November 26, 2018, the Jaws Challenge took place off the north coast of Maui as 70-foot waves rolled in off the Pacific Ocean that morning. Most of the competitors retreated ashore to wait out the dangerous conditions, but not Maui local, Kai Lenny. wired.trib.al/WdQu8UN 1/10
That day on Maui, Lenny traded his 10-foot paddle-in board for a tow-board. Then he had a Jet Ski pull him into tsunami-sized walls of water. With a helicopter overhead & contest video cameras live streaming, Lenny seized the spotlight for the next four hours. 📸: Ryan Young 2/10 
The thing is, none of Lenny’s versatility and style served him when he reached the final heat of the Jaws Challenge when the contest resumed. He found himself facing off against a childhood rival from Maui named Billy Kemper. 3/10
Lying prone on a 10-foot surfboard, Lenny paddled to catch a 45-foot-tall wave, hopped to his feet, and rode down the watery cliff, but he lost balance and fell. He landed facedown and skipped into the impact zone. The wave’s enormous lip landed on Lenny. 4/10
“We call it going to the 12th dimension,” Lenny told WIRED. “If it’s the worst possible wipeout, where you’re unsure if someone will live or die, that’s when they get sent to the 13th dimension. You have access to the multiverse.”📸: Ryan Young 5/10
When the contest horn sounded, many watching assumed that Lenny had won. But judges handed victory to Kemper. For Lenny, though, the defeat hardly mattered. His every-sport-at-once approach buffered the sting of any single loss. 6/10
Since that day on Maui, Lenny has won three international big-wave contests, claimed the world’s most prestigious big-wave surfing award two years in a row, has been inducted into the Surfer’s Hall of Fame, and just won the Big Wave contest at Nazare . 📸: Ryan Young 7/10
Along the way, Lenny has become a kind of secret spirit animal to the world’s tech elite—a sweet, smart, curiosity-driven mascot who has excellent toys and wears his mastery far more lightly than the masters of the universe ever do. 8/10
Get a glimpse into Lenny’s life and why the tech elite of the world are so intrigued by his risk-taking success. wired.trib.al/WdQu8UN 9/10
Subscribe to WIRED and get unlimited access to our longform features, buying guides, and tech news. trib.al/ngUCchD 10/10
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