Did Rodrigo Koxa Just Ride a 95.64-Foot Wave at Nazaré?
Rodrigo Koxa’s Nazaré ride is being pegged at 95.64 ft. If Guinness confirms it, the new benchmark tops Steudtner’s 86 ft record.
Here’s What’s Real, What’s Claimed, and What Comes Next
Nazaré does this every winter – it turns the Atlantic into a moving mountain range and dares a small group of surfers to pick a line down the face.
But December 2025 kicked up something extra: a new “biggest wave ever” claim tied to Brazilian charger Rodrigo Koxa. The number being circulated is 29.15 meters (95.64 feet) from a December 19 session at Praia do Norte.
If that number ends up verified through the official process, it would leapfrog the current Guinness World Records benchmark: Sebastian Steudtner’s 26.21 m (86 ft) wave at Nazaré on October 29, 2020.
Right now, though, the key phrase is “if confirmed.” And in big-wave surfing, confirmation is the whole story.
The official record vs. the internet record
The official men’s record on the books remains Steudtner’s 86-foot (26.21 m) wave. It’s listed by Guinness as the current mark and specifically notes it was authenticated via the World Surf League as part of the Red Bull Big Wave Awards process.
The claimed Koxa number – 95.64 feet – is being pushed through the usual early-cycle channels: social posts, clips, and quick-turn measurements that may or may not match whatever methodology is ultimately accepted for record ratification. The Inertia summed it up bluntly: someone measured the wave, posted the 29.15 m figure, and the “record” conversation immediately ignited again.
That gap – between “measured online” and “officially authenticated” – is where most record hype goes to die.
Why wave records take forever (and why that’s not a bad thing)
Wave height measurement isn’t a casual tape-measure situation. Angles lie. Lenses distort. Perspective changes everything. And when you’re dealing with a moving wall of water, you’re also dealing with:
- the difference between face height and trough-to-crest
- camera placement and timing (where the surfer is on the face matters)
- slope, wind texture, and “crumbly” sections that throw off clear reference points
The Inertia pointed to a recent example outside Nazaré that illustrates the problem perfectly: a Mavericks wave that got loudly claimed at 108 feet eventually came back as 76 feet when officially measured.
That’s why serious verification tends to move slowly – and why the sport is better for it.
The other wrinkle: the verification system changed in 2025
There’s another reason the Koxa claim is especially worth watching: who verifies these records has been shifting.
According to reporting on a World Surf League announcement, the WSL moved into the record-verification role in 2022, but in 2025 it announced a transition back to Guinness World Records, with Big Wave Challenge Group collaborating with Guinness for new surfing records starting September 13, 2025.
Translation: the pathway to an official record is now more clearly “Guinness-led,” and we’re likely to see more emphasis on standardized process and outside verification partners.
Koxa and Nazaré: why this one hits different
Rodrigo Koxa isn’t a random name getting swept up in a viral swell moment. He’s already been here. Guinness previously recognized Koxa for a 24.38 m (80 ft) wave at Nazaré (surfaced Nov 8, 2017, later awarded). So when his name pops up again attached to another Nazaré number, the surf world pays attention – not because the internet says “record,” but because his track record says “don’t dismiss this.”
What needs to happen for this to become official
Evidence package: clear video, stills, camera metadata, and ideally multiple angles.
Measurement methodology: what reference points are used, how trough and crest are defined, how distortion is handled.
Independent verification: under the post-September 2025 model, Guinness and its verification partner would be central to that process. The Inertia
Public ratification: once accepted, the Guinness record listing updates (often not immediately). guinnessworldrecords.com
Until those steps happen, the honest headline is: “reported/claimed/estimated” – not “confirmed.”
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