Bryan Perez is one of the lucky few participating in the Olympic training camp that the International Surfing Association organized in Teahupoo.

With the help of Olympic solidarity from the International Olympic Committee, the doors were opened to athletes with Olympic potential to learn to surf a wave that is known to be nothing like Huntington Beach at two feet.

“For me it is a dream come true. I always watched the event, the CT, since I was little. And everything impressed me, not only the wave but also how beautiful the place was; the mountain… You get on the boat and you see all the waves spitting out; they are too perfect. How perfect the tube is! They are all perfect,” the Punta Roca local told DUKE.

And he continued: “This is one of the most beautiful and special places I have ever been to in my entire life. Everything is incredible: the food, the people, the locals, the energy, how they respect everything; it is a place that fills your heart with joy and transmits all the good energy.”

And, living up to the wave's reputation as one of the heaviest in the world, not everything is rosy: “The wave is very heavy. It is perfect and beautiful but at the same time it is strong, strong, strong. The reef is there, the drop is incredible, it is a very scary wave but at the same time it is perfect.”

Pérez is participating in the camp alongside Alan Cleland, Cande Resano, Shino Matsuda and Saffi Vette.