --> 00:52:08,470 The noise that it made coming down the reef 1033 00:52:08,504 --> 00:52:10,472 was out of control. 1034 00:52:10,506 --> 00:52:12,991 [ROARING] It was rushing down the reef. 1035 00:52:13,026 --> 00:52:15,856 And people are just scratching to get out of the way. 1036 00:52:15,891 --> 00:52:18,652 PETER: I witnessed... 1037 00:52:18,687 --> 00:52:21,241 what is probably the biggest wave I've ever photographed, 1038 00:52:21,276 --> 00:52:22,898 biggest barrel I've ever photographed. 1039 00:52:22,932 --> 00:52:26,108 Maybe 50-foot high and about 60-foot throwing out. 1040 00:52:26,143 --> 00:52:29,836 BRIAN: The coolest thing was Mark Healey paddling up the face of this wave, 1041 00:52:29,870 --> 00:52:33,150 barely making it over the first wave of the set. 1042 00:52:39,604 --> 00:52:40,778 KOHL: And I remember I just turned 1043 00:52:40,812 --> 00:52:42,331 and I just started paddling, 1044 00:52:42,366 --> 00:52:45,472 and I heard somebody right under us yelling, "Go! Go!" 1045 00:52:45,507 --> 00:52:47,716 And I remember looking up the reef, 1046 00:52:47,750 --> 00:52:52,686 and I remember seeing the lip line just detonating on the reef. 1047 00:52:52,721 --> 00:52:55,896 And I remember looking down and I remember seeing Healey, 1048 00:52:56,483 --> 00:52:57,933 like, way down there. 1049 00:52:57,967 --> 00:52:59,106 I was paddling up. 1050 00:52:59,141 --> 00:53:01,143 And I'm paddling like up and over out, 1051 00:53:01,178 --> 00:53:03,801 and I'm looking down at him, 1052 00:53:03,835 --> 00:53:06,148 and looking at this barrel, the biggest barrel I've ever seen. 1053 00:53:06,942 --> 00:53:09,841 And I just see him, like, 1054 00:53:09,876 --> 00:53:11,843 dive underneath. [CHUCKLES] 1055 00:53:11,878 --> 00:53:14,536 And I'm like, "Oh, fuck, I'm so glad I'm not him right now." 1056 00:53:14,570 --> 00:53:16,503 What a lot of people don't realize as well 1057 00:53:16,538 --> 00:53:18,091 is that, when those big waves pass, 1058 00:53:18,816 --> 00:53:19,989 there's a lot of momentum, 1059 00:53:20,024 --> 00:53:21,750 even after you've paddled over it, 1060 00:53:21,784 --> 00:53:23,579 that's pulling you back. 1061 00:53:23,614 --> 00:53:25,857 So, my first strokes to get going, 1062 00:53:25,892 --> 00:53:29,033 and try to get under this next wave of undetermined size, 1063 00:53:29,067 --> 00:53:30,897 I'm still going backwards. 1064 00:53:30,931 --> 00:53:32,623 I'm just watching myself lose ground 1065 00:53:32,657 --> 00:53:34,211 and burn more energy. 1066 00:53:35,281 --> 00:53:36,454 So I'm like, "Oh, boy. 1067 00:53:36,489 --> 00:53:38,353 "Here we go. I'm probably not gonna make it." 1068 00:53:38,387 --> 00:53:42,736 This is just an apocalyptic view that I have in front of me. 1069 00:53:43,599 --> 00:53:44,807 Okay, I gotta time my strokes. 1070 00:53:44,842 --> 00:53:47,707 How much energy am I willing to use right now 1071 00:53:47,741 --> 00:53:49,847 to chance getting under it, 1072 00:53:49,881 --> 00:53:51,780 while still keeping my ability 1073 00:53:51,814 --> 00:53:54,231 to possibly hold my breath for a really long time 1074 00:53:54,265 --> 00:53:56,060 and take a really intense impact? 