Vitor Oliveira

Tom Morey (1935-2021) is one of the most influential personalities in surfing history. Among many other design and technological contributions, he is responsible for the introduction of air lubrication in surfboard shaping. It might sound weird and unusual, but Tom indeed tried the unthinkable - putting holes in a surfboard. How could that possibly work? To understand it, we must reflect and try to put ourselves in the shoes of one of surfing's most underrated individuals. Morey's ingenious character , combining engineering, creativity, art, and spirituality, led to several timeless creations and surf-related equipment, from pioneering wave pool designs to the modern bodyboard . The man who, in March 1999, announced that "for numerous reasons, I am discarding the name Morey and will hereafter go by just plain 'Y;' that is, no first, middle or last monikers, just the single capital letter, 'Y,'" really applied his experience at Douglas Aircraft a...

Twenty-three-year-old surfer Kai McKenzie suffered a severe shark attack off the coast of North Shore Beach near Port Macquarie, New South Wales. On Tuesday, while enjoying the clear morning surf, McKenzie was attacked by what authorities believe to be a three-meter (9.8-foot) great white shark . The incident has shocked the local community and spurred a wave of support and concern. Around 11 am, McKenzie was surfing when he noticed a massive shark approaching from the corner of his eye. Despite his attempts to fend off the predator , the shark managed to latch onto his right leg, severing it. Bleeding profusely and on the brink of losing consciousness, McKenzie heroically caught a wave and managed to ride it back to shore. Upon reaching the beach, McKenzie was fortunate to encounter a retired police officer who was walking his dog. The officer, whose quick thinking was later praised by NSW Ambulance's Kirran Mowbray, used his dog's leash as a makeshift tourniquet . ...

Brian J. Bonislawsky is a very discreet and off-the-radar font designer. Nevertheless, his professional experience and legacy are rich and spread throughout the world. You could ask, "What does typography have to do with surfing?" Nothing and everything, one could reply. Fonts and typefaces are everywhere. They pop without asking for permission on our phones, in newspapers, on street shop signs, food packages, magazines, billboards, traffic signs, and even on the clothes and shoes we wear. For instance, you're reading this article in a Roboto font. There is not a single day you're not exposed to more than a hundred different font families. In other words, if you exclude handwriting, you cannot read a sentence that does not belong to a typeface. Typefaces are also everywhere in surfing and surf culture. From the moment you buy a surfboard, wetsuit, wax, and apparel to the surfing websites you visit and the YouTube videos you watch, there is always one or more ...

A 49-year-old experienced swimmer and surfer from Byron Bay found himself in a life-threatening situation while body surfing at Tallow Beach in New South Wales, Australia. On what seemed like a regular Saturday morning surf, Rick Shearman was caught in the surf's impact zone. The situation quickly escalated as he was repeatedly hit by large waves, causing him to cramp and panic. Despite his experience and familiarity with ocean conditions, Shearman found himself unable to make it back to shore. "I copped a couple of big ones on the head and was held under for a while," he recounted. Recognizing the danger of fighting against the powerful current , he allowed himself to be carried further out to sea, hoping to find a channel that would help him return to the beach. However, after 20 minutes of being dragged farther from the shore and realizing he was almost a kilometer out at sea, Shearman knew he was fighting for survival and needed help. Also, the entire stretch...

I have to admit it. There has always been something glamorous surrounding the dreams of living the life of a pro surfer. I got my first surfboard in the early 1990s when I was a young teenager. The hook was a copy of Brazil's legendary surf magazine, Fluir. On the cover of the October 1990 issue, it read "Teco, Piu, and Fabinho." Teco Padaratz, Piu Pereira, and Fábio Gouveira were some of the most important names in Brazilian surfing and were giving their best in the ASP World Tour. The magazine, bought by one of my oldest and closest friends (and future bandmate), changed my life. He showed it to me on a high school break, and I was mesmerized by the color and idyllic pictures of surfers challenging physics and gravity. Actually, more than three decades later, I can still visualize the exact place where I was on the playground when I unfolded those magical pages. But that's not my point right now. Free Surfing the Dream Pro surfer. Have you ever thought ...

The first-ever pro tour wave pool contest was held at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The 1985 World Professional Inland Surfing Championship was a unique event run in an unprecedented venue, 90 miles away from New York and 120 miles from the New Jersey shoreline. The ASP World Tour era had just begun, and Tom Carroll was the star surfer. The Australian won two world titles - 1983/1984 and 1984/1985 - before signing one of the sport's first millionaire contracts with Quiksilver in 1989. Professional surfing wanted to take a leap of faith into the future, whatever it would be, and conquer the mainstream public, a source of unlimited visibility, business, and sponsorship. The water and theme park industry was growing and becoming largely popular across the United States. The possibility of having surfing take place inland had been proven possible and successful with the opening of Big Surf in Tempe, Arizona, in October 1969. Could running an ...

A surfer knows how sessions vary from day to day and even from morning to afternoon. One can start all fired up and end frustrated. It's part of the thrill. As with any other sport, the act of surfing is not linear and depends on many factors that are not necessarily human or performance-related. There are shifting winds, changing tides, and morphing swells interacting randomly to make each session different from minute one to minute sixty. However, sometimes, it feels like our mood, vibe, or physical shape varies too much in a short period, especially after long lulls, i.e., long minutes between sets . In surfing, lulls can destroy a memorable session. Although it's true that they can help surfers reset, rest, and take a breath after extenuating non-stop action, they can also lower stoke levels and increase anxiety and stress. In a crowded surf break, lulls build up tension. The lineup is waiting for 15 or 20 minutes for a decent set wave that never comes, knowing that...

