Vitor Oliveira

There is an old proverb that tells us that "The shoemaker's children always go barefoot." I thought about it today, as I contemplated the ocean from my wide living room window. The reason why this emerged from my mind is because I have an old personal theory that somehow relates this ancient saying to my surfing life. The concept behind the proverb is actually available in several world cultures. In Portuguese, the closest adage is "Em casa de ferreiro, espeto de pau," which translates to "In the blacksmith's house, a wooden skewer." There are also similar versions in Spanish and French. But here's where I want to go: I think that it has been statistically relevant to me that surfers who live within walking distance to the beach or to their home breaks tend, with time, to surf less than they would if they lived inland and in the countryside. My point is that the more we're given the things we love in life, the more we appreciate them...

A 59-year-old man faces two felony charges for allegedly using his stand-up paddleboard (SUP) paddle to attack a woman surfer. What started as a mellow summer morning surf at Morro Strand State Beach ended with felony charges. On Saturday, August 23, around 10:45 am, California State Parks rangers rushed to the lineup south of the Morro Strand entrance after a 911 call reported a violent altercation in the water. Witnesses say the clash began over wave priority and escalated into a brutal attack. The suspect, Andrew Eric Gustafson of Morro Bay, was out on his stand-up paddleboard when a woman surfer dropped into a wave ahead of him. According to witnesses, Gustafson paddled hard toward her, struck her from behind, then turned his SUP paddle into a weapon. A Coward Attack Surfers in the water reported that Gustafson screamed at the woman, hit her with his paddle, and rammed her with his board. He then allegedly climbed onto her surfboard, grabbed her by the hair, and forced her...

Almost from its first stitches of fabric, Quiksilver carried the art of beach life in its DNA, before swiftly adding the snow to its iconic logo. From pareo prints inspired by Polynesia to bold polka dots, tribal patterns, and urban collages, the brand's look has always been in motion. "It's all about attitude," once said artist Simon Buttonshaw, one of the original creative voices behind the brand. "You don't start from a position of creating a new look. You just think of new ways of voicing an attitude." That attitude came alive in Torquay, Australia. In the late 1960s, the small surf town was buzzing with young surfers who wanted nothing more than to live by the waves. Among them were Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick, who set up Rip Curl in an old bakery. Around the corner, another surfer, Alan Green ( 1947-2025 ), was experimenting with wetsuits and then boardshorts. At first, the shorts came with an accidental logo. "I went to a place c...

For the first time ever, Surf Team Finland will have a head coach in their corner. Matt Myers, a California surf coach known for his years at Rip Curl North America and his work with athletes like Mick Fanning, Gabriel Medina, and Tyler Wright, is joining the Finnish squad as they prepare for the 2025 ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador. "This is a historic moment for Finnish surfing," notes Tanja Piha, chair of the Finnish Surfing Association. "The appointment of a head coach brings continuity, professionalism, and a new perspective to the development of the sport. "We want to give our athletes the best possible conditions to succeed on the international stage." The move is backed by the Finnish Olympic Committee, which is investing in high-performance programs with the goal of qualifying athletes for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Matt Myers: International Experience at the Highest Level Myers is a former competitive surfer who spent a decade...

Texas has one of the most underrated surf culture scenes in the United States. With its 367 miles (591 kilometers) of coastline facing the Gulf of Mexico, it does pick up some decent post-summer swells fueled by hurricanes. South Padre Island, the capital of surfing in Texas, and Corpus Christi and Galveston are the main Texan surf hubs and points of interest. The history of surfing in Texas dates back to the 1930s when an Italian-born lifeguard, Leroy Colombo, introduced the wave-riding practice in the state. Forty years later, a tight surfing community was already taking on the wakes generated by tanker ships passing through the Galveston Bay. They love it as much as anyone in Hawaii and California. Texas is also home to several surf stars, including Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, Ken Bradshaw, and Debbie Beacham, the 1982 women's world champion. The first-ever FlowRider surf machine opened in Schlitterbahn Water Park in New Braunfels in 1991, too. So, the Lone Star ...

