Every time a massive swell is forecast, Santa Cruz’s hard-charging, big wave surfer Alessandro “Alo” Slebir can hardly contain himself.

"It was something that I had never seen before out there," Alo Slebir, a veteran of large swells, tells PEOPLE Johnny Dodd is a senior writer at PEOPLE, who focuses on human interest, crime and ...

and safety personnel watch from the channel as Santa Cruz’s Alessandro “Alo” Slebir rides a wave at Mavericks, located off the coast of Half Moon Bay, that was estimated to be 108 feet on ...

Alo Slebir during a recent surf trip to Ireland (left) and while riding a potentially historic wave in December off the coast of California. Surfer Alo Slebir, 24, rode a gargantuan wave estimated ...

Surfer Alo Slebir, 24, rode a gargantuan wave estimated to be 108 feet high “It’s the fastest I’ve ever traveled on a surfboard,” Slebir tells PEOPLE. “I’ve never experienced a sensation like that ...

They concluded that Slebir’s ride was potentially 108 feet tall, meaning that he had just ridden a wave taller than any other surfer in history. The current record, 86 feet, was set in 2020 by ...