The legend grows.
Nearly two weeks ago, now, a story unlike any other completely rocked the surf community. People, old and young, remember exactly where they were when they first heard that then-number three on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour rankings Filipe Toledo was involved in a “huge scuffle” just off Lower Trestles’ cobbled stone.
According to an eyewitness-adjacent, the very popular Brazilian aerialist was “sent in” by San Clemente locals.
“Lots of witnesses! Toledo dropping in on everybody… Pissing off the locals…. Young junior surfer, sponsored, that would like to remain anonymous got the wave of the day out the back a big set wave. Drops in and Toledo suddenly appears, tries to skirt around him with a high line. Young surfer knows he’s going to do this because he grew up at Lowers so he takes a high line too. As Toledo tries to pass him, young surfer grabs and holds on to Filipe’s wetsuit… and holds on the entire ride. At the end, there was a huge scuffle. Mostly verbal. Young kid is a hothead, demands that Toledo paddle in after asking, ‘Who do you think you are? … the new local?’ Tensions were so bad at the peak that Toledo did decided to paddle in and go home.”
Extremely intense.
The story was published and received the appropriate hand-wringing and finger pointing. Toledo’s daddy Ricardo came swinging in to defend his talented son in a major escalation, declaring on BeachGrit‘s sometime controversial Instagram account, “Impressive the amount of shit you talk to earn likes and move the ridiculous articles you post. This is a tremendous lie, it never happened and the worst thing a media can do is spread lies on their pages… and you are the experts at this, congratulations! That’s why I, and everyone around here, blocked you. Poor article, poor spirit…”
Except it was not a tremendous lie. BeachGrit is, in fact, much blocked but the story was true yet in an entirely unforeseen twist Brazilian surf rounded on the anti-depressive surf website declaring an anti-Brazilian bias.
A “high-powered surf industry executive” further confirmed the veracity of the affair, adding, “It was no big deal. That happens every day down there.”
Trestles the new Pipeline.
A re-imagined Proving Ground.
Tensions through the very roof.
Surf sleuths wondered who this “hot young sponsored junior” might be, wondered through the World Surf League’s extremely successful finals day off those very same cobbled stones, wondered if he might be hiding in the sage brush near the train tracks, pounding a balled fist into an open palm while glaring Toledo’s way and, finally, one discovered him in an undisclosed location, prying out the quote, “I did what I had to do… I felt him coming up from behind.”
Where there’s a will, there’s a way but does the story end here or will there be more as it develops?
I think you know the answer.