Kip Moore Details Hawaiian Surf Trip That Had Him Fearing For His Life: “This Is How I’m Gonna Die… Right Here”

Can anyone name a country music artist that’s more of a thrill-seeker than Kip Moore?

The country music singer just might be the most interesting man in the country music world. He loves to ride a wave surfing out on the ocean just as much as he likes to ride a hit onto the country charts, and he appreciates keeping life exciting… like when he ran into the cartel during a motorcycle trip through Mexico. The “Damn Love” singer loves to live life on the wilder side.

And while he was a guest on Tracy Lawrence’s TL’s Road House podcast, Moore told a story from a time he was trying to chase one of the world’s biggest waves a couple of years back (sometime between 2019 and 2021). The “Dirt Road” singer told Lawrence that there’s a wave off the coast of Maui that comes maybe once a year, and it’s referred to as “Jaws” by the surfing community:

“There’s a wave in Maui called Jaws, and when this thing is cooking, you’re looking at anywhere from 40 to 60 foot faces. Wrap your head around that. Like a 6-story building. When you are in the water, a 60-foot face feels like 200 feet. It’s just different. It’s very coveted.

There’s people that have lived there and are great surfers and have surfed their whole life that have never gotten the chance to be on the boat or the jet ski (to get out there). It only happens once every two or three years.”

Because Kip Moore has is an avid surfer himself, he’s got a lot of contacts that keep him up to date with some of the world’s best waves. One of his friends, who he describes as “literally insane,” gave him a heads up that “Jaws” was on its way, and fortunately for Moore, he was already out in Maui.

So the country music singer went out with what could only be described as more experienced surfers (they had knowledge, gear and breath-holding skills that surpassed Moore). And from the moment that his friend said that he had “never seen the harbor like this,” Moore was intimidated by “Jaws” as he and the others headed out towards the famous wave on jet skis:

“We haven’t even gotten 10 minutes into this ride and there’s no way to describe the angriness of this ocean. And we’re on a jet ski.”

At one point, Moore thought about jumping off and doing his best to make it to shore, but the ocean was so rough that he decided to stay with the others. Even the more experienced surfers were showing concern about the choppiness of the water, and that’s when Kip really started getting scared of being overpowered by the massive waves.

Even with the immediate danger they all faced, they continued out towards “Jaws,” and that’s when Kip Moore says they ran into a series of massive waves:

“Now we’re all flying and we see one wave coming. I’m like, ‘Oh man.’ We get over that one. They usually come in threes. The second one is coming and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I mean it’s a mountain. It’s a mountain rolling at you. We barely make it over the second one.

And they are shouting like, ‘Go, go, go!’ We’re topping in that thing. This monster comes through on the third set, and I’m preparing for death. I’m preparing like, ‘What’s my mom gonna think about this? What are the people in my life gonna think about this decision?’ This is how I’m gonna die, right here.”

Spoiler alert: Kip Moore and the rest of his crew made it. They apparently barely made it over that third wave, and then eventually made it out to “Jaws,” where other surfers were quite literally risking their live to ride the massive ocean wave. The country singer admits that, throughout it all, he wanted to fight his friend that asked him to go out there.

They eventually made it back to the harbor, but not before Moore’s friend broke his nose while trying to surf the wave called “Jaws.” And Kip made sure to tell that friend – broken nose and all – that he never wants to do something like that ever again.

It’s a heart-pounding story, and you can give it a listen by pressing play on the latest episode of TL’s Road House:

The post Kip Moore Details Hawaiian Surf Trip That Had Him Fearing For His Life: “This Is How I’m Gonna Die… Right Here” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.