#344 The Gift & Curse of Todos Santos - Coco Nogales

At eight, Coco Nogales sold gum on the street in Mexico City. He was a runaway, sleeping in bushes and bus stops, and if the police caught him, they would throw him in a juvenile detention center, so he hid at night and worked on the streets to survive. Eventually, he had enough money to buy a bus ticket to Puerto Escondido, a small town with one of the most dangerous big waves on the planet.

The watershed moment of his career came when he was 17, photographed surfing a gigantic wave at Puerto Escondido. He says it changed his life forever. Determination and following every opportunity led him to where he is today. Now recognized as one of the top big wave surfers in Mexico, he has traveled the world from Hawaii and South Africa and many places in between.

During this podcast, Nogales tells the story of nearly drowning at Todos Santos, a big wave in northern Baja, and the lessons he learned through his recovery.

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