How to Surf An Ocean Wave with a Dirt Bike

(The Cinematography is Pretty Good, Too)

Never let it be said that humans can’t accomplish some really cool shit when they put their minds to it.

In a collaboration with DC Shoes, world-renowned motocross athlete Robbie Maddison recently took a trip to Tahiti, where he rode his custom dirt bike into the surf and caught a few waves. And we’re not talking little waves either. No, we’re talking massive 20 foot waves that could absolutely crush somebody. The crazy bike run was close to three years in the making, and of course, it was caught on camera (many cameras actually — the POV shots were taken with a Sony 4K Action Cam, apparently the X1000V) and edited down into an action sports segment that is as breathtaking as it is insane:

There’s a behind-the-scenes documentary underway as well, but unfortunately it appears like it won’t be released for some time. For now, here’s brief trailer for it:

If you’re wondering if the bike could survive a trip underwater — the answer is no. Here’s a snippet from his Rolling Stone interview:

Each time the bike went under, we had extensive mechanical work to rebirth it for another run. We knew we were bound to sink the bike a few times in Tahiti, so we switched from a 450cc four-stroke motor to a two-stroke motor for the advantage of having a less-complicated engine and less electronics and wiring to deal with.

Not only is the act of surfing on a motorcycle pretty badass in and of itself, but the production team behind this video pulled out all of the stops in terms of cinematic techniques. It’s par for the course for action sports films to be littered with plenty of aerial shots and slow motion, but this one runs the gamut and includes some serene macro shots, fast-moving tracking shots (which I’m guessing were captured from cars or other bikes), POV shots from Sony Action Cams, underwater shots, and many more. Add to that some incredibly immersive sound design and a slick, fast paced edit, and you’re left with one of the coolest and well-produced action sports segments of the year.