During the heaviest swell on May 28 at Teahupoo, in addition to a boat almost being eaten by Teahupoo, and Eimeo Czmark and Lucas Chumbo getting some tube hits, 24-year-old Peruvian Rodrigo Reinoso survived intact one of the heaviest hits ever seen.

A good Peruvian contingent was present there, with Jonathan Gubbins and Carlos Mario Zapata, among others, ready to drop bombs. They were the first to share it on social media with Rodrigo commenting on what happened.

Basically, and putting it graphically, Rodrigo did a belly floater at Teahupoo, with a giant square tube, one of those that nobody wants (only for tow in), but, of course, he didn't land it heroically, but rather he ate that blow in which he said he did about 100 backflips and then ate two more waves.

The blow was so strong and the photos so shocking that they reached Stabmag, who interviewed the Peruvian.

Rodrigo, who went to Tahiti for the first time at the invitation of his friend Gubbins, began by joking: “Going in the tube is overrated, why be in it when you can be on top?”

The Peruvian said that his trip began with friendly waves of four to six feet, but that when the swell came in the sea became “as rough as it can get” and that several locals did not even jump into the water.

With a 6'8" arm, the Peruvian went into the water, in one of the heaviest seas in recent years in Chopes. As he was looking for intermediaries, he said he sat down with the band that was in the line up.

“Out of nowhere a giant wave came in and everyone started paddling as fast as they could. I have no experience in waves like this so I thought I could do a duck. I went for it with all my might but I couldn’t get past it. I later found out that I should have taken off my leash,” Rodrigo told Stab.

“When the wave caught me, it was like falling off a balcony on my back. It hit me really hard, I did probably about 100 backflips,” he added in the interview with Stab.

He said that before being sucked into the void, he took the biggest breath of air he had ever taken in his life and that is why he looks relaxed in the photo taken by Jon Aspuru.

After the tumble, he surfaced to eat another one on the head, a bigger one. The waves carried him to the right of Teahupoo, which, according to Rodrigo, the locals informed him is the most dangerous place, but he finally managed to get away from the death zone and the local Matahi Drollet picked him up on the jet ski.

“Remember, I smoke, I drink, I don’t train. I have no fucking idea how I did it, especially without wearing a vest,” Rodrigo said.

Rodrigo did not touch the bottom and came out without a scratch. His board did not break, but his fins did, he suspects due to the power of compression.

Below: Rodrigo showing his good surfing:

 

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A post shared by Rodrigo Reinoso (@rodrigoreinoso9)