“Within Your Own Brain”: American Big-Wave Surfing Sensation Makes Candid Confession on ‘Fear’ of Riding an 80-Foot Wave

Kai Lenny is a professional big wave surfer and has witnessed his fair share of huge waves. Interestingly, by age 10, Lenny has already pocketed an opulent sponsorship through his incredible flair on the turquoise water. In fact, at age 26, he became the youngest inductee in the Hawaiian Waterman Hall of Fame. Even within the vast realm of surfing, he dabbles in multiple forms of the sport, which range from big wave riding to stand-up paddle surfing.

Over the years now, Lenny has become an expert of big barrels, which was reflected in him as he stood atop the podium at the 2019 WSL Biggest Wave Award for Ride of the Year. In a recent podcast, the surfer gave an insight into what it is really like to surf 70 to 80-foot waves.

Surfing a 70-80 footer wave according to Kai Lenny

In a YouTube podcast with Rich Roll, Lenny was asked about what is it really like to surf a 70 or 80-foot wave. Since the American has witnessed his fair share of big waves, he candidly explained that the whole experience can be quite overwhelming. He said that given how high the stakes are, literally, the whole situation feels like a sensory overload. Lenny further claims that “The greatest fear comes from within your own brain.” The surfer admits that during riding a wave, the speeds are often quite fast. Recalling his own lightning speeds at the breathtaking Nazare, he revealed that they easily touch 55-60 miles per hour.

But he also talked about the biggest challenge one can face with such high waves. Lenny claimed that when a surfer goes down a 70-80ft wave, it feels like going down a vertical wall. Even the angle can be often challenging as well, since it can easily become 90 degrees, which, according to Lenny, feels like a free-falling sensation.

While he reminisced about one of his early experiences of riding an enormous wave, he highlighted that he could hardly stand on his board while surfing. However, given his conquering mentality, Lenny claimed that by the end of that session or the next day, he becomes so comfortable riding a steep but straight wave that he finds the experience to be boring. Although he may find going straight to be boring, surfing has its unique challenges, and throughout his career nature has reminded Lenny of those obstacles.

When Kai Lenny felt he was buried alive

At the 2020 Nazare Tow Surfing Challenge, Lenny fearlessly took on the immense swells of Nazare. But even for a seasoned surfer like Lenny, challenges lurked beneath the surface. As he lost his balance, the wave plunged him into the abyss. He skidded down the face of the wave, struggling to maintain control. For a brief moment, Lenny felt he was buried alive. According to an Esquire report, while recalling his terrifying experience, Lenny had said, “If you fall in the wrong place at Nazaré, because it’s such a converging peak, it could probably just kill you on impact.” This only speaks about the forces of nature that can turn on even an accomplished surfer within a split second.

Read more: “That Was Sick Man”: Youngest Surfers’ Hall of Fame Winner Kai Lenny Uses His Surfing Skills to Drop Double Backflips With Snowboarding Superstar Travis Rice

Kai Lenny has been surfing all his life. He dares to dream and then follows up on his dreams with his hard work. Despite his surfing scares, Lenny continues to ride the big waves and embraces every opportunity he gets to surf a 70-80 footer wave. While he has conquered almost all the big waves, he is quite literally blown away by the power he witnesses at Nazare, Mavericks, Teahupo’o, Cloud Break, and Jaws.

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