Party like it's 2015.
Looking back, we can all see it. Professional surfing’s “Belle Époque.” Its golden age. The high water mark that stretched from, roughly, 2002 through 2019 and delivered us the highest of high and the lowest of lows. Andy Irons vs. Kelly Slater, Gabriel Medina delivering Brazil its first ever professional surf crown, four of five Carissa Moore titles and, maybe most importantly, the introduction of Wiggolly Dantas.
The powerful goofy foot from Ubatuba, Brazil burst on to the World Surf League Championship Tour in 2015 after placing 4th on the Qualifying Series the year prior and wowed audiences with his audacity and grit. His first name also impactful. As he shares, “My mom told me this story that when she was pregnant she was reading this book and there were a couple warriors in it. Wiggolly was the first warrior who would come to battle with a sword in his hand, so my mom decided to name me Wiggolly. I asked her various times why she named me that — she liked it, my dad liked it and they kept the name because the name was different than what existed in Brazil.”
Well, nostalgic surf fans are currently over the moon as Wiggolly’s younger brother, Weslley, is putting on an absolute show in South Africa, just now punching his ticket to the finals.
Hammer-town and for a brief moment surf fans can forget Erik Logan’s hiring as World Surf League President of Content, Media and WSL Studios in 2019 thus ending the Belle Époque like World War I ended France’s.
Happy days of yore.