Who was Marcio Freire? Legendary Mad Dogs surfer dies while surfing giant wave in Nazare

Well-known surfer Marcio Freire recently passed away at the age of 47 after meeting with an accident while surfing, the Municipality of Nazare reported.

Eyewitnesses rushed to save him and lifeguards and firefighters tried to revive him as well. However, he did not respond and was pronounced dead on the spot. His remains were taken to Leiria’s Legal Medicine Institute. The Municipality of Nazare also expressed its grief over the incident and stated:

“Municipality of Nazare presents its deepest condolences to the entire bereaved family as well as to the entire surfing community and leaves a public thank you to everyone who did everything to avoid this outcome.”

Photographer Fred Pompermayer paid tribute to Freire on Facebook by posting a few pictures. He mentioned that Freire was a great man and a good friend.

The post read:

“He was such a happy spirit, always with a smile on his face. He was one of the three 'Mad Dogs' who started paddling at Jaws in the early days. He will be forever greatly missed. Rest in peace my friend.”

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Marcio Freire worked several other jobs apart from being a surfer

Marcio Freire appeared in a documentary in 2016 (Image via Eric Akiskalian/Facebook)

Marcio Freire was a surfing champion in Bahia, north of Rio de Janeiro. In 1998, he shifted to Hawaii and was 23 years old at the time.

He remained in Hawaii until 2020 and returned to his hometown when he began to miss the culture. Although he was a surfer, he was also employed as a gardener, diving instructor, and tourist guide on boat excursions.

Marcio participated in various competitions and although he was an expert at surfing, he did not sign a contract with any partner brand. He spent most of his time on the island of Maui in the 90s and surfed the dangerous wave of Jaws. Despite the dangers attached to the spot, he always went alone without being accompanied by anyone.

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Marcio enjoyed surfing with his best friends Danilo Couto and Yuri Soledad. A documentary based on their life, titled Mad Dogs, was released in 2016. It explored the reasons why Freire, Couto, and Soledad preferred to face the Jaws. Freire’s followers eventually started calling him "Mad Dog" because he never had any security around him. He said in the documentary:

“We didn’t have any safety. It was pure courage guided by the desire to go down a huge wave. The risks were many without proper safety. If an accident happened, it would be the end of the journey. Nothing forced us to do what we did. It was all for ourselves, for our personal satisfaction.”

Marcio Freire is survived by two daughters, whose identities are yet to be revealed.