The famed Brazilian surfer M├бrcio Freire died while surfing in the town of Nazar├й on PortugalтАЩs central coast, an area renowned in the sport for its record-breaking giant waves, PortugalтАЩs National Maritime Authority said on Friday.
Mr. Freire, 47, had starred in тАЬMad Dogs,тАЭ a 2016 documentary about his attempt with two other Brazilian surfers to conquer the giant wave тАЬJawsтАЭ in Hawaii.
He died on Thursday, after falling while tow-in surfing, a technique that involves a surfer being pulled into giant waves usually by a jet ski, according to a statement from the National Maritime Authority, the agency responsible for PortugalтАЩs coast guard duties. Although rescuers managed to get him back to the beach by jet ski, they said all attempts to resuscitate him failed.
Mr. Freire began surfing at an early age, picking up medals and trophies in his home turf of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil тАФ renowned for having some of the countryтАЩs best surfing spots. After finding local fame among surfers, he decided to move to Hawaii in the 1990s, and it was there that he shocked the surfing world by surfing the formidable тАЬJawsтАЭ wave without being towed in, a feat previously seen as impossible.
He frequently said in interviews that he saw surfing as a lifestyle rather than a profession. He rarely received sponsorships and often worked odd jobs in the service sector to help support his passion for surfing.
тАЬI never made a living from surfing. I never made money from surfing,тАЭ Mr. Freire told the podcast тАЬLetтАЩs SurfтАЭ in a recent interview. тАЬI had very few times тАФ counting them on my fingers тАФ money that came from surfing.тАЭ
тАЬI was more of a soul surfer,тАЭ he added.
Nazar├й is known for having some of the worldтАЩs biggest surfable waves, a spectacle that has turned the once sleepy Portuguese fishing village into a mecca for extreme surfers and the sportтАЩs growing fan base in recent years. Tall as a 10-story building, the waves are caused by a submarine canyon тАФ three miles deep, and 125 miles long тАФ that abruptly ends just before the villageтАЩs shoreline.
A number of serious accidents have occurred at the popular spot since an American, Garrett McNamara, first put Nazar├й on the map in 2011 when he set a world surfing record. But Thursday was the first time that a surfer had been killed there, a spokesman for the local maritime police wrote in an email.
тАЬItтАЩs unlike any other wave at big-wave spots,тАЭ Andrew Cotton, a British surfer, told The New York Times in 2018 after breaking his back in Nazar├й a year earlier. In other big-wave spots, the waves break in the same place, he said, and are largely predictable. But Nazar├й, he said, тАЬis just all over the place.тАЭ
The spokesman for the local maritime police said that although there were characteristically big waves on Thursday, conditions were not out of the ordinary.
As news of Mr. FreireтАЩs death broke, tributes began to pour in from across the global surfing community.
тАЬYour legacy will live on forever in our hearts. Until we meet again my brother,тАЭ Yuri Soledade, a Brazilian big wave surfer who starred in the 2016 documentary alongside Mr. Freire, wrote in an Instagram post.
A sports photographer, Fred Pompermayer, wrote, also on Instagram: тАЬToday we lost a great man, a very good friend and a legendary surfer, Marcio Freire. He was such a happy spirit, always with a smile on his face.тАЭ He added, тАЬRest in peace my friend.тАЭ
The American big-wave surfer Ian Walsh called him тАЬa true pioneer,тАЭ in an Instagram post.
тАЬMarcio had an infectious happy energy and was a very special person. Every time you crossed paths with him your day was a lot better,тАЭ he added.
Ana Ionova contributed reporting.
