Part I : The People

If you don’t know the name Pedro Levi Silva, soon you will. He roams the Portuguese coastline, taking advantage of the vast variety of breaks it has to offer, with his sights especially focused on the one wave that stands out in everyone’s mind when thinking of Portugal. The impression I got of him; through all the emails, IG messages and IG posts was of someone who’s open minded and friendly with a good sense of humor and an intense desire to push the limits of what can be accomplished on a bodyboard in the giant swells of Nazaré.

Surfing has a history of big wave riding and has developed boards to ride these waves; large boards with sufficient surface area to gain the speed needed to paddle into these monsters, and subsequently, tow boards. Tow-in surfing raised the stakes in the 90’s by allowing surfers to catch even bigger waves than what they were paddling into. Surfboards of this specialty don’t need to be as extended as their predecessors, since all the speed necessary is achieved by the use of a jet ski.

   Bodyboarding has always been adaptable. A single board can meet our needs for a smorgasbord of wave types and conditions. No need for a quiver.

In 1996, Mike Stewart was the first to be towed into the almighty waves of Pe’ahi on a bodyboard. On the 15th of January of 2016, Magno Passos would paddle into a 45 foot wave at Jaws and in more recent years, Andrew Karr has been leading the charge bodyboarding mammoth sized waves at Jaws. In February of 2020, Karr was towed into a massive wave at Nazaré during a swell that reached heights of 50 to 60 feet. In an interview with Movement magazine, Karr had this to say about his experience at Nazaré “…as I skipped down the face I could not control the board enough to set a line around it.” Even Mike Stewart described his experience of being towed into a wave at Jaws as a “controlled crash” while speaking to Alex Gray in a Talk Wave podcast, however he did also say that he believes there are no limits for bodyboarding big waves when the surface conditions are optimal.

Levi has been checking the forecasts for longer period west to northwest swells to arrive and combine with optimal wind conditions in Nazaré since 2014 but the swell that motivated him to go next level was on October 24th of 2016. Pedro’s words to Vert magazine about that day were that he decided to get to the lineup by paddling there “from Praia do Vila, since it was impossible to enter at Praia do Norte. It was a long journey that exhausted me.. I tried three times to catch a giant wave but it was impossible to enter a wave of that size using only the paddle.” Pedro explains in this same interview with Vert magazine that after a while, Porkito and João de Macedo, who were there filming other big wave chargers, offered to give him a ride on their jet ski. As he climbed onto the sled, a humongous juggernaut of a wave appeared at the same time. The leviathan caught up to them as they were fleeing, demolished the jet ski and any chance he may have had at being towed into a wave. Thankfully everyone was rescued and nobody was seriously injured during their incident with the giant.

Even though he wasn’t able to ride a wave that day, he goes on to tell the guys at Vert, that just witnessing the unique 20-meter (65-foot) waves made it the most magical day of bodyboarding he’s ever had.

   So why does Pedro Levi believe he may be able to succeed in pushing the limits? He has built a reputation in Peniche through years of dive bombing and navigating through the undulating avalanches of Nazaré on his regular 41.75 inches of foam. Even so; the non-believer would say it’s too dangerous, a herculean feat or even quixotic. This is where his old friend and mentor Carlos Fernandes, known in the bodyboarding community of Peniche as Gato, comes in. 

Levi made an impression on Gato and the older crew of bodyboarders as a kid. His passion for the sport was and is what Gato admires about him.

Levi first discovered his affinity for bodyboarding when he was 10 years old while on a family vacation. Growing up in Lisbon, the family would escape from city life by spending their summers in the bay of Peniche. He would pine all year for the summer to return until eventually the vacation spot became home. From riding the soft waves of the bay as a kid, Pedro developed a taste for the more hollow and powerful waves of Supertubos during his adolescence. As he matured in life, his taste in waves evolved to include the thundering slabs of Ericeira and the colossal walls of Nazaré.

   In March of 1995, Shaper Gato, as he is known professionally, began work with Lazer Bodyboards. Shaper Gato’s former bosses at Lazer were representatives of Rip Curl in Portugal which was affiliated with Rip Curl in France which was affiliated with Toobs Bodyboards in Europe. Through an agreement between the three companies; Lazer, Toobs and Rip Curl; Lazer Bodyboards began producing for Toobs Bodyboards, a way for Toobs to increase its production and presence in Portugal. Enter Mike Brum and Buzz of Toobs who were tasked with teaching their production method to the guys at Lazer. 

   Gato was inspired to dive deeper into his craft as a result of his time spent with Mike and Buzz. Eventually he wished for more creative freedom to evolve his skills, develop his own ideas and explore new technologies associated with the art of building bodyboards. Parting ways with Lazer and teaming up with business partner Nuno Barrela would lead to the creation of Refresh Bodyboards in 2007. 

Pedro told Gato about his aspirations to one day ride one of these beasts that emerge from the underwater canyon at Praia do Norte. With Pedro’s input on how the board feels on the water, what’s working right and what isn’t, Gato began working on a bodyboard specifically designed to handle the high speed of towing into and riding bigger waves.

To be continued in Part II: The Board…