Nic von Rupp. « The wave of Nazareth is a permanent challenge between man and nature »

Nicholas (NIC) Von Rupp was born in Portugal in 1990, began surfing at the age of eight and won national and international titles as a junior. In 2013, he was considered European Surfer of the Year and, in 2015, became runner-up in the world in Nicaragua. «The first time I surf I felt something I had never felt before, and never stopped. From there, I always had a huge desire to be at sea and constantly evolving, ”the surfer from Praia Grande told us.

He began to go to Nazareth at 14, and focused on the surf of the big waves, where he has achieved impressive performances. In Tudor Nazaré Big Wave Challenge 2025 made a team with the Frenchman Clement Roseyro and won by teams, with Roseyro being the best on the individual level. For the second time, Portugal had a big rider winning in the largest waves in the world. «This (victory) is for Portugal. I am extremely happy and proud, ”he told the national flag. «The stigma that Brazilians send here is not true. The Portuguese are the ones who send in Nazareth. Waves are ours and we are here to surf the biggest waves and to win. Let's go with everything, ”he said with a natural satisfaction. He added: « To win in Nazareth is not enough to be a good surfer, it must be a good pilot and have a solid team as happened with Mountains of the Sea. The ripple was not ideal, you need to know well the characteristics of Nazareth, » he recalled. After second place in 2024 and this year's victory, he refused to be the reference of the race. «Nazareth has no king, the king of Nazareth is the wave itself. It's the most challenging spot in the world, ”he made a point of stressing.

The biggest surfed wave
He considers that the North Beach Sea is different from any other -« It is a permanent challenge between man and nature, » he said he likes challenges and wants to beat Guinness world records. But not everyone thinks that. “The first time I came to Nazareth in 2004, it was integrated into a surfers group. Some of them when they saw the waves turned back and left, ”he said.

Nic von Rupp spent many hours in the water preparing this year's edition. «We have been the whole season to train in small waves, large waves, giant waves of 30 meters, offshore,“ onshore ”, good and bad conditions. I feel our team did everything to win. We had the motorcycle rider who pulled us to the wave and a spotter on land communicating with the rider so we could surf safely, ”he said. The preparation could not have rushed better. «At the end of January we had the biggest ripples of all time. For five years I hadn't seen anything like this, he said. It was in this scenario that the Portuguese surfer « rode » a monstrous wave that can give world record: « Possibly the biggest wave of my life has ripped. When the season is finished we will work with experts and WSL to find out if I managed to hit the record of the biggest wave ever surfed.

Facing the biggest waves in the world is a challenge just within the reach of an elite, where it takes a lot of courage, skill and a rigorous preparation at various levels to descend those threatening water walls. «I start training from June. I do three months of daily training with a fitness coach and I also do apnea training. If our body is well prepared, our mind collaborates and we go to the most rested water. I have to feel that I am the best prepared person to be in the sea, ”he explained. Nevertheless, there are always moments of some anxiety, as happened in late January. « We never know if we will survive these ripples. »

When he reaches the top of the wave and begins to descend that overwhelming wall of water, the focus is on total, as he clarified: «When I drop the rope and start down the wave is a moment of silence and focus. It is the moment when I have the adrenaline at most and that I believe I will be able to surf the wave until the end. When a person ends at the top of the world. « There is always a multitude to see the proof and when I finish the wave I hear the screams and applause of people, » confides us. In these long seconds, everything goes on with a lot of respect. « We will face a superior force of nature, we do not know the power of the waves and things can run badly very quickly. » And there are naturally special moments. « When I do a good wave I'm pleased, but the best time is when I arrive at Porto, at the end of the day, and we are all safe, » he confided.

'Without fear we commit crazy things'
Anyone who sees him to surf large waves may think that he is insensitive to danger, but not true. « People think we are not afraid, but it's not quite so, » he remembered « at first, he thought that the big wave surfers were fearless and not afraid. When I entered the middle I realized that everyone has their demons and fears. The question is how we deal with our fears. I was always a surfer who faced fear and moved on, but with caution. Considers that fear is constant and positive. Without fear we commit crazy things. The goal is to walk the limits to surf the biggest waves without endangering the entire team. The experienced surfer recalled that “When I started surfing I was afraid of the waves of two and three meters and the stones, it was my coach João Macedo who taught me to surpass these fears in a very natural way. Then I was always looking for evolution until I reached the big waves, ”he said.
Its times have always been very filled, with high performance surf and passion for giant waves, which begins in November, that is, when all other surfers are resting. Nazareth is, in your opinion, the best spot in the world, and explained why. «It is a phenomenon of nature, which can be compared to other symbols such as Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls or even Montblanc. There are no waves as large as in Nazareth anywhere in the world, 30 meters high. Abroad, there is talk of Cristiano Ronaldo, but also the giant waves of Nazareth, ”he said proudly.

Nic von Rupp is involved in the Mountains of the Sea project and is already eyeing a future giant wave zone. « It is the first year of a very ambitious team created to do the waves of Nazareth, but it has another goal of finding the future big wave, » he says. « We believe that there are these waves in places that have never been explored, such as between mainland and the Azores, where there are huge waves, but it takes resources, » he said.

Another goal is to put more people in the water. «It is clinically proven that the sea heals and I believe surfing is therapy. I want to make surf accessible to a larger number of people. This is important for the development of this sport, but also for the welfare of society. Mountains of the Sea has associated with various institutions to lead children to practice surfing. Some elements of our team support young athletes who have no resources to compete and, in Nazareth, we supported a 13 -year -old surfer who already makes large waves. They are small steps to my big dream of making surf more accessible to everyone, ”he concluded.