Human Playground (2022) s01e04 Episode Script

1
Play is way more important
than you might think.
We play to learn.
We play to survive.
We play to explore
our inner selves and grow.
But that's not all.
We are animals that take pride
in being at the top
of the natural pecking order.
So we also play to prove
that we are better than the rest.
We hope our talents make us braver
and more impressive.
But is there more to these pursuits
than our urge to be the best?
These games are not about
crossing the finish line first.
They're about using our bodies
to create the greatest show.
When it comes to surfing,
the pursuit of perfection means
teaming up with Mother Nature.
Under these waters lies a unique canyon
producing the mightiest of waves.
On the Atlantic coast of Portugal,
the bravest of the brave wait patiently
for their precise moment to shine.
Here, tribes of thrill-seekers
flock to compete in big wave surfing.
On this playground,
perfection is riding the tallest wave
and surviving.
The very best make it
into the history books.
Hey, guys, good morning.
First update here.
Looks super stormy still.
Just unorganized, a lot of white water,
so there's energy, but
unrideable for now.
The locals think
big wave surfers are crazy.
But for one of the best female surfers
in the world, Maya Gabeira,
the sea here in Nazaré
provides the perfect opportunity
to prove herself and woo the crowds.
It's, I think,
the most dangerous surf spot in the world.
There is a lot of power
in the ocean today, and it's kinda crazy.
If you're in the water near,
you're in danger,
but then we're looking for that reward
of riding the wave of our life, you know?
We take that risk and we commit,
but the risk is always there, you know.
We've, uh
I've had a close call here,
and so putting together the drowning,
the difficulty of rescues, and the cliff,
you have a pretty big,
um,
danger zone there that you're
dealing with, you know, constantly.
When she came here seven years ago,
Maya rode the biggest wave of her life
and was almost swallowed up
by the power of the sea.
What seemed like the perfect wave,
almost took her from this world.
When I looked inside,
it just looked like hell.
I just get run over by a truck
and I had, like,
an impact blackout, you know, just black.
I don't even have, like
Honestly, I don't have
memory of it much anymore.
Like, I can't picture it.
Maybe it's just, like, my safety,
like, brain thing
that just tried to erase that moment
of my life 'cause it was so scary.
I was very traumatized by the impact.
The pain, the physical pain.
And that stayed with me for a long time.
I didn't even know if I was gonna be
a professional athlete anymore.
Even on the beach,
I remember, you know, waking up
and having a very, very strong sensation
that I never ever wanted
to go through that again.
And for years after, when I was
trying to get myself back together
and surf here again,
I would look to the inside,
and it would represent
so much pain and so much fear
that I had a hard time surfing.
But, to me, it just became clear
that I wasn't ready yet
to give up on my life and to change life.
I was literally just doing
what I did for all those years, you know,
since I was 15, and I didn't
I couldn't stop doing it.
As the storm settles,
the wait is finally over.
For Maya, the chance
to tackle these waves again is near.
But she'll only achieve perfection
if her team can find the biggest wave.
The surfers are towed out to sea,
where they wait.
Onshore, Maya's team
are ready to make the call.
Okay, guys. Stand by, stand by.
It seems like a set is coming.
Nope, the wave is disappearing.
You can relax.
I see Nazaré and all I want is
those glassy, sunny, beautiful first peak.
It can be 60, 50, 80,
whatever how many feet.
But I wanna see those waves
that, like, just gets me so excited
that I can't think about anything else.
I'm just there, and I'm like, "Aah!"
Get to the bottom.
Start of a wave, for sure.
Maya almost lost her life
in these waters,
but she is willing to risk it again
for the moment it all comes together.
Okay, stand by.
There's a Seems like a set is coming.
There are more waves
coming on the outside.
More waves coming in the outside.
Three waves. It seems like
the second one is the best one.
We're looking for
all the variables to come together
and to give us those sessions
that you never forget.
Now you are on the perfect position.
Perfect position.
Okay, Maya on the wave. On the wave.
On the wave.
On the wave. On the wave.
Whoo!
Maya just surfed
the biggest wave ever ridden by a woman.
Oh my God.
