Stab Magazine | Night Rider

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

110 Views

Night Rider

Jaws, Maui, is hairy enough for the average surfer in the light of day. But. Can you imagine burning down the face of a 35-footer, wind whistling in your ear, eyes blurred, sled bouncing, feet clenching under straps… in the dead of night? For 28-year-old Australian big-wave surfer Mark Visser, a night time jaunt on some of Jaws’ colossal surges became a reality last night. It wasn’t just a stay-out-past-sunset-type deal eithers. That shit was at 2.00am local Hawaiian time, when self-loathing people are balls-deep into a bar stint and self-respecting people are in dreamland. Thanks to some NASA-style submarine lighting, Visser surfed 30-40 foot freight-trains at the famous Hawaiian outer-reef in a buoyancy vest and surfboard that were both modified with “specially engineered” LED lights. The hardware lit the wave and board in the right places at the right time, without hindering Mark or his team’s vision. That’s a lot of faith in some gadgetry. “It wasn’t until I saw the pictures I realized how big it was. This project has been two years in the planning and it was the scariest, but most exciting thing I have ever done,” says Visser. “Riding in complete darkness meant I had to go off feeling. I had to zone out from how you normally ride and just be part of the wave. I am so pumped to achieve something that no one thought possible and that I was told was couldn’t be done.” This’ll be the first in a series of similar feats that Visser’ll be getting amongst, as part of a documentary collective called 9 Lives. [showvideo]

cinema // Feb 22, 2016
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Jaws, Maui, is hairy enough for the average surfer in the light of day. But. Can you imagine burning down the face of a 35-footer, wind whistling in your ear, eyes blurred, sled bouncing, feet clenching under straps… in the dead of night? For 28-year-old Australian big-wave surfer Mark Visser, a night time jaunt on some of Jaws’ colossal surges became a reality last night. It wasn’t just a stay-out-past-sunset-type deal eithers. That shit was at 2.00am local Hawaiian time, when self-loathing people are balls-deep into a bar stint and self-respecting people are in dreamland.

Thanks to some NASA-style submarine lighting, Visser surfed 30-40 foot freight-trains at the famous Hawaiian outer-reef in a buoyancy vest and surfboard that were both modified with “specially engineered” LED lights. The hardware lit the wave and board in the right places at the right time, without hindering Mark or his team’s vision. That’s a lot of faith in some gadgetry.

“It wasn’t until I saw the pictures I realized how big it was. This project has been two years in the planning and it was the scariest, but most exciting thing I have ever done,” says Visser. “Riding in complete darkness meant I had to go off feeling. I had to zone out from how you normally ride and just be part of the wave. I am so pumped to achieve something that no one thought possible and that I was told was couldn’t be done.”

This’ll be the first in a series of similar feats that Visser’ll be getting amongst, as part of a documentary collective called 9 Lives.

[showvideo]

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Stab Edit Of The Year: Sam Piter Stars in ‘Rogue DNA’.

French blood runs in thick water.

Jul 13, 2025

Matty McG Skydives Into CT Heat, But Jordy’s Still The Main Event

A full day of heats at J-Bay, and only one shark warning.

Jul 12, 2025

Controversial Opinion: No One Needs To Yoga In Boardshorts

12 Trunks for the traditionalist.

Jul 12, 2025

Correction: J-Bay All Foreplay, No Climax

Slim pickings on Day 1 of the Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025.

Jul 11, 2025

What Do Hollywood, Surf Lessons, Michael Jackson And Traction Pads Have In Common?

A Stab Interview with Teva Dexter, the man behind surfing's hardest new hardware brand —…

Jul 10, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 10, 2025

How Josh Ku Nearly Died Trying To Cross From Ulus to G Land by Hydrofoil

“If someone finds me dead at least they can find my phone and know what…

Jul 10, 2025

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025

Surfing’s 2025 Q2 Report

An assessment of surfing's vital signs throughout the second quarter of 2025.

Jul 2, 2025

What Actually Happened to Occy’s Mad Max Plunger Pool In Yeppoon?

Surf Lakes’ brass talks: internet hecklers, the unplugging of the plunger, and the Tom Curren…

Jul 2, 2025
Advertisement