Surfers and everyone who enjoys spending time outdoors, enjoying the sun and the fresh air, should at some point apply sunscreen. The consequences of overexposing your skin to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays are well known and potentially deadly. One of the most common misconceptions about the sun's impact on our skin is that tanning makes you look good and healthy. Until the 1920s, tanning was socially associated with people from lower, underprivileged classes who usually worked outdoors and under intense sunlight. However, believe it or not, Coco Chanel's accidental sunburn in the French Riviera helped change that. If you're interested in the history of tanning, this story is definitely worth a parallel read. The increasing need to boost people's vitamin D levels and the invention of sunscreen only boosted the new trend. Tanning looked like you were having fun, sunbathing in idyllic destinations and on beaches. Tanning Is Not Healthy With time, scientist...

Surfing has always been more than a sport. It's culture, it's community, it's a way of life deeply connected to the places we call home. But in Costa Rica (and many other surf destinations around the world), we are facing a growing problem: surf gentrification. What does that mean? Same thing that happens in big cities when outside money comes in, drives up real estate and grocery prices, and pushes locals out. In our surf towns , it looks like foreign-owned surf camps are setting up shops, bringing their own instructors, and running their businesses without contributing to the local economy. They don't pay taxes here, most don't even employ locals, and they often don't respect the established surf culture and lineup etiquette that local schools and surfers have worked so hard to protect. The impact goes beyond the water. Surf gentrification makes life unaffordable for local families, it displaces communities, and jeopardizes the future of the very peopl...

If you drove down Highway 101 in the 1950s and turned off at Dana Point, halfway between Laguna Beach and San Clemente, you'd find one of the most spectacular waves Southern California ever knew. Locals called it Killer Dana, a right-hand point break that, when it lit up, could rival Malibu for consistency and Rincon for length. The thing is, it packed way more punch. Killer Dana was a cultural hub, a natural amphitheater where deep-water south swells reared up and wrapped around the rocky headland, peeling for hundreds of yards toward the pier and the sandy beach inside the cove. Time and development put an end to it, like many other surf gems around the world. A Wave With Power and Grace What made Killer Dana special was the way it gathered energy from the open Pacific. Swells traveled up the coast, hit the point, and bent into perfect lines. It was a dreamy, designer-like natural wave. On smaller days, it was a fun, user-friendly break, with peaks inside the pier th...

Lucas "Chumbo" Chianca has officially ridden the largest wave ever at Laje da Jaguaruna in Santa Catarina, Brazil. According to the measurement using artificial intelligence technology, the surfer took on a 48.6-foot (14.82-meter) wave. A massive wall of water rose off the coast of southern Brazil in July, and one of the world's top big wave surfers was there to greet it. Chumbo wasn't even planning to be in Jaguaruna. He was in Bahia when he saw the forecast: a rare, powerful swell fueled by an extratropical cyclone. The charts were indicating a potentially historic day at Brazil's very own Nazaré. So, Lucas dropped everything, drove 22 hours straight back to Rio de Janeiro, and caught a flight south. Getting to the break itself is an expedition. Surfers launch from Praia da Jagua and ride jet skis through a punishing stretch of whitewater before reaching the reef, located 3.3 miles (5.3 kilometers) offshore. Thiago "Jacaré," a local surfer and ...

Some people enjoy surfing. A smaller number loves it, and only a handful truly dedicates their time on Earth to the pure philosophical pleasure of riding waves. Dale Webster was one of them. Saying that Dale Webster just loved surfing is an understatement. He built his existence around it. Known as "Daily Dale," "Everyday Dale," and "The Daily Wavester," Webster holds the unusual Guinness World Record for surfing 14,642 consecutive days. That's 40 years, one month, and one day without missing a single session. Born in 1948 and raised in Alhambra, California, Webster began mat-surfing in 1957 and switched to stand-up surfing in 1961, at the age of 13. A few years later, he even shook the hand of the great Duke Kahanamoku at the U.S. Championships in Huntington Beach, describing it as "liquid sunshine pouring over me." In 1973, Webster moved to Sonoma County, settling near Bodega Bay, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of San Francis...

Nordic countries struggle to get waves in winter, let alone in summer. However, when a few occasional meteorological miracles and the locals' endless stoke align, an unforgettable day of surfing takes place. The Baltic Sea might not be famous for perfect, glassy lines, but that didn't stop Finland's youngest surfers from putting on a show at the first-ever junior-only national championship. The event was held during the debut edition of Pori Surf Fest. It wasn't the kind of day that makes flashy surf magazine covers. In Finland, the Baltic is never offshore with ruler-straight lines. Sometimes you stand on the beach wondering if it's even surfable. But then you paddle out, snag a few unexpected walls, and the stoke hits like a freight train. Making the Call The call came late Thursday night, when forecasts hinted the Baltic might start to pump or at least offer contestable waves. "Twenty hours later, we were on the road to Pori in Western Finland,...

