Monster wave 'spanked' me, reveals Aussie motocross daredevil Maddison

Australian motocross daredevil Robbie Maddison has revealed he was hammered by the monster wave that formed the stunning backdrop to his freak surfing stunt.

Maddison, who used specially built skis to surf a dirt bike off Tahiti, released footage of the stunt yesterday which shows him riding across the face of a wave, estimated to be six metres high.

VIDEO: Robbie Maddison's craziest stunts

While his exit appears to be perfectly timed - and resulted in him momentarily disappearing into tonnes of spray - Maddison says he was actually 'spanked' by the wave as it closed out."I thought it was all over at this point," he told the Today Show as he watched a replay of the stunt."It took me down, I was struggling. I was lucky to get out of this. You don't see it, but I actually get spanked there."The bike hits me in the back and I lost the wind out of my sail, but lived to tell the story and I'm just so stoked." The 34 year-old took spent two years modifying his bike for the stunt and admitted he 'drowned' his machine on several occasions.Rebuilding it took four hours at a time, but the persistence paid off, helping him to prove his doubters wrong."I've been laughed at, dirt's been kicked in my face and it just feels bittersweet to launch this video and just have... such a great audience... it's been received so well."Maddison, whose past stunts have included backflipping a motorbike across London's Tower Bridge and leaping onto Paris' Arc de Triomphe, also hinted that the 'softer' stunt involving water may hold the key to his future exploits."I've done a lot of crazy stuff in the past and a lot of people expect the next crazy thing out of me."One thing I want to change is that I'm a father of two now and I really want to ensure I'm around for them, so part of my vision is to follow what I am passionate about."I'm passionate about surfing, I grew up surfing, so it was only a matter of time before I combined the two and I'm glad that it worked out."

VIDEO: Robbie Maddison's craziest stunts