Uploaded June 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago

---

"Anything that is worth pursuing is going to require us to suffer, just a little bit," says surf photographer Chris Burkard, as he explains his obsession with the coldest, choppiest, most isolated beaches on earth. With jawdropping photos and stories of places few humans have ever seen — much less surfed — he draws us into his "personal crusade against the mundane."

Follow TED news on Twitter: twitter.com/tednews
Like TED on Facebook: facebook.com/TED

Please visit: chrisburkard.com to see more work, and follow here:

FACEBOOK: on.fb.me/1wcwNW5
INSTAGRAM: bit.ly/1vpibBX
BLOG: bit.ly/1FdCQJ7