RIPTIDE

A new book pays photographic homage to the world’s biggest and most dangerous waves...

- JARED PAUL STERN

In the world of extreme sports, there are few things as formidable, and hazardous, as big wave surfing. By big we’re talking 20 feet high or more, something nearly impossible for outsiders and casual riders to comprehend. American legend Shane Dorian, who quit championship competition surfing in 2003 to go all in on big waves, calls them “the ultimate challenge,” noting, “They can also present the ultimate life-or-death situation.” He makes the remark in the foreword to one of the most impressive photographic tributes to the sport ever published, Big Wave Surfer: The Greatest Rides of Our Lives, new from Rizzoli and authored by another surfing legend, Kai Lenny.

The book profiles the world’s top competitors on the big wave scene, accompanied by jaw-dropping imagery. “It is hard to define big wave surfing as just a sport for me,” Lenny writes in the introduction. “Sports have rules that must be followed. But in the water, the only rule is that you respect the ocean for its relentless yet somehow comforting presence…. [As] the saying goes, ‘The greater the risk, the greater the reward.’ And I believe that is true.”