1075 00:53:58,269 --> 00:54:01,065 KAI: Until the second one went by, then I heard everybody yelling. 1076 00:54:01,099 --> 00:54:03,101 And I was like, "Oh, no, what happened?" 1077 00:54:07,968 --> 00:54:10,247 PETER: I'm in Fiji all the time. 1078 00:54:10,281 --> 00:54:12,835 And I've never seen a wave like that. 1079 00:54:17,426 --> 00:54:19,877 -BRIAN: Every photo that I took... -[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING] 1080 00:54:19,911 --> 00:54:23,087 ...just felt like this was gonna be the greatest shot I've ever taken. 1081 00:54:27,954 --> 00:54:29,127 KOHL: I just hear the thing. 1082 00:54:29,162 --> 00:54:31,302 I remember the smells, I remember the noise, 1083 00:54:31,337 --> 00:54:33,684 I just remember... Boom! The implosions. 1084 00:54:33,718 --> 00:54:36,825 I remember reef and seaweed just flying in the air. 1085 00:54:38,413 --> 00:54:40,553 MARK: I knew I had to time my last stroke 1086 00:54:40,587 --> 00:54:42,693 to get my leash off. 1087 00:54:42,727 --> 00:54:45,143 What I had to do, since I didn't have a pull pin, 1088 00:54:45,178 --> 00:54:47,145 is it had to be a left-handed stroke, 1089 00:54:47,180 --> 00:54:49,320 and reach around my leg 1090 00:54:49,355 --> 00:54:51,736 and I knew I had to get it off in one swipe. 1091 00:54:52,841 --> 00:54:54,429 [MOTOR REVVING] 1092 00:54:59,365 --> 00:55:02,816 MARK: I just remember just doing these big strokes, 1093 00:55:02,851 --> 00:55:05,302 frog kicks, and just going for your life. 1094 00:55:05,336 --> 00:55:08,063 And seeing the sun, and it took me a while. 1095 00:55:08,097 --> 00:55:10,168 I was deep underwater and coming up, 1096 00:55:10,203 --> 00:55:11,894 and soon as I hit the surface I didn't even look, 1097 00:55:11,929 --> 00:55:14,345 I was just swimming for the horizon. 1098 00:55:14,932 --> 00:55:16,278 After what I just saw, 1099 00:55:17,659 --> 00:55:19,488 like, I ruled nothing out. 1100 00:55:19,523 --> 00:55:21,387 Like, it just shocked my reality. 1101 00:55:21,421 --> 00:55:23,941 Like, there could be a 200-footer behind this, 1102 00:55:23,975 --> 00:55:25,839 for all I know, and we're all dead. [CHUCKLES] 1103 00:55:26,530 --> 00:55:28,083 So I just... 1104 00:55:28,117 --> 00:55:30,465 hit the surface swimming. 1105 00:55:30,499 --> 00:55:32,984 KOHL: I remember Healey popping up right over here, 1106 00:55:33,019 --> 00:55:35,159 swimming, and I'm like, "Hey, are you all right?" He's like, "Yeah." 1107 00:55:35,193 --> 00:55:37,679 You know, his board already took his leash off, thank God. 1108 00:55:38,783 --> 00:55:40,578 KAI: I see his little blonde head floating, 1109 00:55:40,613 --> 00:55:42,546 like, "Help me. I can't move already, I'm tired." 1110 00:55:42,580 --> 00:55:44,962 I was like, "I got you. We're out of here." 1111 00:55:46,101 --> 00:55:47,378 It's over. 1112 00:55:47,413 --> 00:55:49,380 It just changed the whole vibe of the place. 