"I was alone, I was his only option! It's crazy."
The electric life of the 2019 world surfing champ, a man who already has the countenance of a surprised big-eyed animal, took a wild turn earlier today when he was attacked by a shark while surfing alone in Brazil.
Ferreira, who is twenty-eight, and a noted shark-phobic, alarmed his 150k followers when he wrote,
“In the best part of the surf session yesterday the shark appeared and knocked me out of the sea. I was alone, I was his only option! It’s crazy. The animal was about 2.5 meters.”
Na melhor parte da sessão de surf ontem o tubarão apareceu me colocou pra fora do mar. Phoda que eu tava sozinho né, eu era a única opção dele! Tá maluco. O bicho tinha uns 2,5 metros…
— Italo Ferreira (@italoferreira) November 17, 2022
One sage fan wrote, “Lesson taught by an Australian: never go alone in the sea where there are sharks, you have a 100% chance in case of an attack.”
You’ll remember, Ferreira’s mortal fear of sharks following a couple of minor-ish hits around Margaret River, resulting in the cancellation of the event.
The Australian writer Tim Winton, whose surfing-themed book Breath had just been turned into a movie, described Italo and his countryman Gabriel Medina’s lobbying for the contest’s cancellation as “conniving”, as if their concern was contrived for competitive advantage.
If you could see Italo now when you start talking hits by Great Whites, the panic in his eyes, the stutter in his voice, you’d know the fear isn’t a confection.
“The energy is bad,” he told me.
Less existential, though no less alarming, was a post the day before where Ferreira spoke of a mysterious heartbreak.
Prayers etc.
Nos últimos dias eu fiquei muito ocupado com alguns compromissos pessoais e tentando me conectar comigo mesmo depois de tanta coisa que aconteceu. Vivendo momentos incríveis por aqui, mas com o coração partido! 😔
— Italo Ferreira (@italoferreira) November 12, 2022
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True true true—contests and pro surfers are ‘dust in the wind’.
It’s a fake. The World Cup is on and nobody (especially in Brazil) is interested in surfing.
It’s a definite cry for attention.
take me off this crazy train!!!!!
kidding…
Was his Chef/ guy who film’s him too busy doing his Laundry to capture this moment?
The wrong comments for the piece.
Any tips how to get the right comments for the appropriate article?
e.(crying)
I’ve the exactly the same happen to me 4*and I surfd again later that day at fat wave next door(1st surf in yrs,),due too high tide.
No tears or Brazilian fans
for me.
Ps
He remembered when he said “nonsharks in Brazil (that bullshit now)
And orange is the reason
Also yellow red bull stickers too
Well these world chumps
aren’t that special when
they cry “worst wipe out of their lif
NonJohn wonders what would happen if all pro surfers were eaten by sharks and all of the surf brands were owned by one company. Would surfing still be fun?
“In the sea where there are sharks.” ?? Everywhere. Want to know how to tell if there’s a shark near you? Stick your finger in the water and then put it in your mouth. If it tastes salty, there’s a shark nearby.
yes Tim Winton…I think he called them cowards LOL. From a bloke who can barely stand up…..Breath was a piece of shit!
Breath was a masterpiece compared to his book The Riders
all say the book is better, fuck that! weird kink but great water shots of groms for an adult=themed dramatic movie…
I can barely stand up and I have the world’s biggest surf website!
Sharks and I have a deal – I don’t eat them and they don’t eat me. Worked so far – 4 decade long contract.
You really trust your chip shop that much?
I only eat what I catch/clean myself, generally. Exception is mahi, which is easily identifiable.
What about jar Thai curry pastes? Guarantee there’s some ground-up Great White arsehole in there.
There may very well be. Don’t eat that so no worries.
shots all around!
Last week visiting my folks in San Diego, my wife and girl joined a mob of binoculars and long lenses on the bluffs at Torrey Pines “shark watching.” So many fucking 6 to 10ft whites live in the area that they can be easily viewed from above. My girls saw two whites swimming inside waves and one jumper. Excited viewers expressed appreciation for the majesty of nature.
It’s surreal. Fuck the fucking white sharks. I wish it was still the 1970’s when we had the sense to kill the fuckers if they came near people, and the enviro blah blah blahs were obsessed with saving whales.
I used to occasionally surf that closed out stretch by myself when Blacks was just way too crowded. This was before drones were a thing. There’s actually a decent little wedge as you get towards the end of the cliff approaching Torrey. But I had no idea of all of the toothy fish beneath me. Same thing with Solana and Leucadia.
Dad fished: for giant black sea bass caught off the manhattan pier…also caught a giant ray…later bonita…then spearfishing corvina.
before I took up surfing…also had to pass a swimming course…in a chlorinated pool…
in retirement: I can still smell all of them…
“Yeah, Dad…that sushi dinner sounds good. You buying?”
Corvina or Corbina? Check your archives
tasted like lobster…lured with soft-shelled crabs on pole, dredged em by basket…shot shore by spear! GOT ANY?
Not lately, Sounds like Corbina. in close. Even better taste than halibut, Corbinas hav a little fleshy goatee thing on the lower lip. Corvina were common in the salton sea decades ago. Hawaiin Sling was my go to for corbina…
yes. yes. did not know that! yes, the sling/
The creek emits radioactives bits from a ucsd research laboratory. Where do u think Megalodon got his start?
slo clap…
k-hole trophy is the tooth/
Italos going to need a bigger boat
Alright that’s it…cancel Brazil!
fuck , cancel surfing it’s too dangerous!!
On that very good ayrton senna movie doc, on a drivers meeting he expressed concerns for their personal safety before he and other driver smashed themselves to death on track.
Perfectly legit for them lobbying out of shark area. They’re surf athletes, performing for a score, like track n field, gymnasts, table tennis and badminton players, not fucking crocodile dundee.
What if you had the tour de france taking place on a lion infested savana? Bad enough having to deal with roadside idiots.
Filipe toledo on the other hand…different discussion.
I reckon those contests create the perfect scenario – dense pack of surfers early morning, pre contest, suddenly cleared to two, occasionally one, sitting all by himself.
apples vs apples
Yum Yum Yellow! Man in the grey suit’s favorite board color.
Shark attack: check, surf celebrity: check. If only slater starts an argument with Italo on insta about this then it’s BG gold. Maybe correct the questions/answers ratio too, right now there’s more answers than questions and that just won’t do.
More as his Insta story develops…
Just need to find out if he’s going out with that chick from San Diego now too? Or maybe Giselle?
It’d be hard for him to find a nice girl, imagine his relentless and enthusiast Red Bull powered jack hammering in bed, he’d thrash your pelvis loose. Probably why the shark made a quick exit.