Brazilian surf fans
Brazilian surf fans, gladiators!

Former world #8 surfer “still has nightmares” after run-in with Brazilian surf fans

“That incident in Brazil ended my career.”

Readers of BeachGrit have long become familiar with the passionate, as it has become euphemistically known, behaviour of Brazilian surf fans. 

A brief primer: 

Read,

Brazilian surf fans apoplectic following Californian Griffin Colapinto’s “shock” win over world title favourite Filipe Toledo, “World Shame League! This event was a joke!”

and

Latin surf fans vow to create chaos at next World Tour event in Brazil following Filipe Toledos controversial loss to Californian in El Salvador, “The biggest protest in history in Saquarema! Bring banners, balloons, planes, boo all the time! Make them leave due to emotional stress!”)

Also, “Aussie Olympian Ethan Ewing under siege as Brazilian surf fans mount hostile takeover of his Instagram account”,

“Amid death threats to Ethan Ewing, Gabriel Medina pens open letter to WSL complaining of ‘shocking’ judging following loss to Ethan at Surf ranch Pro.”

“Aussie surf judge Ben Lowe sent home from Olympics after ‘inappropriate’ photo emerges of WhatsApp.”

And on and on.

Earlier today, and thanks to the Quiver Podcast, the surf fan was reminded of Florida pro surfer Todd Holland’s experience with Brazilian surf fans in 1993 that left the Floridian with PTSD.

Holland, who was trying to prequalify for the tour in a regional WQS event in Sao Paulo, needed one result to get him back in the game. He got a paddle interference on local Victor Ribas and then the crowd went nuts after the commentator whipped ’em into a frenzy of righteous anger.

Holland was chased in the water, punched in the head, and only escaped with his life when armed police, guns out, got him to the safety of a jail cell. He was advised to shave his beard and get out of the country, which he did, hidden on the floor of a car that raced him to the airport.

Unable to ever go back to Brazil, his pro career was done. 

In a classic surf journalism move, Holland’s interlocutor on the podcast is made uncomfortable by an actual story unfolding before him and so quickly shifts the conversation, but the moment is interesting for a couple of reasons: the way Holland’s voice drops and goes quiet, the pain, and the interesting fact Brazilian surf fans were nuts long before the keyboard jockeys could get into a foreign surfer’s DMs or light up on the WSL’s otherwise lightly used IG.

 

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Live Chat Day One of the Lexus Pipe Pro!

Can you dig it?

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Griffin Colapinto (left) and Lexus.

Lexus unveils “ultimate coastal lifestyle” SUV ahead of Pipe Pro!

Feat. storage drawers, a surfboard rack, a "waxing table," a changing mat and a cooler.

Close your eyes, for a moment, and try to conjure up a picture of the perfect surf vehicle. A car, truck or SUV as functional as it is stylish. An automobile that whispers “I surf” but also “I’m sexy.” A buggy so ready to shreddy that even being in its presence bumps your skill level up by degrees. Like, you can land an air reverse after riding shotgun or successfully barrel.

Now open them.

Boom.

Lexus and the World Surf League have teamed up ahead of the Pipe Pro in order to make your dreams come true. The LX Surf concept SUV is being billed as a one-of-a-kind masterpiece “seamlessly combining innovation and performance for the ultimate coastal lifestyle.”

The matte blue body and white roof scream “wave and whitewater.” The black accents growl “Da Hui.” The illuminated ladder providing easy access to a roof rack says, “I’m a Bailey man.”

Or, “I’m a Bailey woman.”

Inside, tan leather seats give way to a cargo area in the back, designed with the surfer in mind. There are storage drawers, a surfboard rack, a “waxing table,” a changing mat and a cooler.

Lexus marketing guru Lisa McQueen shared, “Lexus and the WSL are united by a shared drive for innovation, excellence, and performance. This expanded partnership will allow us to elevate the fan experience to new heights, creating amazing moments for the surf community.”

The elevated fan experience starts at $106,850 and comes standard with a twin-turbo 3.4-liter V6 that produces 409 hp (301 kW / 415 PS) and 479 lb-ft (649 Nm) of torque. It’s connected to a ten-speed automatic transmission and a full-time four-wheel drive system.

Now close your eyes, again.

Open.

Close.

Open.

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Filipe Toledo ten point ride
Filipe Toledo's exceptionalism at baby Backdoor.

Surf fans explode after WSL missteps with Filipe Toledo post at “baby Backdoor”

"Even on a scale of 1-100, that still isn’t a 10."

In attempt, you’d presume, to shore up Filipe Toledo’s Pipeline bona fides almost one year to the day since he pulled out of the same event with a mysterious illness after posting a 1.77 heat total at epic six-to-eight-foot Pipe, the WSL has posted a clip of the two-time champ scoring a ten-point ride.

The diminutive two-time world champ Filipe Toledo who is returning to competition after a one-year sabbatical, and looking back on his career it’s surprising he wasn’t hospitalised from nervous exhaustion and overwork, scored the generous ten-points almost a decade ago, back in 2016 when it was called the Billabong Pipeline Masters and which was won by Tahitian Michel Bourez.

Hell hath no fury like a surf fan taken for a fool, however. The comments almost uniformly pushed against the notion that a four-foot wave could be scored ten points, no matter how well surfed by surf expert Filipe Toledo.

Is that when he surfed in the woman’s division??

lol always handing out extra points for lame claims

Manini 2 footer Wouldn’t even be one 10 for da womans these days

Even on a scale of 1-100, that still isn’t a 10.

Should lose points for that shit claim.

Baby back door.

And, pointedly,

Largest wave he ever surfed on tour

Prediction: Filipe Toledo will podium at this year’s Pipe Pro, held in three-to-four-foot runners at baby Backdoor.

 

 

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A post shared by World Surf League (@wsl)

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Italo Ferreira signs with Nike.
"This is a very special moment in my professional career! Joining this team gives me the strength and courage to keep facing obstacles and walk the way to the top."

Nike climbs back into surf with signing of Olympic gold medalist Italo Ferreira and women’s rookie Sierra Kerr

“Making one more dream come true: to have one of the most coveted brands in the world on my board."

The noted shoe and apparel brand Nike, which first entered the surf game in 2006 with the confusingly named Nike 6.0, shovelling millions of dollars at Kolohe Andino, Julian Wilson and Carissa Moore, only to exit six years later, has returned to surfing with the signing of Olympic gold medallist Italo Ferreira and women’s tour rookie Sierra Kerr, whose daddy you know.

“Making one more dream come true: to have one of the most coveted brands in the world on my board,” wrote Italo Ferreira. “This is more than a personal achievement; it’s about connection to the history of great sports heroes and a powerful family. This is a very special moment in my professional career! Joining this team gives me the strength and courage to keep facing obstacles and walk the way to the top. In advance, I thank my team @if15sports for their work and performance in the past months.

“We did it”

 

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A post shared by Italo Ferreira (@italoferreira)

 

Nike’s engagement with surfing has been marked  by initial missteps, a strategic retreat, and now a cautious re-entry with a focus, as they say in marketing meets, on authenticity and key athlete partnerships.

The approach this time is about integrating surfing into Nike’s wider sports portfolio, ie getting surfers to buy Nike instead of the usual surf-themed gear, rather than creating a separate identity for it within the company’s branding structure.

 

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