Roberto Pino is a little person from Brazil. He’s also a competitive surfer.
[caption]Measuring in at 4 feet five inches, Pino claimed a gold medal in a state competition.Roberto Pino is a little person from Brazil. He’s also a competitive surfer. Measuring in at 4 feet five inches, Pino claimed a gold medal in a state competition. Now, he’s 39-years-old and ripping harder than ever.”I am the only competitive surfer in Brazil with dwarfism,” he told The Daily Star. “Because of that, I compete against other surfers with no disability, some of them are state champions. I fulfilled my dream of winning 1st place in a state championship in the Master category, over 35 years old, making history in my city and in my country.”
Pino’s been surfing since he was four-years-old and lives in the Brazilian city of Recife. “Everything in my life has not been easy,” he said. “The world is still not ready to accept people with dwarfism or any other form of disability as equals.”
Because of his condition, Pino suffers from asthma. And for obvious reasons, paddling is a little harder for him–but he doesn’t let that stop him. “I also have short arms and legs so I find it harder to duck dive in big sets to get to the outside,” he says. “But I never give up!
A few weeks ago, a video of Pino tackling a friend who dropped in on him made its rounds on the internet. Here’s what he had to say about it: “The surfer who I collided with is my good childhood friend and he is known for dropping in on his mates. I was surfing on a wave and I saw him dropping in on my wave and laughing at me,” he explained. “I had to think fast and jumped on him to try and tackle him but I didn’t reach him so I pulled his leash.”
