Danilo Couto

In mid 90s, with no money and no English, Danilo, Marcio and Yuri left Brazil and everything behind to live in Hawaii and surf the world's most famous waves. At that time, Laird Hamilton and his gang had just invented tow surfing, using the help of jet skis to catch giant waves on the outer reefs. Laird became a legend and his new sport attracted surfers looking for fame and money. Then, in 2006, dreaming of surfing Jaws in the purest style, the 3 “amigos” began a saga that lasted 5 years. They challenged Jaws year after year, paddling, with no safety, no inflatable vests, nothing.

As surfers pray for waves on Maui during the winter, a select few ask for the gut-wrenching 30-plus foot walls of water that only Jaws on the North shore can provide. You may have seen surfers towed into the massive breaks behind a jet ski, but there is a group of riders who will only paddle into them, taking the sport to an even more extreme level that only a few years ago was thought impossible.