Keeping it simple is sometimes difficult, and when it comes to surf watches, there's a lot that can go wrong. But that is definitely not the case with the Casio G-Shock G-LIDE GBX-100S. In 2016, SurferToday tested and reviewed the Casio G-Shock G-Lide GAX100 . We felt it was "tough, durable, and efficient." Meanwhile, technology has evolved fast, and the world's best surf-driven smartwatches have become supercomputers with multiple features that go well beyond the saltwater arena. The simplicity and analog feel of the GAX100 was replaced by innovative digital touchscreens that require daily battery recharge, given the endless options to connect to the online world. But let's be honest. The most useful surf watch features are the tide times, the moon data, and the sunrise/sunset times. Everything else is pure entertainment that will add up to the price tag and drain your battery even faster. Connected and Rich in Features The Casio G-LIDE GBX-100S is a gr...

Surfboard leashes are usually seen as a safety device that ensures a surfer won't lose their board after a fall, wipeout, or kickout. Despite their underrated status when it comes to discussing surfing equipment and the upgrades in technology, the legrope (or the absence of it) is often involved in controversy. Besides its immediate and clear function - to keep the surfer connected to its gear - the leash also prevents accidents. It's a simple yet super smart invention . Without them, boards can easily enter free-riding mode and hit other people who may be in the water. Everything in a surfboard is a weapon - the nose, the fins, the tail, the rails, the deck, and the bottom. Longboarders tend to avoid its use, citing the original spirit of surfing and the need to feel free while cross-stepping and hanging ten. This practice resulted in injuries worldwide, as some of them were not able to control their logs after a wipeout or fall. As a result, many coastal communities ...

If you've ever wondered what happens when several hundred surfers decide to abandon all sense of order and charge the same wave at the same time, Carlsbad has your answer. It's the Slamarack. Held at the infamous Tamarack surf break, Slamarack 2025 delivered everything it's known for: sun, waves, soft tops, and total mayhem. Imagine Spain's very own running of the bulls, except the bulls are foam boards, and everyone's running straight into each other - voluntarily. By 9 am, the sand at Tamarack was packed with an army of grinning participants. You'd find groms in neon rash guards, dads on vacation pretending they're 20 again, and a brave handful of spectators ready to risk being collateral damage in the shore break. The rules? Simple. Everyone paddles. Everyone goes. On every wave. What follows can only be described as aquatic anarchy. From the safety of dry sand, you'll see arms flailing, boards flying, and laughter echoing over the whitewater....

Homegrown talent shone brightly at Padang Padang today, as 16-year-olds Westen Hirst from Lakey Peak and Jasmine Studer from Kuta claimed victory at Indonesia's most iconic and longest-standing surf competition - The Rip Curl Cup - in absolutely epic conditions. Flawless six-foot waves rolled in consistently throughout the day, setting the stage for standout performances from the nation's finest surfers alongside top-tier international free surfers. The Rip Curl Cup is known for its "swell-dependent" format - it only runs when the waves are firing. This year was no exception. With just a few days' notice, surfers from across the globe scrambled to Bali's Bukit Peninsula after the green light was given for Sunday's start. The stacked invite-only lineup featured big names such as Mason Ho, Ivan Florence, Tosh Tudor, and Balaram Stack, as well as a host of legendary Indonesian surfers. Jasmine Studer stole the show in the women's final, locking in a...

Epilepsy is a neurological condition where the brain occasionally produces bursts of abnormal electrical activity. These bursts trigger seizures, which are fundamentally involuntary physical, sensory, or awareness changes. A person is usually diagnosed with epilepsy after having two or more unprovoked seizures that are not explained by factors like fever or low blood sugar. Globally, epilepsy affects around 50 to 52 million people as of 2021-2024, or about 0.5 to 1 percent of the global population. To put it simply, roughly 5 to 10 out of every 1,000 people live with active epilepsy. But Columbia University researchers concluded that 1 in 26 people (3.85 percent) will develop epilepsy at some point in their lives. The figure can be transposed to the surfing community. If there are 20 million surfers worldwide , around 150,000 have epilepsy. Causes and Symptoms of Seizures Medical experts and scientists stress that about 50 percent of cases have no identified cause. Other cau...