I can tell you for a fact that they wear specially designed flotation vests that they have under their wetsuits. That wave is Nazare and is considered "soft" when compared to other breaks that get to the same size. And while holding your breathe for that long seems crazy, you would be surprised how long you can go when your life depends on it. Some of the worst hold downs of my life have been in less than 8ft of water where i thought "oh god this is it", only to make it through. Takes some recovery physically and mentally to get back at it though
