Get pelted with Filipe's missiles in "Smile Now Cry Later!"
Did I mention somewhere that I spent a marvellous week in Mexico with Filipe Toledo? Oh I did?
What I may not have mentioned was how hard I fell under his spell. When little Pat O’Connell, who commands an important job at Hurley, suggested we take Filipe to coach Lakey Peterson on our Girl Goes Into Orbit series, I can’t describe how thrilled I was.
But I travel enough with pro’s to know how fast the crush disappears when even a tropical sun and handsome waves can’t thaw their addiction to laptops and telephones and some distant, demanding spouse who must be carpet-bombed with calls.
And then there’s Filipe.
Refuses a bedroom so he can bunk with his buddies Bruno Baroni and Erick Proost in a makeshift loungeroom. When I can sense burnout after five hours of surfing on day three, I offer Filipe an early ride back to the house with Brett and Lakey.
“Nah, I want to keep surfing,” he says, only taking a break to beatbox with Erick and Bruno in the shade of a makeshift shelter of palm fronds.
When he has to drive three hours into Guadalajara to deal with his re-entry visa back into the US, something that will take three tedious days, he takes it as an adventure.
On our last surf, just me and he, as the citrus sun turns red and bleeds into the ocean, Filipe breaks into spontaneous cheering and belts his hands together.
“How good is this, man!” he whoops.
This his latest edit (from pal Bruno), shot around the Margaret River contest, where Filipe finished third.
Get pelted with Filipe’s missiles here!
