Stoke-ed
Italo Ferreira’s energy is unmatched. I’ve joked plenty that he’s coffee incarnate, and given that he’s a longtime Red Bull athlete, the dad joke has some levels to it. And I typically hate dad jokes.
Anyway, it makes his memorable moment in this week’s Round of 16 Heat at the Rio Pro all the more memorable. If any other surfer in the world had done this the vibe would have been totally different. in fact, I’d argue no athlete could have provided the spark for this moment because it wasn’t really Italo who created it in the first place. It was the feverish energy of Brazilian fans rooting on one of their countrymen and delivering a celebration that really matches everything we all love about the former World Champion and current world number four.
If you have only seen clips of Italo’s on-the-beach, mid-heat celebration after stomping a massive air (one he clearly felt deserved a 10) against Crosby Colapinto in brief social media highlights, then it’s worth a watch here. The recapped version of the heat shows how it actually played out. Nothing contrived about the moment at all. He just simply rode into the beach, pumping up the fans along the way, and then the mob took over the moment he touched the sand.
The wave that created the commotion came with 22:30 left on the clock. Thirty seconds later he was running back up the beach with fans hugging him. With 19:30 left on the clock, Ferreira was already back in the lineup taking off on another wave. Those were his fourth and fifth waves of his heat in which he caught nine total. Classic Italo. And like I said, coffee incarnate.
