Remember the swell that rocked Teahupo’o during the Billabong Pro Tahiti back in August?

Today we’re flashing back to the days when it was building into the monster it became to show you some of the worlds best warming up to surf the comp. Check out Matt Wilkinson, Micro Hall, Adrian ‘Ace’ Buchanan, Michel Bourez, John John Florence, Mitch Coleborne, Fred Patacchia, Josh Kerr, Jordy Smith and the Hobgood brothers getting deeper than most mere mortals would even dream on one of the scariest waves in the world. Heroic or crazy, these guys have a rare mix of technique and sheer cojones that lets them sit calmly in the belly of the beast. Wes Schaftenaar shot much of the footage in this clip on a Sony FS700 with an 80-200mm lens while sitting on a very rocky boat in the channel. No matter how long you’ve been in the game, you are almost guaranteed to get seasick in a situation like that. Despite his stomach doing backflips he held on and got the clips.