Carlos Burle

Carlos Burle (born November 9, 1967) is a retired Brazilian surfer and 2x world champion in big wave surfing. He was one of the pioneers of tow-in surfing, a technique which allows for surfing bigger waves. In 2013 he rode a wave with an apparent height of , which would have been the tallest wave ever ridden if verified. Burle has been described as Brazil's "first-ever big wave freesurfer".

Career Burle was born in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. He said that as a boy, even though there was a lot of love from his parents, his father told him that if he followed surfing he would end up picking garbage off the street, because surfing wasn't a profession he could live from.

In November 2001, at Mavericks, California, Burle surfed the largest wave ever recorded at the time, measuring . This was only possible thanks to tow-in surfing, a technique he helped introduce to the sport. The Pororoca is a tidal bore which can reach 4 meters height and flow up to 13 km upstream on the Amazon River from its mouth under certain conditions.

In 2003, at Jaws on the north shore of Maui, he fractured his sacrum, L1 vertebra, and broke his left hip, requiring four months on crutches.

In 2010, Burle won the inaugural Big Wave World Tour for the 2009/2010 season. The tour consisted of four competitions, the Quiksilver Ceremonial Punta de Lobos in Chile, the Billabong Pico Alto Invitational in Peru, the Maverick's Surf Contest in California, and Todos Santos Big Wave Event in Mexico.

List of top 10 placements in competitions (2009-2016):

2009: 4th place, Todos Santos Big Wave Event 5th place, Mavericks Surf Contest 2nd place, Billabong Pico Alto 5th place, Quiksilver Ceremonial Chile 2010: 7th place, Nelscott Reef Classic 3rd place, Billabong Pico Alto 9th place, Quiksilver Ceremonial Chile 2012: 1st place, Billabong Pico Alto 2014: 7th place, Billabong Pico Alto 2015: 3rd place, Todos Santos Challenge 2016: 2nd place, Nazaré Challenge 4th place, Puerto Escondido Challenge

On October 28, 2013, at age 45, Burle surfed a wave in Nazaré, Portugal which was judged to be tall. The wave would have been the tallest measured wave ever surfed if verified.

In 2019, at age 50, he was a finalist for the XXL Awards, in the tow-in category "Ride of the Year", at Jaws, Hawaii.

On December 3, 2025, Burle suffered a severe wipeout and was nearly drowned by a massive wave at Nazaré. He was saved by fellow surfers Lucas Chumbo and Will Santana, who were able to pull him from the water and tow him to safety.

He has been sponsored by Redley, Red Bull, Mitsubishi, DoBem and Mormaii.

Personal life Burle's partner is Ligia Kuntz Moura. He has several children. He lives in Rio de Janeiro and Hawaii.