On the surfing Oscars' trail

Axi Muniain's secret to ensure his muscles respond and fear is dispelled when he faces walls of water up to 20 meters high is all to do with mathematics: 1,875.312, 1,875.313... Muniain, a surfer born in Zarautz in the Basque Country, likes to count big numbers while he plucks up the courage to ride massive waves in Ireland, Galicia, the Basque Country and France.

Muniain is not a conventional surfer. He shuns many competitions, preferring to seek adventure in other challenges. In 2007, he threw himself into searching for and capturing the biggest wave of the year, with the aim of participating in the Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards, considered the Oscars of the sport: the gala takes place in Los Angeles and competitors parade down a red carpet. "There's also the question of glamour," Muniain jokes.

However, there were times when the surfer did not have the necessary means, primarily economic, to spend long periods on the road. "I saw that the lack of space and being exposed to the elements undermined the spirit of the team," he explains. As a result, he resolved to remodel the interior of a truck and install all the necessary home comforts to live in it during each of his trips.

But then came the recession, and with it a reduction in sponsorship revenues. "Doing up the truck was like getting a mortgage," Muniain recalls. But he continues to surf, as he has done since he was 13 years old when he took his first wave on the beach in Zarautz.

Last September, he sustained an injury in Ireland. Physical complaints, which obliged him to return to Zarautz to recover, made achieving his goal even more difficult. When all appeared to be sinking around him, BAT Basque Team, the foundation created by the regional government to foment high-level sport in the region, along with utilities company Naturgas, offered Muniain the chance to attempt to win the Los Angeles prize.

Since then, Muniain and his team have been traveling the length and breadth of Europe in search of a giant wave. Muniain recalls the experience he had in Ireland when he caught a monster between some rocks and the force of the sea in Galicia. But so far it has not been enough. "We have met the requisites to be nominated, but at the moment I don't think we can expect to form part of the final," he says.

The surfer admits the marathon trips to Ireland are tiring, more so when he is the only driver in his team of six people. But the passion he displays for the sport and his enthusiasm for reaching his objective exceed any and all setbacks. "It's all worth it for the wave," he says.