Two years ago, Maya Gabeira rolled up in Cape Town to compete at the Billabong Big Wave Awards. With only a jet-ski and her mentor for company, she confirmed her status as the queen of big wave surfing by riding a 45 ft monster at the revered and feared Dungeons Break - the biggest wave ever ridden by a female.

The 24-year-old admits that since taking to the waves aged 14, she’s had to overcome a fear of big waves - and it’s safe to say she’s got over that phobia.

At 17 she saw the big waves in real life was inspired. Watching many of the guys riding the big waves, she thought it would be “cool” for a woman to do it too.

“You only have so many chances, so when everything is on the line, you just go. You know what you’ve done to be there, so you take the risk.”

She set herself a goal of surfing the 25ft bay in four years - she did it the next year at just 18.

“It was something I knew would take so much dedication of me… I thought the result, if I could ever do it, would be the most amazing thing I could do. So I went for it.”

We’ve got a sneak peek of Maya in action below. Prepare to be amazed!

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This video is taken from the latest issue of Rio Ferdinand’s digital publication, #5 magazine.To View the latest issue of #5, go to http://app.5mag.co ^[1] or download from iTunes.

Jessica Whittington, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine