Watch: Miguel Blanco Charges Wild Waves In Passenger 2

Originally posted on SURFER | By Chris Dodds | Last updated Dec 2, 2024 1:19 PM ET

Miguel Blanco is no stranger to wild waves of all sizes and his latest film, Passenger 2, leaves no doubt that the Portuguese surfer excels when things go XL. Things start off at home in Portugal and proceed to traverse some of the most iconic big waves in the world from Nazaré to Jaws and Madeira to Mavericks to Todos Santos–an impressive big wave journey by all accounts.

Clearly he is one of those rare surfers that is well-rounded in all conditions, we see Miguel charge on huge paddle-in days and also get whipped into monsters far beyond the paddle limits of any surfer. At the onset of the film we hear him say, "I feel like surfing big waves has a part of my life now. At times, people think I’m this laid-back human but they often don’t realize the crazy amount of time and energy that is spent getting that one special wave.”

By the looks of Miguel’s last winter, as we get to see the highlights of in Passenger 2, surfing those giant waves all around the world in one season is anything but laid back. Whether he’s getting deep in double overhead tubes just feet away from dry reef or threading his way through speedy and tight point break barrels, disappearing fully for seconds on end, and remerging much farther down the line, you can see the man has been putting in some serious time and finding synchronization with mind-bending ocean conditions.

“The message from the Passenger is to truly see and feel, with our own eyes, just how nature is so much greater than us. I appreciate it a lot, and I respect it in the way of getting in touch with it and getting in sync with my surfing–it’s how I express myself. Coming from Portugal, I’m lucky to be able to train and prepare for all those waves around the world here at home. There’s such a vast coastal offering with all sorts of waves–point breaks to slabs, to epic beach breaks, to Nazaré.”

One of the things I love about Miguel is his commitment to environmental activism and raising awareness in the surf community. As a seasoned world traveler he has seen firsthand the effects of climate change and plastic pollution, themes he explores in his Impact film series. Miguel is an ambassador for Sustainable Surf & Sea Trees, and he uses Gold Standard Eco-Boards whenever possible.

Of the boards in Passenger 2, all were Gold Standard Eco-Boards aside from his big wave boards. He’s lately been collaborating with PolyOla and using their recycled PU blanks and has been developing big wave guns that can also meet the Gold Standard.

This year Miguel has already logged some time at Nazaré, like the first day of the swell last week but went in pursuit of another heavy wave the day that Nic Von Rupp and ___ had their collision. He’ll soon be back in Hawaii and ready for whatever the Pacific can serve up and, lucky for us, there will be more extraordinary rides to see whenever he drops his next film.

In the meantime, check out Passenger 2 and the rest of Miguel’s Youtube content to get inspired for your next session.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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