On an outer Tahitian reef break known as Teahupo’o, Laird Hamilton road a wave so massive, so powerful, it redefined what big wave riders thought was possible. There may be more ways of pronouncing Teahupo’o than there are letters in the English alphabet. Two of the most common are Chee-yow-po and Cho-poo. No matter how it is pronounced, when there’s large surf, Teahupo’o’s reef break is one of the most dangerous that can be surfed. Unlike most of the world’s big wave spots that break as cresting waves in deep water, Teahupo’o is just a huge mass moving forward as...