10-Foot Wave Explodes on Surfer's Head, Friends Nearly Call 911 (Clip)

Dashel Pierson
·3 min read
8

The ink has yet to dry, but so far, the 2023/24 swell season is looking like it’s going to be one to remember, in surfing terms, thanks to the El Niño-fueled hyperactivity.

From Hawaii to California, there’s been multiple, potentially historic swells so far this winter season igniting local big-wave haunts, calling off competitions like the Lexus Pipe pro and the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, and wreaking havoc as well.

And it’s not just the coastal infrastructure; the influx of swell has posed epic waves, and occasionally dangerous conditions for surfers as well.

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A post shared by Kei Kobayashi (@kei_kobayashi)

Like, for example, San Clemente’s Kei Kobayashi above during a recent surf session (or at least attempted surf session) in Los Angeles. During which, Kobayashi battle 10-lus-foot waves, battling to make it out past the impact zone, and took a handful on the head.

It was so bad, in fact, his filmer, Nathan Baker (@evo_n8) even contemplated calling the cops.

We reached out to Kobayashi for comment; here’s what he said:

“I woke up to up and did a workout early in the morning with my girlfriend at 5 am. Then, I ran to her LA house to grab a more giant board. I only had mini step-ups with me, so I grabbed a 6.5, thinking it would be big enough. I thought it was only 6-8ft. I showed up, and it was 10-15 feet plus sets rolling through. I suited up, and it took me 45 minutes to get out. I finally made it out the back and had that first wave land on my head, and as I watched it come in, I was tripping. I was like, ‘holy crap, this wave could possibly kill me.’

“Then I took a deep breath and bailed. And I was thinking in my head, ‘you’re good. You train hard. You’ll be fine.’ Then my leash snapped, and I was like, ‘oh shit. Well, that’s not good.’ Then I was swimming up and kept getting pushed down to the sand. I finally came up, and the second wave shortly came after. I basically got one little breath in but basically got the second one on the head right away. Then the third wave pushed me all the way in, and I was walking up the sand and was in disbelief.

Related: WATCH: 10 Best Waves Surfed During El Niño Super Swell at Mavericks

"This was the most giant waves I’ve ever surfed in LA. I caught 0 waves but survived three huge waves landing on my head. Nate Baker, my filmer, was saying he was about to call 911 when he saw that wave on my head. I’m still pretty baffled that it happened. Next time, I’ll be standing in that barrel instead of it landing on my head, haha!”

Next time…let’s see it, Kei.

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