1113 00:55:49,415 --> 00:55:51,865 It was like, you know, somebody dropped a bomb. 1114 00:55:52,866 --> 00:55:55,006 Um, at that moment, 1115 00:55:55,041 --> 00:55:57,837 I'm lacing up my leash on my board. 1116 00:55:57,871 --> 00:55:59,873 I look over at Kelly, I'm like, "Did you see that?" 1117 00:55:59,908 --> 00:56:01,910 Kelly's taking off his leash, 1118 00:56:01,944 --> 00:56:02,876 and he said to me, 1119 00:56:02,911 --> 00:56:04,671 "That's not what I'm here for." 1120 00:56:05,362 --> 00:56:06,432 And I put on my leash. 1121 00:56:06,466 --> 00:56:08,330 I said, "That's exactly what I'm here for." 1122 00:56:08,365 --> 00:56:09,987 And I jumped in the water, paddled out. 1123 00:56:10,021 --> 00:56:12,541 I paddle out, there's ten guys in a line. 1124 00:56:12,576 --> 00:56:14,474 I went up to every single one of them, 1125 00:56:14,509 --> 00:56:15,648 and I shook their hand, 1126 00:56:15,682 --> 00:56:18,029 I hugged them, I told them what I had seen. 1127 00:56:18,064 --> 00:56:19,410 And I'm shaking, I'm hugging, 1128 00:56:19,445 --> 00:56:21,205 I'm telling them all these great things, 1129 00:56:21,239 --> 00:56:24,657 and as I go down the line, I end up in pole position. 1130 00:56:24,691 --> 00:56:28,143 Okay. And all of a sudden, a set pumps up. 1131 00:56:31,008 --> 00:56:34,460 KAI: He came out, and he looked at me, he's going, "Man, I got you." 1132 00:56:35,668 --> 00:56:37,428 There it is. Boom. 1133 00:56:37,463 --> 00:56:40,051 And I'm on this giant yellow banana 10'2" 1134 00:56:40,086 --> 00:56:42,744 and everybody goes, "Go, Wassel!" 1135 00:56:42,778 --> 00:56:44,815 And I said, "No, no, no. I'll wait, I'll wait." 1136 00:56:46,126 --> 00:56:47,334 And they said, "No, go!" 1137 00:56:47,369 --> 00:56:50,441 So I flipped around, I went... 1138 00:56:50,476 --> 00:56:52,719 And you know, at this point, I don't even know what happened. 1139 00:56:53,824 --> 00:56:55,170 [MEN CHEERING] 1140 00:56:56,171 --> 00:56:57,517 [INDISTINCT CHATTER] 1141 00:56:58,380 --> 00:56:59,968 -MAN 1: Awesome. -[MAN 2 SCREAMING] 1142 00:57:00,900 --> 00:57:02,315 MAN 3: No! 1143 00:57:02,349 --> 00:57:03,868 [MEN CHEERING] 1144 00:57:03,903 --> 00:57:04,835 [CLAPPING] 1145 00:57:06,215 --> 00:57:07,665 MAN 4: Yeah! 1146 00:57:07,700 --> 00:57:09,322 -MAN 5: That was awesome! -[MEN WHOOPING] 1147 00:57:10,496 --> 00:57:12,221 MAN 7: Oh, my God. 1148 00:57:12,256 --> 00:57:14,810 KAI: Then he went right out, just paddled right out, 1149 00:57:14,845 --> 00:57:17,226 turned around, and that wave came, he did the bronco, 1150 00:57:17,261 --> 00:57:21,610 a Dave Wassel bucking Bronco grab rail. 1151 00:57:22,577 --> 00:57:24,026 MARK: It was radical. 1152 00:57:24,061 --> 00:57:26,512 I could just hear everybody yelling and screaming. 1153 00:57:26,546 --> 00:57:29,825 And I knew it was a special wave. 1154 00:57:29,860 --> 00:57:32,759 And sure enough, he got the cover 1155 00:57:32,794 --> 00:57:35,624 and yeah, he got one of the best waves of the whole swell. 