What do they feed Brazilians that gives them that energy and inner fire to take flight with such an enchanting combination of grace and power? Whatever it is, I need it. Maybe that would help me bypass this whole Barney stage—I could start cracking through the lip like the tropical sun does when surfers forget to apply Sun Bum Chapstick. Usually I am not an advocate for the WSL, and tend to side more with the group that believes “competitive” surfing is lame (not very eloquent, but there you have it). However, I am profoundly captivated by surfing, WSL events are free on YouTube, and these are, undoubtedly, the most technically gifted surfers on the planet—so I usually watch the events (hypocrisy at its finest).
Let’s get back to the Brazilians. Have you ever seen the Will Ferrell masterpiece Kicking and Screaming? You know, “Pass it to the Italians!” Italo Ferreira and Gabriel Medina are like the WSL’s Brazilian Massimo and Gian Piero. “Pass it to the Brazilians”— yup, that has a great ring to it! These two were far and away the most energetic, entertaining, powerful, graceful, just downright freakin’ mind-boggling, if-there-ain’t-no-Brazilians-I-ain’t-watching surfers of the past two events at Newcastle and Narrabeen.
When I tuned in for the seeding rounds of the Newcastle Pro, I watched Italo go on a rampage. I mean RAM-PAGE. I am talking about Godzilla Vs. Kong-type destruction on small, feeble, waist-high closeouts. Maybe he was powered by bottled-up energy from his 14-day quarantine, or maybe he was abducted by Aussie scientists who swapped his leg muscles out for a Kangaroo’s (Hmmmm). I’m not sure what the right answer is but check out the clip below, and come to a conclusion for yourself—honestly, I can’t. The Wright brothers were smiling from up above as Italo carried on their legacy of being aerial innovators. In that first seeding round, he and his board soared towards the heavens 11 times in 30 minutes, and of course with performances like this, he was inevitably going to be crowned the champ of Newcastle. Enough said.
While Italo is the charismatic, fun-loving, stoke-rei of Brazil, his rival, Gabe, is the Yin to his Yang. Think of him as “the terminator” of world surfing—he was literally sent from the future to avenge Samuel Langley’s legacy (the scientist who was attempting flight at the same time as the Wright bro’s) and to wipe that smile of Italo’s face. The look in his eyes before he meets the end section of a wave can scare the devil back underground and demoralize his most capable opponents. He generates a fiery of speed and power that gracefully and functionally catapults him into the stratosphere—it is no wonder that he easily danced and punted his way past Connor Coffin in the Narrabeen final! Enough said here too.
Watch this air; it is all you need to know about Gabe’s approach, and why he can only be stopped by his smiling countrymen..
I am a proud fan of these feuding Brazilians, and their physics-defying surfing! I was thinking of changing the name of the site; how does theblogginbrazilian.com sound?
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-Barney Beadette