Walking -- or driving -- on water seems like something you only read in storybooks, but one stunt driver has made it a reality.
Australian stunt rider Robbie "Maddo" Maddison, known for jumping Las Vegas' Arc de Triomphe and Greece's Corinth Canal, recently set out on his dirt bike and rode across the waves of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Teahupo’o in Tahiti. And these are not just any waves. Teahupo’o's are some of the world's heaviest, according to Smithsonian magazine. He spent two years working on surfing the ocean on his bike, and made history along the way.
Maddison has been surfing since he was 8 years old and he used that knowledge to bring his dream of "putting skis on a bike and riding on water" to fruition. He made skis with skegs to attach to his bike and a paddle for the rear wheel, Rolling Stone noted.
But Maddison still wasn't necessarily prepared for the intensity, he told Surfer magazine.
The thing that sticks with me the most after that whole experience was how physically demanding it was. Honestly, I really thought that getting the right wave would have been easier [Laughs]. I don’t think the photos or video show how physical it was. You can’t see that when the wave broke right behind me, I honestly thought that might be the end of my life. I’ve never felt like I was in the wrong place at the wrong time more than I did right there. It was a near-death experience. At the end of the day, the images and footage say something pretty awesome, but the ferocity and how gnarly that thing was can’t really be put into words.
At one point, he was taken under by a giant wave, his bike crashed on his back and he almost drowned.
"It's the gnarliest thing I have ever been through," he said. "I was so relieved to be alive and to have accomplished what we did in Tahiti. It was so incredible to see the culmination of my dream that didn't come with a glorious medal or cheering crowds, but the reward of being the very first person to ever ride a motorcycle on these waters and do something entirely different."
