Mike Stewart is a legendary waterman. No question.
Hailing from the Big Island of Hawaii, Stewart is a bodysurfer, nine-time bodyboarding world champion, and all-around one of the best wave-riders to ever step foot in the ocean. And at 62 years old, Stewart is still sending it all these years later.
For instance, in case you haven’t noticed, Teahupo’o, Tahiti has been on the pump lately. Stewart was there during this epic run of swell, and the sexagenarian absolutely sent it on a bomb. He airdropped from the top of the lip, all the way to the bottom, getting obliterated in the process. But boy, oh boy, was the footage insane. Watch it below.
Longtime Teahupo’o lensman Tim McKenna captioned the clip:
“62 years old and still charging like a grom. @mikestewart is back at the #endoftheroad working on a bodysurfing movie @the_bodysurfers_the_movie. As the swell peaked he grabbed his bodyboard to catch a few. Broken board and probably broken rib.”
The respect rolled in through comments:
“Once a legend, always a legend.” – Michel Bourez
“Savage send!” – Kiron Jabour
“That was crazy.” – Tikanui Smith
Stewart has a long history with Teahupo’o. In fact, he was one of the first to ever ride the wave, amongst other behemoths. According to Matt Warshaw’sEncyclopedia of Surfing:
“Stewart and fellow Hawaiian bodyboarder Ben Severson are credited as the first to ride bigger surf at Tahiti’s Teahupoo in the late ’80s; in the early ’90s, Stewart was the first bodyboarder to ride 20-foot-plus waves on the outer reefs of Oahu’s North Shore; in 1993 he became the first bodyboarder to ride Jaws on Maui. Stewart spent seven days following a big southern hemisphere-spawned swell in mid-1996 as it moved northward, riding first in Tahiti, then on to Hawaii, Southern California, and central California, finally ending up in Alaska.”
And all these years later, he’s still sending it. Certified legend.