Could last year's ROY be this year's champ? Mick Fanning allegedly says "Yes!"
Some rumors here are ironclad. “Rumor” in name only, as it were. Others are a bit flimsier. Whispers floating on warm winds. This is one of the later but too juicy to keep all to my lonesome!
Get a load of this! Apparently, a brand executive overheard your three time world champ Mick “White Lightening” Fanning mention, ahead of this year’s Snapper kickoff, who stood the best chance to win the 2016 World Surf League World Title. His answer included three Brazilians, which should come as no surprise, but what may shock is that the leader, potential winner, first time World Champ was none other than…
Your most recent Rookie-of-the-Year Italo Ferreira!
And maybe it shouldn’t shock. The young Brazilian came storming out of nowhere to end his inaugural season number seven in the world. He surfed all sorts of waves, from playful beachbreak to thundering reefy barrels, with aplomb. He had style. He showed class. Surfing’s great historian Matt Warshaw even calls him, “My main man” and also says, “I’m Italo’s biggest, oldest fan.”
Let’s ask Matt right now if he thinks an Italo victory is possible!
(You can read a Zach Weisberg paragraph while we wait for Matt to respond!)
If you don’t feel your perspective is represented, or you disagree with something you read, don’t get mad. You can participate! Lo and behold, this is the only placethat will embrace you with open arms. That was largely the reason this thing started. If you think we disagree, you might be right. But we might run it anyway. Just email us. Our editorial team will have a look, provide feedback, and if your submission seems like a good fit, a million plus people might read it.
A million plus people might read The Inertia? Wow! But let’s head back over to Italo. Do you think he has a shot? Would you love to see him raise the cup after Pipeline? Is it possible not to love Italo?
(You can read another Zach Weisberg paragraph while thinking up your response!)
And that’s an ongoing challenge for media: indulging the ability to criticize influencers while maintaining a positive working relationship. But that’s something for me to worry about. Not you. I’ll walk that line, take the beatings on both sides, and do my best to figure out a way to make our most valuable stakeholders happy. But, as they say, you can’t please everyone. That doesn’t end well.
Zach takes the beatings on both sides? Wow!
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
“Why people say Fanning punched a shark when in fact he waved his arms like a sissy girl?”
Weisberg’s taking all the beatings for us. He’s surf media’s 3-wave hold down.
*Alves
Haven’t you seen the Republican debates? Intellectualism is dead. At least we still have satire.
It seems a stretch to pick Italo when he hasn’t won a CT (yet). Where does he bag his first trophy? Trestles?
lmao
A big maybe.
I reckon one of the pieces of shit I write could actually improve the Inertia (and STAB). I’ve got to get round to writing the article on what happened to that chick at the Volcom house and submit it to them. I need to somehow conceal my identity. How do you submit without email?
Write it down on an old wank rag then post it in.
i can see them in rubber gloves trying to peel apart the pages
Easy to set up a fake one – how about [email protected]
I’m going to do this.
Just sent you an email. I think I forgot the attachment though, so have sent it again. Disregard the first.
i’ve been trying to set up morganwilliamsondumbcunt or morganwilliamsonisabitch6969 but both were taken. I think morganwilliamsonisabrazzo is available though.
.do ya have only one of those? just sayin’…
One of the wank rags? stories? or emails? I’ve got many of all of the above.
.email, my bad… on a further thinking response should be ask cavvy, talk’ bout webpolice dodging…
I’m concerned that he couldn’t dodge them for long enough. Where is he?
check that, i first got into disqus with fb actual name… believe it or not, he found me on messenger ’round christmas, mocked me a bunch and vanished again… at that time i even urged him to come back and regulate the lineup, cause those brazzo retards he used to abuse at wavescom learned the way & fuckin’ flocked with that kinda illiterate funnyless annoying post champ bravado we got here after pipe, remember that shit? but to no response from him since then, sent him a bait back yesterday, wharever… i think it was jamesbs who exposed his fb once at wavescom, got there one time for nothing to be acknowledge, never came back, forgot the name… ask jimmy if he remember the name, if was he not the actual snitch he certain was around there at the time… name on messenger was fake,,,
the lengths people go to
I remember this little expose. James B searching peoples IP’s and shit. What a fucktard.
I had Caviera´s IP Address, city, email and even his Zip code. A brazilian friend even found out his personal Facebook profile. But i never exposed his Facebook, i´m too educated to do that. James B is a fine hacker, but above all a nice guy, mates.
