It’s not every day that someone spends an entire work shift riding a single wave. But Austrian surfer Maximilian Neuböck just did exactly that and wrote his name in the world’s most famous record book.

At The RiverWave in Ebensee, Austria, Neuböck surfed for an astonishing 8 hours, 5 minutes, and 44 seconds, earning himself the Guinness World Record for the longest time spent surfing a wave (male).

Max started his marathon session early in the morning, just as sunlight began to creep over the snow-dusted peaks of the Salzkammergut.

The air was cold, but the surfer was calm and focused.

Once he hopped on his board, he didn’t get off again – not for food, not for rest, not even for a bathroom break.

Surfing, Soup, and Stamina

During the record-breaking ride, Neuböck managed to keep his balance while sipping soup, eating pizza, using a massage gun on his legs, and drinking energy drinks.

Spectators on the dock occasionally handed him warm drinks and snacks, which he accepted without ever leaving the moving wave.

For more than eight hours, Max carved back and forth across the steady flow of water, muscles burning but focus unbroken.

When his timer finally crossed the previous record – 3 hours, 55 minutes, and 2 seconds, set in 2011 by Panamanian surfer Gary Saavedra – Neuböck still didn’t stop.

Maximilian pushed through nearly double that time before finally gliding back to the dock, exhausted but grinning, and splashed triumphantly into the water.

“Surfing fits perfectly in the Salzkammergut because the relaxed vibe of surfing matches the laid-back spirit of the region,” Neuböck said in August, a couple of months before this stunt.

Who are we to doubt it, especially after witnessing an eight-hour-plus-long ride?

From Dream to RiverWave

The RiverWave, where Neuböck set his record, is Europe’s largest artificial river wave. It is a 33-foot (ten-meter) wide standing wave built on the Traun River.

The facility, which opened in 2020, can reach up to five feet (1.5 meters) in height and adjust its shape depending on water levels.

Neuböck is a local surfer but also the creator and operator of The RiverWave.

The idea began back in 2007 when he surfed a natural river wave in Ebensee and dreamed of building a permanent one.

Years later, after studying economics and working as a surf instructor abroad, he and his family invested over two million euros of their own money to make that dream real.

The RiverWave is now open year-round, even when winter drops water temperatures to just 37 ºF to 43 ºF (3 ºC to 6 ºC).

It draws surfers from across Europe and beyond, all eager to test their skills on a mountain-fed wave hundreds of miles from the ocean.

Neuböck’s new Guinness World Record highlights a growing culture of inland surfing, where creative ideas and technology give birth to hardcore boardsports communities..

Apparently, the surf can be up in the Austrian Alps, too.

Meanwhile, the women’s record for the longest time spent surfing a wave remains in the hands of Lori Keeton for her eight-hour wakesurfing ride on Raccoon Lake in Rockville, Indiana, USA, in June 2021.

Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com