How could I have known
what the world record would mean to me?
The hunt for perfection
leads surfers like Maya
to return to the sea again and again.
But she's not the only one
looking for glory in treacherous waters.
Perfection can also be about timing.
On the Pacific coast of Mexico,
another group is waiting for that
perfect moment to take on the sea.
From dizzying heights,
they free-fall into the ocean
from these cliffs above Acapulco.
The depth below constantly changes.
The water can be deceptively shallow,
which makes this a deadly playground.
To be honest, the rocks
are not trustworthy.
Traditionally,
the locals here have impressed visitors
by risking their lives
diving off these cliffs,
but danger is always present.
The divers jump from up to 100 feet,
and the bravest from as high as 135 feet.
One of these daredevil acrobats
is Brandon.
My biggest fear
is not entering perfectly
when the wave comes in.
Because it's very shallow.
It's only 13 feet deep.
And I'm scared to hit the rocky bottom.
Here, a mistimed dive
can have serious consequences.
So, in order to stay alive,
the clavadistas need to make
the perfect dive.
Just like surfing,
this terrifying sport
is played out for the crowds.
After all,
perfection needs to be witnessed,
especially when the risk is so high.
Some people have broken their forearms.
Shoulder dislocations.
The most common injury is in the eardrums,
due to the pressure
for not putting our arms the right way.
There are many consequences.
That's why it's so important
that the dive is perfect
from the moment you take the leap
until you're in the water.
Diving is all about harmony.
Aligning your breathing with the tides
and trying to keep
the distraction of the world out.
And pray nothing unexpected happens
that will jeopardize your timing.
Just 50 pesos.
A nice souvenir for your family,
Do you feel any pain in your arms or feet?
Yes.
That's my bad shoulder.
It keeps dislocating.
Because of all the cliff diving.
Okay.
I dislocated my shoulder
about 16 times
since I was about 11 years old.
Ready?
You'll feel a pull. Two, three.
Hold it
I became a professional diver
trying to follow in the footsteps
of my father.
If there weren't any tourists
and no cliff diving,
the whole ravine would close the shops.
I have no idea what I would do.
I've never thought about it.
I wouldn't know where to start.
It's the only thing I know how to do.
Tonight, Brandon will risk his life
in search of the perfect dive
in the dark.
He has never made this jump before.
It's a challenge
I've been wanting to face for a long time.
I hope I can do it and come out alive.
I have to admit
that I'm still not used to the heights.
And, honestly, I'm still scared.
Very scared.
At night,
leaping into darkness,
cliff diving is even more dangerous.
From the highest platform,
Brandon is unsure
of the depth of the water below him.
I have a daughter,
and I need to think about her.
What if something happened to me?
She'd be left all alone.
I don't know.
You start thinking about these things.
It feeds your fears.
I think if I have
to die, it's better if it's a quick death.
When you step on those rocks,
ready to make the dive,
at that very moment in which
you lift yourself up from that cliff,
you feel a complete vacuum.
That tiny moment,
it's filled with adrenaline, with fear,
as you tilt yourself,
ready to make the jump.
Watch out!
Whoo!
I'm still shivering. I'm nervous.
Brandon is willing
to risk serious injury
in his search for the perfect dive.
It might seem pointless to outsiders,
but by playing his luck,
he impresses the crowds
and lives to dive another day.
Another sport that's
all about perfect form is drifting.
A crowd has gathered to witness driver
and machine come together as one
for a show of pure perfection.
This isn't about speed.
Just like ice skating,
it's about completing the course
in the most elegant manner.
It's a male-dominated sport,
but on her way to becoming
the first female drifting champion
in the Arab world is Marah.
In our traditions, it's more customary
that driving is a thing for men,
not for women.
Everything looks fine.
When my father supported
my decision to take up this sport,
especially as I'm a girl,
he was under huge pressure.
"How could you let your girl do racing?
This is a sport for men!"
I want to feel happy and to feel alive.
And I can only feel alive
when I'm doing motorsports.
I'm not sure where exactly.
This is the start.
This is the start.
You know how this goes.
You will be in your car
at the starting point.