I kinda miss Cavvy
you’re far from nice, believe me…
.fucking trigger happy mode, forgot to follow the thread a little, before jump and try to be witty…
cheesus crust.
once you start taking the beatings from both sides you can reach 1mil. views too (pshhh)
Wtf is Matt doing? I’ve been hitting refresh for the past 6 hours
Tomorrow we’ll have a full discussion!
All I know is that Italo–the least capable in English of the storm–has got to be way more fluent in English than Griffin Colapinto…
That kid sounded like he might have a serious learning disability on the AUS Open webcast. “Home-schooled” truly is a crippling disease. Someone start a hashtag and a walkathon…
beauty pageant parents, bro
They’ve had that little fucker in the box for over an hour…he literally sounds like English is his third language, even when being led with yes/no questions by the commentary team.
well,, you could say the same about Pottz and the others but they let them keep on keeping on.
I honestly had no idea that the Australian Open was even on this year let alone started until I read this comment.
My vocational life is greatly enriched by WQS webcasts.
And I just had to google Griffin Colapinto
Any Portuguese speaker thinks that ‘Colapinto’ is the funniest surname in existence.
Italo already won the laurels of “Best surfer to wear Timberlands (with shorts!)” and “Most surrounded by big-bottomed girls (forget Australian stick women! One ruined Mick’s life–or at least his 2016 campaign!)”
In light of such groundbreaking performances, a world title would really be underwhelming.
You’re on a good wicket today mate. You should definitely try something outlandish like propose to a hot woman like Ash Oh. “Home schooled truly is a crippling disease”. Fuckin great. Get out there and rape this glorious day.
Sterling Spencer should do a clip with he and Italo surfing in Timbos – like they did with Taj & Crocs.
The challenges of transporting your SUP on public transport? Five reasons the wavestorm is your next magic stick? Organic Wax – What it means to the thinking surfer!!!
Nailed it on the first sentence… then stabbed it to death through the end.
the wavestorm, man, it’s gotta be the wavestorm.
“Addressing the age-old front foot or back foot leash debate”
“Winds…how to avoid offshore conditions”
“Permanent racks are overrated and ugly! Check out these soft-racks for your stick!”
I was tempted to write an article for the inertia, about the inertia, about how bad it is, and publish it not on the inertia, but here on Beachgrit, sans editing by Mr Weisberg! So I did. Here it is…
The inertia by Jimmy the Saint
The inertia is shit,
The End
Yeah really like italo – fucking rips, some of his free surfing edits were crazy. He could well be up there. Would be my favourite of “the storm” for sure, seems humble too.
Will the judges let him win though – that is question!!
Medina should be the champ again. He’s the world’s most complete competitive surfer. By far. In 2015 he had a bad year (!) and was 2 heats close to win title #2 in a row.
I would tend to agree Mr. B but don’t you like Italo’s flair? Couldn’t you imagine a dark horse run?
I’m with you Chas!
Italo world title contender? would be a great little surprise. Actually, to be 100% honest, in february 2015 i wouldn´t bet in Italo´s CT career. I just couldn´t see him with enough skills to bust down the door.
After Fiji, it was clear that the kid had not only the skills, but the balls to bust any door. But, again… No one is in the same level of Medina. He can win ANY event on this tour.
Examples?? Every non brazilian surfing fan (and even writers like mr. Longtom) put John John Florence as THE favourite in Teahupo, Fiji and Pipe. Yeah, maybe in paper… But guess what? Look at the stats: Medina did the 2 last Pipe finals. The 2 last Teahupo finals. And maybe 3 out of the last 4 Fiji finals.
That, Mr. S, is a world titles winning machine. Just like Slater was.
right, but he also got there doing the first air ever at pipe to score above a 4, it was way worse than Mick’s 2014 roll-in over Yadin.
Nah, Mick’s roll in was worse.
both were infuriating….
…are ya on your periods, catchup lioness?
Well, all Mick had to do was to do a better air than Medina’s, so he would be the one in the final.
probably didn’t get the memo from Porta that barrels weren’t scoring at Pipe this year
Don’t waste James B precious time.
come on Jimmy, its been a few months, you can admit that air was a slap in the face of surfing….Adriano would have beat Mick….you can still be saved
Balls to bust any door eh…. is that a euphemism for something filthy?
I don’t see how anybody other than Medina wins the title this year… I wonder, though, when are we going to get to Julian Wilson’s Joel Parkinson Lifetime Achievement Title Year Award? Has to be soon, no?
I hope you don’t mind but I’m going to use this with my mates, absolute ripper.
Nice of you to ask permission.
.copyright is a bitch…
Italo will get pushed through with the help of surf stitch/stab and his new sponsor,,
maybe he can do for Timmy Patterson what Filipe has done for Marcio
Journalism at it’s furthest!
Did you mean finest?