Back in 2022, Sebastian Steudtner officially claimed the world record for the biggest wave ever surfed. The wave he rode was at Nazaré on October 29, 2020, and measured in at a staggering 86 feet. He beat Rodrigo Koxa’s previous record of 80 feet to do so.
“It’s an amazing feeling to finally hold the world record in my hands,” said Steudtner at the awards ceremony. “I’m really proud of this achievement and of my whole team’s performance. It was my dream since I was a kid to become a surfer and I’ve always stayed true to that dream. To stand here today and have achieved everything in my sport is epic. I hope my journey and this world record will inspire lots of others to chase their dreams as well.”
As you’d guess, one does not become the world record holder of the world’s largest wave by not surfing very large waves. Steudtner puts his time in. Whenever Nazaré gets big, he’s there. He lives to surf the place, but getting to know a wave doesn’t mean only surfing it at its best. Surfing a wave in all its many moods is important for when the wave is in its best mood, and on November 5, Nazaré looked as though she woke up on the wrong side of the bed. It was big. It was messy. It was choppy and inconsistent. And yet, Steudtner was there, finding a few diamonds in the rough. The team from Above Creators was there to document the action, and it’s clear that Steudtner is still chasing that 100-foot wave.