1156 00:57:35,659 --> 00:57:38,006 KAI: And I looked at him and I told him... [BLOWS RASPBERRY] 1157 00:57:38,040 --> 00:57:39,766 "You're out of here." 1158 00:57:40,940 --> 00:57:43,011 "Really?" I'm like, "Yeah, They've just been out all day, 1159 00:57:43,045 --> 00:57:44,530 "they haven't even sniffed a wave like that. 1160 00:57:44,564 --> 00:57:46,532 "You're done. Go to the boat, be a hero." 1161 00:57:48,637 --> 00:57:51,191 I said, "Oh, no, no, no, you have no idea. I just got started. 1162 00:57:51,226 --> 00:57:53,297 "You wait till what I'm gonna do next." 1163 00:57:53,331 --> 00:57:55,299 He goes, "You've been out here 1164 00:57:55,333 --> 00:57:57,163 "for less than five minutes. 1165 00:57:57,197 --> 00:57:58,613 "These guys have been out for eight hours. 1166 00:57:58,647 --> 00:58:00,477 "You just shit on everybody. 1167 00:58:00,511 --> 00:58:01,995 "You're done." 1168 00:58:02,030 --> 00:58:03,238 And I'm sorry to swear, 1169 00:58:03,272 --> 00:58:04,860 but that's what he said. 1170 00:58:04,895 --> 00:58:06,068 And I said, "Kai, look, 1171 00:58:06,103 --> 00:58:07,242 "I respect you, 1172 00:58:07,932 --> 00:58:09,727 "but this is kinda like, 1173 00:58:09,762 --> 00:58:11,557 "you know, this doesn't happen too often." 1174 00:58:11,591 --> 00:58:13,835 He's like, "You have no idea." I said, 1175 00:58:13,869 --> 00:58:15,837 "This comes back to bite me in the ass 1176 00:58:15,871 --> 00:58:17,804 "that I turned around and went in, 1177 00:58:18,564 --> 00:58:21,014 "after only catching one wave, 1178 00:58:21,049 --> 00:58:22,222 "I'm gonna come talk to you later. 1179 00:58:22,257 --> 00:58:23,500 "We're gonna sit down and discuss this." 1180 00:58:23,534 --> 00:58:25,053 He said, "Don't worry about it." 1181 00:58:25,087 --> 00:58:26,641 He drove me back on the ski 1182 00:58:26,675 --> 00:58:28,090 to where you, Brian, 1183 00:58:28,125 --> 00:58:30,886 you were sitting with all the ASP top surfers. 1184 00:58:31,784 --> 00:58:33,440 And all I got was 1185 00:58:33,475 --> 00:58:36,685 cheers, screams, and beers pouring on my head. 1186 00:58:36,720 --> 00:58:38,480 And Kelly, who was on that boat, 1187 00:58:38,515 --> 00:58:43,520 said, "That is the single best two minutes of big wave riding the world's ever seen." 1188 00:58:43,554 --> 00:58:45,556 That is the best one-and-done session 1189 00:58:45,591 --> 00:58:46,384 of all time. 1190 00:58:47,006 --> 00:58:48,594 MAN 1: Unbelievable, Dave. 1191 00:58:48,628 --> 00:58:51,113 -Not bad? -MAN 2: That was solid as a rock, bud. 1192 00:58:51,148 --> 00:58:52,563 MAN 1: That was a deep one. 1193 00:58:53,322 --> 00:58:54,461 [MAN 2 SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY] 1194 00:58:54,496 --> 00:58:55,877 [WHOOPING] 1195 00:58:55,911 --> 00:58:57,223 Guys are out there their whole lives, 1196 00:58:57,257 --> 00:58:58,431 they don't get a wave like that. 1197 00:58:59,259 --> 00:59:01,020 [INDISTINCT CHATTER] 1198 00:59:01,054 --> 00:59:02,780 [MEN CHEERING] 1199 00:59:05,576 --> 00:59:06,681 MAN 1: Awesome! 