Surf Cat

Portuguese bodyboarding legend Hugo Pinheiro decided to swap his hometown sunshine for the cold and inhospitable waters of Iceland in search of the perfect unconquered wave. Follow him on his trip to and see the hardships of taming the untamed in the new episode of Dedicate, the series devoted to those in search of achieving goals beyond the ordinary. Watch his adventure in the video player above and scroll down for more.

Not a country known for its surfing, Iceland is usually in the middle of North Atlantic storms and thus houses some hard, freezing waves that are yet to be tackled by surfers.

Just finding a new wave wasn’t enough for Pinheiro however, so he set his sights on finding a slab: a type of wave that repels most people, but attracts individuals that see opportunity in fear and the unknown.

Hugo set off to conquer one such slab, taking along Heidar Logi, a local thrill-seeking surfer, and Mike Stewart, nine-time bodyboarding world champion, for the ride.

At 39 years of age, many of those spent on top of a board fighting for international championships, Pinheiro’s seen it all and done it all. Although part of the sport’s DNA since the very beginning, this thirst for the never-been-done started in 2015. It was then that the Portuguese charger became the first to ride Mar da Calha, a wave just off his hometown of Cova do Vapor that breaks where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Rio Tejo. The feeling of being the first to ride a wave lit a fire in him.

From winning multiple European titles to charging some of the most dangerous waves the world has to offer, Pinheiro has become a touchstone for what bodyboarding is all about. To this day he still strives to progress himself and his sport to the next level. Now mostly out of the competitive scene, Hugo has embraced the adventurous side of bodyboarding and regularly embarks on journeys of discovery and exploration of waves still to be conquered.

See more from the Dedicate series below: