Peter Mel

Peter Mel, born and raised along the immaculate coastline of Santa Cruz, California, is an American Broadcaster and Athlete. Growing up in the surf community and his family surf shop, established in 1969 by his father John Mel. This provided the perfect breeding ground for a talented surfer. Peter quickly became well known in his home town and around the world for his talent in the big wave arena. Surfing waves of fifty foot faces, while using his signature sweeping turns and humble demeanor.Peter earned the respect of his peers and in 1998 established himself as a premier big wave rider being voted eighth best surfer in the world at the Surfer Poll Awards.On October 28, 1999, ten days after the birth of his son, Peter was towed into the biggest wave ever ridden on the West Coast at the time. Some say one of the biggest waves ever ridden anywhere. He backed it up in 2001 with the inaugural mission to Cortes Bank, site of the first XXL Challenge winning wave.Candor was always one of Mel's better traits and by 2010, his straightforward charm was fueling a secondary career as online personality hosting WSL webcasts. He not only competed in the 2009 Big Wave Quiksilver Eddie Aikau event at Waimea Bay in Hawaii, he also provided commentary for much of the day. After years of chasing big wave swells and the Big Wave World Tour, it is no surprise that today Peter holds his most cherished title, crowned Big Wave World Champion 2012 and Mavericks Champion 2013.Along with his surfing career and being known for his talent as the voice of surfing, Peter is also a voiceover personality for Mattel Inc and has appeared in the big screen documentaries “Step Into Liquid” from Dana Brown and Stacy Peralta’s “Riding Giants”. Peter was cast in the feature film “Chasing Mavericks” directed by Michael Apted and Curtis Hanson, acting alongside Gerard Butler as friends that challenge the treacherous break of Northern California.

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