Big Wave Surfer Kai Lenny Explains How to Survive Brutal Beatdowns and Wipeouts
A couple of weeks ago, the world watched big-wave hellman Kai Lenny get eaten alive at Jaws during the Black Friday swell.
It followed on the heels of other crazy sh*t Lenny does, like boosting barrel rolls at Cloudbreak, towing in at huge Teahupo'o, and surviving another Jaws wipeout earlier this winter.
Despite his long list of heavy moments in surfing, the wipeout stood out to him too. Last week, he got on social media to analyze the Black Friday wipeout in detail. But it turns out, he's got more to say about it.
Lenny released the vlog above over the weekend where he opens up about what it's like to surf and survive huge Jaws.
He captioned the video above:
"Breaking down the brutal beatdowns from Jaws wipeouts
"Question: Is the punishment worth the reward?"
Early in the video, Lenny tells viewers what they're in for:
"Today I'm going to be doing a breakdown on the last big day out there [Jaws]. It's been a good start to the winter, we've had two pretty decent swells.
"This last one was big, it was west, it was rough, it was bumpy. I opted to tow-in surf and ultimately my goal was to do a brand-new trick I've been working on."
From there, it's Wipeout 101 with Professor Lenny, and the "inside look" angle is well done.
It's easy to watch the polished edits of big wave surfers charging huge waves and forget what they're enduring. Lenny's latest vlog does a good job of describing what it's really like.
Lenny shares his techniques and survival skills like gear details, the plan between surfers and ski drivers, maintaining order, and not letting emotions take over.
Towards the end, he describes the session as "absolutely terrifying."
But, he adds, it was "a super fun day" and he's "excited for the next one."
Press play above for some big-wave survival education with Lenny.
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