Portuguese charger Alex Botelho has always been one of Europe’s more under the radar big wave standouts. 

That is, until Feb of this year when he almost lost his life on the live webcast at the Nazaré Challenge. After a collision with the jetski knocked him unconscious, Alex could be seen floating face down for what felt like an age before he was dragged to the beach and revived. In hospital, a medical examination determined that his oxygen flow had stopped for 10 ten whole minutes, with doctors reportedly concluding it was a miracle he didn’t have any brain damage. 

Since then Alex has been quietly recovering at home, hanging with his girlfriend, fishing and rediscovering his love for surfing. Although he’s still a little way off heading out at Nazaré, returning to big waves remains his ultimate focus. Earlier this week he dropped an edit he’s been working on for a while, featuring footage from the last few winters mostly around his home in Portugal with a bit of Indo thrown in for good measure.