Hit the pedal hard,
so that the wheels start spinning,
and off you go, and once
the car starts moving, you go right.
Okay, you should go
- In the opposite?
- You want to go right.
You need to keep control of the car
while it goes round and round
around the cone
He's not just my father.
He's my best friend.
He has always been
one of the greatest supporters in my life.
So, whenever he saw me taking a step back,
he would push me forward.
If I want to go left,
I turn the steering wheel right
in opposite direction.
- Then we turn right.
- So I turn here.
- Ghassan!
- Welcome.
- Everything alright?
- How are you doing?
- Everything alright?
- Everything is fine.
- I'd like to see racing tires.
- Right.
Give me something
that gives more smoke rather than speed.
Got it.
We have full-slick tires, by the way.
Let me show them to you.
The grip these tires provide
are very different
from what regular tires offer.
The more warmed-up they get,
the better grip they have.
When regular tires are warmed-up,
they tend to wobble, these don't.
They offer better grip.
- These are new?
- Yes.
Alright, then. I'll take these.
- I'll take this type for the race.
- These will make the car perfect.
O Allah, help her
and keep bad people away from her.
May she win the cup,
God willing, my dear Lord.
To prove her worth
as a title-worthy drifter,
today Marah needs the perfect performance.
Thousands of spectators will be watching,
but for Marah's performance to be spot-on,
attention to detail matters,
even down to the final engine checks.
The tiniest detail missed
could mean failure on the circuit.
So I turn it around here.
Here, turn it around. Don't overdo it.
Start turning it around here.
- Here?
- Yes, you'll keep going a little further.
I'm sure you'll do great.
Don't be nervous and you will nail it.
I'm sure you'll do it.
Everything will be okay.
When I hear
the engine and look around inside the car,
I feel that I'm in my own world.
A world that I love so much.
A world where I feel comfortable.
Help me with this, will you?
I'm sure you'll do fine.
The first thing I feel when I get
into the car is a bit of nervousness.
I can even hear my own heartbeats.
I feel that all borders are open
for me. I feel such overwhelming freedom.
Especially as we live
under so many restrictions
in this part of the world
and the occupation.
But when I hit the gas,
it's all gone.
I've now entered
my own world, Marah's world.
Give it up for Marah.
The first female drift competitor
in Palestine.
With the preparations complete,
it's time for Marah
to show the world, and her father,
exactly what she's capable of.
To successfully
prove yourself as a drifter
through years of courageous practice,
you must drive as though your car
is an extension of your body,
and Marah has done it.
She has driven a perfect ten.
Her driving has been
a sublime combination of concentration
and finely-honed motor skills.
One, two, three
Marah isn't the only one obsessed
with creating a beautiful spectacle.
In bodybuilding,
points are awarded on looks alone.
But it takes an incredible amount
of sweat and sheer determination.
- You okay?
- Yeah.
- Because it's one minute.
- It's one minute!
Johnny has come a long way
in his battle for the perfect body.
Push. Push.
- Come on, push.
- One.
One more.
- Freeze.
- I got it.
You can try two. Go ahead.
Bring it down slowly.
- Got it.
- Okay.
Three more.
Come on, push.
- Come on, you're almost there.
- One.
Now give it to me.
One, that's it.
Slowly bring it up.
I already had my mind made up
what I wanted to do
when I was in high school.
I was a mechanic. I love cars. Race cars.
Me and my buddies were always
into cars and tinkering around,
trying to make 'em go faster,
rebuilding engines and stuff like that.
And I was good at it.
That was 1995.
So
But, uh
I'd just bought a street bike.
Got on my bike at lunch.
Not even a mile up the road,
I came through an intersection.
I had the green light.
This woman in a minivan
turns right in front of me.
I just T-bone this minivan,
just smashed head-on.
It was lights out.
They pretty much gave me
a 10% chance to live.
They'd put me in a medically-induced coma.
You know, after spending
about four weeks in the ICU,
I slowly start to remember
bits and pieces.
You know
That's when it hit home.
Like, man, this is for real.
Like, I'm paralyzed.
And at 21,
I just felt like my life was over.
