Steven Lenhart was going to drown. He was sure of it.



An experienced surfer, he ventured out alone into massive swells off the coast of Big Sur, Calif., early one morning in the winter of 2013. At 6-foot-1 with an athletic frame, Lenhart is capable of handling himself in tough conditions. This day was different. The sheer size of the ocean, the incomprehensible power of the 20-foot waves, the strength of the current—it was all too much. He remembers how small it made him feel, how helpless.



Paddling out was hell, more survival than surfing. It took him an hour of “pure animal, nothing else matters, going as hard as fucking possible” effort just to get himself to a place where he might be able to catch a wave. His girlfriend at the time lost sight of him from the shore. She thought he’d been thrown onto the rocks. Assumed the worst. Called the Coast Guard to initiate a search for his body.



Out in the water, Lenhart, notorious during his...