Getty Image / Brian Bielmann / AFP
Hawaiian Kai Lenny is one of the best surfers on planet earth but he was recently humbled while surfing Jaws in Maui (Pe’ahi) at 6 in the morning when he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
After doing a casual ‘backside 360’, Kai Lenny says he ‘did a little too much’ which put him in ‘a very compromised position’ at the bottom of the wave as it continued to break. As Kai tells it, the ‘entire ocean literally landed on (his) head’ and he proceeds to describe what that was like.
@kai_lenny I had water dripping from my nose for days 💦 #bigwavesurfing #surftok #kailenny @hurley @Red Bull USA @tagheuer @Seadoo @Tucker Wooding
The Life of Kai star proceeds to describe what it’s like “getting rag-dolled underwater by a giant wave” and it does not sound pretty.
Lenny’s description of the ordeal is pretty colorful. He says it “feels like you got hit by a semi truck and 10 guys with crowbars come out and beat you senseless.” Kai then adds that all of that was happening while he was desperately trying to hold his breath before coming up for air.
For us mortals, it’s hard to really wrap our minds around the immense power of these waves Kai Lenny is surfing at Jaws. And even though he might actually be an immortal, Kai Lenny needed modern technology to pull him out of this situation in the form of a self-inflating wetsuit that brought him back up to the surface while the support SkiDoos swooped in to save him.
It’s also wild to me to see how intent Kai Lenny is on saving his board from the wrath of Jaws. In my mind, he’s got like an entire second home that’s just storage for his various boards.
In fact, I spoke with Kai for an interview a year or two ago and he mentioned how his truck is just constantly full of boards and other equipment. I figured he would have 10 of everything by now.
From what appears to be the same surfing sesh, Kai Lenny also pulled off a new trick. It’s a front-flip but also a barrel roll as he flips head over feet and not end-over-end on the board. I wrote about this wild trick last week:
Later in that session, Kai got sucked over the falls. It’s one of the scariest moments in surfing. So it seems as if he’s been on quite the rollercoaster ride at Pe’ahi lately.