"I'm totally helpless."
"What am I gonna do now?"
You wanna start with the 20s,
or do you wanna do 15, 20s?
- Fifteens, huh.
- Alright.
- Where's Rob?
- He's down there.
Got the belts?
But then as time went on,
just to try and get some strength back,
I went into the gym.
That's where I saw
a magazine on bodybuilding.
You good with this?
- Yeah, it's good.
- It's good?
With guys in wheelchairs,
all jacked-up muscles.
And I said, "If I have to be in
this wheelchair for the rest of my life,
if I can look like that,
I'd feel a lot better."
It was after Johnny accepted
his physical disabilities
that he could start working
towards perfection again.
That's the beauty of a back.
Ah!
That's good stuff.
Yes.
- Good.
- Does it look good there?
- Well, from the front, it looks good.
- Yeah.
- Your angle's good.
- Am I straight?
- Yeah, just don't shake.
- Yeah.
- Remember what I said about the 5%?
- Yeah.
That's what we call the fine-tuning.
Together with his girlfriend,
Johnny travels to the Sunshine State
to take part in the most renowned
body build contest in the world.
Mr. Olympia.
Wow, what a great Olympia lineup, folks.
Last chance. Who do you wanna see?
My man.
What's going on, brother?
It was just years ago they added
the wheelchair bodybuilders competition
to the existing categories
of female and male bodybuilding.
See that? That's too much at play.
That's too much play.
I got 26 tires.
That's gonna bring you all the way up.
The same all the way up.
Put some 26s on there,
now you're just taller,
but you're the same.
That's what I'd recommend.
Those are 24s?
- Down at bottom bolt.
- All the way to the bottom.
Oh, hey, hey.
Oh, there he is. There he is.
We share that same bond.
Everybody's got a story, you know.
I'm not the only one.
How you doing?
Just to be able to connect
with other guys like that
and hear what they went through,
you develop a bond
that nobody else would understand.
'Cause nobody else knows
what you go through.
It's so much more
than not being able to walk.
Good to see you, bro. You back at it?
You got a new chair, huh?
- Yeah.
- That's nice.
It's almost Johnny's turn
to show the world his perfect self.
Since his body is the playground,
a final touch of paint
to hide the weak spots
can work miracles.
The judges are looking for purely
defined muscles from top to bottom,
which can only be the result
of years of hard work.
Winning takes a lot more
than just showing off your muscles.
The bodybuilders must follow a routine
that flexes each and every part
of their well-trained bodies
for the judges.
Alrighty. We good?
- Yeah.
- You ready?
Let's go, let's go.
- Welcome back here, everybody.
- Let's go!
You gotta just relax. You gotta relax.
Don't worry about something
you have no control over.
Next up, in 1998,
it was a near-fatal motorcycle accident.
Johnny suffered two broken femurs,
shattered knees,
broken wrist, broken jaw, and head trauma,
and he's a complete paraplegic.
They call him the Mighty Quinn.
From the USA, Johnny Quinn.
Let's go.
Alright, thank you.
And a big hand, folks,
for our seven Olympians.
Alright, Nick.
The judges' scores are in.
Please take the fifth-place award
and present it to
"Mighty" Johnny Quinn.
I feel like I won,
even though I didn't finish first place.
To me, this whole thing is a victory
in so many different areas of my life.
Finishing in the top five
out of the best bodybuilders in the world
was truly an honor.
I feel relieved.
I feel like a weight's been lifted.
- Was I alright?
- Yeah, good.
Yeah.
I think I'm in the best shape
of my life now at 44.
That's 22 years I've been in the chair,
so that's half my life.
And as crazy as it sounds,
if you were to ask me this
when this first happened
that 20 years in the chair
has been the best 20 years of my life,
I would have told you you're crazy,
but I have to be honest that it is
because, you know,
I've accomplished so much
and that I never thought
would be possible.
Perfection means
different things to all of us.
For some of us, it's how we look.
For others, it's about taking our minds
to the next level.
Some are looking for that perfect moment
and facing death to find it.
For many,
perfection will always be out of reach.
But the road we travel towards our goals
is often more important
than the destination.