1200 00:59:08,165 --> 00:59:10,029 -MAN 2: No! -[CROWD CHEERING] 1201 00:59:11,030 --> 00:59:13,101 [CROWD APPLAUDING] 1202 00:59:17,346 --> 00:59:19,694 And if he would've went back out, he probably would've got hurt or died. 1203 00:59:27,667 --> 00:59:28,737 MARK: He said hi to everybody 1204 00:59:28,772 --> 00:59:30,912 and a bomb came, and everyone was like, 1205 00:59:30,946 --> 00:59:33,052 "Oh, you're kinda in the spot. Go, go, go!" 1206 00:59:33,086 --> 00:59:36,227 He just whipped it and got one of the best barrels ever. 1207 00:59:36,262 --> 00:59:38,333 Like, literally, it's one of the best barrels ever. 1208 00:59:38,367 --> 00:59:39,955 Best big barrels ever. 1209 00:59:39,990 --> 00:59:41,819 I can't believe it didn't win any awards, 1210 00:59:41,854 --> 00:59:43,476 it's kind of ridiculous that it didn't. 1211 00:59:45,754 --> 00:59:48,136 Uh, if that's true, I don't know, 1212 00:59:48,170 --> 00:59:51,588 but, uh, you know, maybe I can cash that in somewhere. 1213 00:59:52,899 --> 00:59:54,625 Just being there, 1214 00:59:54,660 --> 00:59:57,628 and having the opportunity to, like, 1215 00:59:57,663 --> 01:00:00,182 be that close to something so powerful, 1216 01:00:00,873 --> 01:00:02,840 um, it was pretty special. 1217 01:00:02,875 --> 01:00:05,947 That was two of the biggest swells I've ever seen in my whole life, 1218 01:00:05,981 --> 01:00:07,638 in a space of about eight months. 1219 01:00:07,673 --> 01:00:08,984 Teahupo'o was mutant. 1220 01:00:10,020 --> 01:00:11,504 You know, it's a mutant. 1221 01:00:11,538 --> 01:00:14,162 But that was unicorns... 1222 01:00:15,370 --> 01:00:18,269 and you know, just white rhinos. 1223 01:00:20,962 --> 01:00:23,309 DAVE: Everyone gears up, goes into battle, 1224 01:00:23,343 --> 01:00:26,105 gives it everything they got and then they head home. 1225 01:00:26,139 --> 01:00:28,279 You know, most of the time there's a little bit of emptiness, 1226 01:00:28,314 --> 01:00:30,316 uh, often there's a lot of disappointment 1227 01:00:30,350 --> 01:00:34,078 that the conditions didn't just quite come together right. 1228 01:00:34,113 --> 01:00:36,736 But then, hopefully, at least once in your lifetime, 1229 01:00:36,771 --> 01:00:38,082 if you're a big wave surfer, 1230 01:00:38,117 --> 01:00:40,567 there's the rarest of rare experiences, 1231 01:00:40,602 --> 01:00:42,880 the white rhino. 1232 01:00:42,915 --> 01:00:45,572 BRIAN: You know, Nathan Fletcher's wave in Tahiti is what I considered 1233 01:00:45,607 --> 01:00:47,574 the craziest wave ever ridden by a human. 1234 01:00:47,609 --> 01:00:51,440 And it wasn't a perfect wave and it probably should have never been ridden. 1235 01:00:51,475 --> 01:00:55,513 And the difference between that and the swell in Fiji 1236 01:00:55,548 --> 01:00:59,379 was that this wave was absolutely flawless and perfect. 1237 01:00:59,414 --> 01:01:02,831 Top to bottom barreling like a machine. 1238 01:01:02,866 --> 01:01:06,317 Only five times bigger than anything I'd ever seen. It was huge. 1239 01:01:06,352 --> 01:01:08,009 And it started on the outside 1240 01:01:08,043 --> 01:01:10,149 and peeled all the way down the reef. 1241 01:01:10,183 --> 01:01:13,083 It's like nothing I've ever witnessed before. 