A wipeout changed Jack Johnson's life. Here's how the young man who once dreamed of becoming a pro surfer went on to sell over 25 million album copies. Call it destiny or fate, but life can sometimes throw you unexpected surprises. Today, Jack Hody Johnson is a successful singer-songwriter with a solid, award-winning career. His name is definitely more associated with music than surfing. But it was not supposed to be like that. "I never dreamed I was gonna have a musical career," Johnson once said. "It was just one of my favorite hobbies. It was like surfing first, and when the waves were drunk, I'd play guitar." "I think it's healthy to wonder how I got here and if I even deserve to be here. There's so many little lucky weird things along the way that just lead up to it." Ocean Genes It all started in California. His surfer father, Jeff Johnson, after the birth of Jack's oldest brother, decided to learn how to sail. ...

The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will take place in Los Angeles, California. It's a very special moment for the sport of surfing. The Golden State is the crib of surf culture. After crossing the Pacific from the Hawaiian Islands to the West Coast of the USA in the early decades of the 20th century, the religious, spiritual, and noble outdoor pastime became a sport and a lifestyle. Surfing is also the official state sport of California and the heart of a global multi-billion industry. September 20 has forever been declared California Surfing Day . For the third consecutive time in its history, wave riders will compete for Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medals in the high-performance waves of the sun-kissed sand strips. Surfing is coming home to celebrate its century of stoke in historical waters. Shocking News However, the news that the Los Angeles 2028 Organising Committee decided not to propose para surfing in the Paralympic Games was a disappointing surprise. ...

Açaí is one of the most popular fruits among the 21st-century generations. Believe it or not, three surfers are responsible for making it a global superfood, juice, and ice cream delight. Açaí is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet. In the Tupi language, it means the "fruit that cries." It is rich in powerful antioxidants, heart-healthy omega fats, amino acids, fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Açaí oil has a fatty acid portion reminiscent of olive oil and is rich in healthy omegas, substances that are believed to be beneficial for skin and hair. The dark purple pigments of açaí are part of a unique class of phenolic plants called anthocyanins, known for their powerful antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory potential and ability to combat free radicals (unstable molecules that can lead to premature aging and degenerative diseases). The fruit, also known in English as acai, has ​​10 to 30 times more antioxidants than red wine. The Surf-Açaí Connection...

Long are the days when surfing was the sport of riding ocean waves. Today, it's more than that - it's about choosing one of the many ways to ride a wave. Whether in the ocean, river, or inland, there are multiple options to get your surfboard moving on novelty waves . A new type of surfing emerged in the 1960s for outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers. It's called ferry or tanker surfing. It might sound like a post-industrial or post-apocalyptical activity, but it's more real and common than you might think. In the heart of busy harbors and along the endless waterways where ferries and tankers weave their daily routes, there are exciting opportunities for wave-riding addicts. When waves generated by the massive vessels that dominate these urban landscapes form, there's a growing number of surfers tracking around their route. Ferry and tanker surfing take advantage of the substantial wakes created by these vessels, transforming urban waterways into unexpected su...

It's quite a paradox, but summer in the Northern Hemisphere really is surfing's silly season. For non-surfers and the mainstream audience, June, July, and August are the months more commonly associated with surfboards and surf equipment moving up and down the beach and back and forth on the road. And in a way, they're right. Surfers tend to have more time available to catch some ankle-to-chest-high waves than in any other period of the year. Over 95 percent of the world's surfing tribe is a beginner or intermediate wave rider, so small, gentle waves are just fine. Hence the paradox. There are more surfers than ever out there, and simultaneously, nearly nothing is happening in the surfing world. But let's be honest. The surf industry and competitive surfing are experiencing some of their hardest moments in history as they fail to listen to fans and adapt accordingly. Despite the fancy marketing stunts, innovation levels are at their lowest, and not even the...

History is a complex puzzle of dates and facts, and sometimes, a small clue or hint can change our solidified perspective of the past. On October 4, 2023, I penned an article titled " Big Surf: the story of America's first modern wave pool ." It's about the magical waterpark with artificially generated waves that opened on October 24, 1969, in Tempe, Arizona. Big Surf was a multifaceted surf center developed by Phil Dexter. It was open for business for 51 years and even welcomed Pope John Paul II. Not for a surf, but surely for a blessing. Anyway, two months after my article saw the light of day, I received an intriguing email from a US Air Force logistics operations manager. In his kind message, he told me that the claim that Big Surf was North America's first modern wave pool could not be 100 percent correct. Apparently, Oceana Park was a facility that opened on Memorial Day, May 29, 1961, in Newbury, Ohio - eight years before the Arizona surf lagoon. A...

The lifeguard tower is an American landmark and an architectural symbol of US beaches and ocean safety. Learn how to draw these classic seaside structures. They're all over the North American coastline, and they help save lives. Lifeguard towers provide a privileged, taller view over the ocean and allow trained, certified rescuers to watch and perform surveillance routines in their designated areas. Whether witnessing a potentially life-threatening drowning event or spotting sharks in the vicinities, lifeguards can better supervise the swimming zone from these open or enclosed wooden structures. Lifeguard towers have constantly been featured in pop culture and have become the focus of attention in the world of arts and architecture. The famous 11-season TV series "Baywatch" was shot at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, California, the home of several blue lifeguard towers. But have you ever thought of drawing one of these beach life structures and hangi...