Surfing Legend Dies Riding Nazare’s Massive Waves

Brazilian surfing legend Márcio Freire died Thursday after an accident off the central coast of Nazaré, Portugal, according to a Friday report from BBC. He was 47. 

Freire, who rose to fame through the 2016 documentary “Mad Dogs,” reportedly fell while practicing tow-in surfing, a technique that uses artificial assistance such as a jet ski to allow surfers to better catch faster-moving waves, at renowned Praia do Norte beach. Freire was taken back to shore where rescuers were unable to revive him after he went into cardiorespiratory arrest, per Portugal’s National Maritime Authority.

A native of Salvador, Bahia in northeastern Brazil, Freire began surfing in 1985 at the age of nine. After building a reputation in the country and winning multiple state championships in Bahia, Freire moved to Hawaii in the 1990s, where he would later cement his legacy as a legend in the sport.

While there, Freire and friends Danilo Couto and Yuri Soledade became known for their surfing exploits, and later starred in the 2016 documentary, “Mad Dogs.” Named after the famed Brazilian trio, the doc chronicled Freire, Couto and Soledade’s successful quest to conquer the massive “Jaws” wave at big-wave surf spot Pe’ahi in Hawaii without any outside support.

The film was well-received and appeared at several festivals that year, including the Newport Beach Film Festival and Sheffield International Documentary Fest, and won awards at the Maui Film Festival and Bells Beach Surf Film Festival.

According to BBC, local authorities say Freire’s death is believed to be the first surfing fatality at Praia do Norte, although there have been several accidents over the years. The area is known to boast “some of the biggest and most terrifying waves in the world, caused by the Nazaré Canyon on the seabed off the coast of Portugal.”

Praia do Norte has also been recognized by Guinness World Records on several occasions for having some of the largest waves ever surfed, with the most recent record belonging to German surfer Sebastian Steudtner for riding an 86-foot wave in 2020.