1242 01:01:13,117 --> 01:01:16,189 And it was by far the biggest, craziest 1243 01:01:16,224 --> 01:01:19,986 and most perfect wave I've ever experienced in my life. 1244 01:02:00,268 --> 01:02:02,201 [ROCK SONG PLAYING] 1245 01:02:35,613 --> 01:02:38,513 -♪ A writer's got grit and -♪ Yeah 1246 01:02:38,547 --> 01:02:41,240 -♪ A poet's got soul, fuck yeah -♪ Yeah 1247 01:02:41,274 --> 01:02:43,000 ♪ Fillin' the cracks you make 1248 01:02:43,035 --> 01:02:45,692 ♪ With the thoughts You could never let go 1249 01:02:46,763 --> 01:02:49,455 ♪ Spilling your vision 1250 01:02:49,489 --> 01:02:52,251 ♪ Takes a toll on that mind 1251 01:02:52,285 --> 01:02:54,598 ♪ If you're feeling the weight Don't worry 1252 01:02:54,632 --> 01:02:56,531 ♪ It'll lighten as You're passing the time 1253 01:02:56,565 --> 01:02:57,912 ♪ Let me tell you something 1254 01:02:58,775 --> 01:03:00,466 Brian as a photographer. Hmm. 1255 01:03:01,191 --> 01:03:03,400 Brian's a great photographer. 1256 01:03:03,434 --> 01:03:05,954 You know, I don't... A lot of photographers, I, uh, 1257 01:03:05,989 --> 01:03:08,439 you know, I don't really... 1258 01:03:08,474 --> 01:03:11,235 hang out with much, but Brian's someone I can hang out with. 1259 01:03:11,270 --> 01:03:12,823 He's, uh... 1260 01:03:13,410 --> 01:03:15,377 He's funny, he's, uh... 1261 01:03:17,621 --> 01:03:19,485 He's really funny. 1262 01:03:19,519 --> 01:03:22,453 You know, get him at a certain hour, and he's a really funny guy. 1263 01:03:22,488 --> 01:03:25,663 Raimana Van Bastolaer. Teahupo'o. 1264 01:03:26,872 --> 01:03:29,806 [STAMMERING] Teahupo'o. 1265 01:03:29,840 --> 01:03:30,807 [CREW LAUGHING] 1266 01:03:33,706 --> 01:03:35,397 [MUTTERING] Teahupo'o. 1267 01:03:35,432 --> 01:03:37,848 God, what is the matter with me? I can't remember how to say it. 1268 01:03:37,883 --> 01:03:39,505 He got into it pretty well. 1269 01:03:39,539 --> 01:03:41,334 He's got these great long arms. 1270 01:03:41,369 --> 01:03:43,233 I've been asking Santa Claus for those arms for years, 1271 01:03:43,267 --> 01:03:45,131 he's not listening. I still got these little things. 1272 01:03:45,166 --> 01:03:46,684 [BRIAN SPEAKING] 1273 01:03:49,756 --> 01:03:50,999 This one? 1274 01:03:51,897 --> 01:03:53,760 Well, Brian, that's called being conceited. 1275 01:03:53,795 --> 01:03:55,728 [CREW LAUGHING] 1276 01:03:55,762 --> 01:03:58,317 Raimana Van Bastolaer. Teahupo'o. 1277 01:03:59,283 --> 01:04:01,768 May 5th... No. 1278 01:04:01,803 --> 01:04:03,115 [CREW LAUGHING] 1279 01:04:03,149 --> 01:04:05,738 Next thing I know, I was ass over tea kettle, 1280 01:04:05,772 --> 01:04:08,879 I was kissing my eggs goodbye to that omelet in the sky, 1281 01:04:08,914 --> 01:04:10,122 and looking out of the barrel, 1282 01:04:10,156 --> 01:04:12,572 upside down. It's a very unique perspective. 1283 01:04:12,607 --> 01:04:15,368 You know, sometimes I wish I had the camera. 1284 01:04:15,403 --> 01:04:17,854 Nathan Fletcher, Teahupo'o, 1285 01:04:18,337 --> 01:04:19,752 Code Red swell. 1286 01:04:20,926 --> 01:04:24,550 August 27th, 2011.