“I feel like I found myself again. Chill in the tummy but excited for what's to come."
The three-time world surf champ Gabriel Medina, long a thorn in the side of the WSL for his campaigns against white-on-brown racism and a judging panel that has only awarded eight of the last 12 world titles to Brazilians, has issued an ominous warning to competitors ahead of his long-awaited return.
But, one year later, the one-time black knight of surfing, famous for his rain squalls of tears and thunderclap tantrums, the finger jabbing and those pretty black eyes wild and obsessed, is back.
“God is the way,” Medina wrote to his thirteen million followers alongside a carousel of deeply personal photos, including one where a mask is strapped to his face and delivering gases unknown.
“After 1 year of not competing, here we are. Chill in the tummy but excited for what’s to come. I feel like I found myself again. I’ve understood that what I’ve been through has brought me here, stronger, more aware, more me. Connected to my essence, that child who has this optimistic vision of life and the future.
“Life transformed me, and today I continue with purpose, knowing who I am and what I came to do. I keep trying to get better everyday, life is a constant evolution!
“It’s a fresh beginning. But this time, in full presence. Nothing else defines me but my own truth.”
The post has been liked almost two hundred thousand times and generated fifteen-hundred comments, including from his newish girlfriend, the noted Brazilian dancer Isabella Arantes who expressed her love and confidence God would anoint her boy king again.
The 63rd Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach runs April 1 through 11.