Mr. Dantas, back and better than ever. Photo: Pedro Mestre//World Surf League
There was 10 seconds left in the final of the Xacobeo Norte Surf Fest in Portugal when Weslley Dantas took off on a four-foot left-hander. The 28-year-old Brazilian already had a heat total of 18.30 and had his opponent in combo. The 6,000 points were in the bag and would add to his Challenger Series tally, topping a runner-up finish he had in Balito and putting him at the top of the rankings. A CT spot for 2027 was almost locked and loaded.
The goofy-footer pointed his board north and started pumping into the stiffening afternoon Atlantic sea breeze. His board speed is one of his defining surfing characteristics, and the upcoming air was broadcast way in advance. He launched so high into the atmosphere that, on the return to Earth, he was forced to wind up the windows, looking like he’d been dropped from a plane without a parachute. Instead, he controlled his body, came out clean, and the judges had already posted a 10 before the hooter sounded.
“Cake meet icing. Weslley Dantas meet the world,” said the commentator, which wasn’t bad on the spot, and especially given it was me. I struggled to remember a competition display so dominant. Or an air with so much amplitude. It felt historic. And it felt different. We’ve seen surfers blast through competitions, and new, fresh, young talent arriving with a progression that rattles the established status quo. I can’t remember a surfer, however, doing it this late in his career, or with such force. And none riding a 6’4”, who just a few years ago had walked away from competitive surfing, opened up a car wash owing money to a loan shark.
“It’s been a long time coming. I knew I had talent, and the drive,” Weslley told me afterwards. “Things went against me. Problems came. I couldn’t find solutions. But now, I’m on the path to where I belong.”
Dantas grew up in Ubatuba, Brazil, on the same fabled stretch of coast that produced Filipe Toledo and his brother, the Championship Tour surfer Wiggolly. Back in 2018, Weslley looked most likely to follow their lead. He was named Rookie of the Year at the Triple Crown of Surfing in Hawaii and was widely tipped, during the peak of the “Brazilian Storm” era, as a future world title contender.
That trajectory stalled hard. A serious injury at Sunset Beach cost him momentum, an administrative registration issue cost him qualifying points, and then the pandemic hit. By 2023, he’d lost his sponsors entirely and made the call to step away from the Challenger Series rather than risk his family’s finances. His mom runs a beach kiosk, and he didn’t want to spend money the family might need just to chase points. He picked up a handful of paid Brazilian events to help cover bills, stopped training seriously, and opened a car wash to make ends meet. He’s said plainly that during this period he spent a year competing while personally in debt to a loan shark, underlining how precarious the finances are for most Brazilian surfers outside the CT bubble, even ones with real talent.
Big airs on big boards just look more….radical. Photo: WSL
Two physical changes ended up reshaping his surfing during this stretch. First, a late growth spurt: he was around 5’10” at 20 but kept growing into his mid-twenties, eventually reaching just over six feet. He found his boards no longer suited his frame and progressively sized up: 6’1″, then 6’2″, then a 6’4″ by the time he won the Brazilian Championship, even in small surf. That bigger board, he’s said, was the real turning point for his aerial game, forcing him to surf at a higher level to make it work. Second, he addressed his weight with an endocrinologist’s help, dropping from around 198 to roughly 187 pounds, which added real sharpness.
His comeback gained serious traction through the 2025-2026 season. He’d been the Brazilian national champion in 2023 and was the South American WSL Qualifying Series champion for 2025-2026. Financial backing returned too. Brazilian rapper L7 became his main sponsor after being introduced by Pedro Scooby, the big-wave charger turned major Brazilian media figure.
Dantas has described telling L7 directly that he’d earn the opportunity, “even if I have to spend day and night in the water.”
With body, boards and backing aligned for the first time (along with a new logo and a confident Instagram handle (@KingDantas1), his local form was soon replicated on the international stage.
In June 2026, he took a Vivo Rio Pro CT wildcard at Saquarema and upset Seth Moniz. In July, riding his oversized 6’4″ in three-foot surf at the Ballito Pro, he stunned onlookers with an air-first approach uncommon for a surfer his size — salvaging a Round of 32 heat with a big air-reverse (8.70), then detonating in the quarterfinals with a career-best 9.40 and ultimately finishing runner-up.
He was back on the international radar, but one-off results are highly common. Levi Slawson and Jacob Wilcox won CS events last year and didn’t qualify. Mikey McDonagh’s win at Snapper in 2024 didn’t lead to the CT breakthrough many forecast.
But then came Portugal last week, a slew of high rotations and heat scores that saw Dantas untouchable. That has put him at the top of the CS rankings heading into the São Sebastião Pro back home in Brazil.
“I’m so happy I could showcase my surfing to that level. Thank you God, thank you Portugal, thank you WSL, and thanks to all my sponsors,” he beamed afterwards. “Now I will focus on the next event in Maresias. I want to get one more good result to secure my place on the Championship Tour. That’s the dream.”
