Tao Berman takes a hybrid kayak/surfboard with fins and rails into the ocean to have a shot at kayak-surfing some of the biggest ocean waves. Apparently this goal of Tao’s took 3 years to become a reality, and now after he has conquered the biggest wave that has ever been surfed in a kayak, Tao cannot think of any more kayaking records to be set and so he is retiring from the paddling sport.

Is that overly cocky or well deserved? I can’t decide, but it seems like pursuing a sport simply because of a love of that sport is lost at the level that Tao kayaks. I am not the pinnacle athlete of any sport however, so I don’t know the feeling of having nothing left to conquer. The fact remains that Tao has brought kayaking to a new level throughout his career and still holds some insane world records. The ocean wave that Tao surfed in his kayak was measured at 40 feet, another world record.