Matahi Drollet has ridden countless Teahupo’o waves like this. But they’re all incredible. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Matahi Drollet is basically a part of Teahupo’o. While most surfers have a local spot, most surfers don’t have a local spot anywhere near as incredible as Chopes. It’s a wave that takes a lifetime to get a handle on, and although Drollet has grown up surfing it, he’d likely be the first to tell you that it will never not surprise him.
Drollet has caught countless tubes there at the end of the road, but there’s just something different about paddling into a wave as the sun sets.
“It’s like paradise here,” he said of growing up in Tahiti. “It sounds so cliché but that’s really how it is.”
Drollet has a special connection with the wave he spends his life surfing. He knows how dangerous it can be, and he knows the danger he puts himself in when surfing the bigger days there, but he’s willing to pay to play.
“I really believe that if you respect the ocean, if you respect Mother Nature, she’s going to send you something really special in return,” he said. “I don’t know how to explain it but it’s a special connection.”
The single wave you see here was surfed on December 4. It’s just one of many amazing waves he’s had the pleasure of riding, but it’s likely that this one might stand out… at least until the next one.
