Getty Image / Octavio Passos
Lucas Fink is a world champion skimboarder from Brazil who recently became the first person to ever skimboard the legendary massive waves at Mavericks in Northern California. Above, he can be seen riding waves at Nazare during an epic swell so Fink is no stranger to huge waves.
It is rare to see ‘firsts’ accomplished in the world of surfing these days but that’s due to a lack of imagination. It’s easy to sit back and say ‘everything that can be surfed has been surfed.’ It’s convenient. But with a little imagination, boundaries can always be pushed.
New Jersey surfer recently became the first person in world history to surf the 7 Seas in 7 Days. I interviewed Ben Gravy about his adventure after he was done. And now, Brazilian skimboarder Lucas Fink has become the first person to ever skimboard massive waves at Mavericks just outside of Half Moon Bay.
How Can You Go Skimboarding On Massive Waves?
The swell actually hit Mavericks on 12/28 just before the end of last year. It was one of the largest swells to hit Mavericks in years and it produced both epic rides and epic wipeouts as the world’s best surfers flew from across the globe and descended upon Mavericks which is one of the best Big Wave Surfing spots found anywhere.
Only Lucas Fink was crazy enough to considering going skimboarding on these enormous waves. And in order to even catch a wave it required logistical support.
As can be seen in the video, Lucas worked in conjunction with jetski support. To be able to drop into a wave, he had to be pulled into the wave by the jet ski (wave runner, whatever) similar to how a wakeboarder would get up behind a boat and be towed. The wave runner then slingshots him into the wave at the perfect time and then he was on his own to ride it out and become the first person to ever skimboard at Mavericks.
Lucas Fink is only 25-years-old but he’s already a legend in the world of skimboarding. In 2019, the Red Bull athlete became the first non-American to win the United Skim Tour title. He has also won the Brazilian, South American, and World titles according to his Red Bull bio.