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Italo Ferreira

Ítalo Ferreira was born in the small community of Baía Formosa, in Rio Grande do Norte, in 1994 and, as a boy, he fell in love with surfing. He only caught waves, however, with boards borrowed from his cousins. But the kid's luck began to change at age 12. Still pre-teen, Italo was discovered by Luiz “Pinga”, then marketing director of one of the main surfing brands in the world. And there began the story of a great career, which would not stop until reaching the top. And that is still just the beginning.

Ítalo Ferreira is a Brazilian surfer, born on June 6, 1994, in Baía Formosa, in Rio Grande do Norte. He is part of the world's surfing elite and has competed in the World Surf League (WSL) since 2015. His first title came in 2019. The gigantic talent has been demonstrated since his first season in the WSL. The potiguar surfer received the award for best newcomer in 2015 when he ended the year in 7th place in the ranking. In 2019, Italo finally joined the list of world champions.

Italo won two stages of the Junior World Championship in 2011, was runner-up in the category, won the Brazilian Championship and in 2014, finally, qualified to join the WCT (World Championship Tour), the elite of the circuit. Aggressive, he arrived knocking down the door and right on his debut he was rookie of the year, with an impressive seventh place.

In 2019, Italo won the first event of the year, on the Australian Gold Coast. He also won the Red Bull Airborne opening trophy, aerial championships that followed. The wonderful year would still have victory in Peniche, Portugal, and finals in Jeffreys Bay, in South Africa, and Hossegor, in France. In the final stage, the legendary Pipe Masters, the title over Gabriel Medina made Italo world champion. Less than two years after winning the world title, the guy got surfing's first Olympic gold medal on his chest.

In fact, after his first world title in 2019, Italo Ferreira secured a spot for the Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Due to the pandemic, the event ended up happening only in 2021. Thus, Italo entered as one of the favorites and managed to beat the representative of the host country in the final. Ferreira gave Kanoa Igarashi no chance and secured the first gold in surfing history for Brazil.

Since arriving at the WSL, Italo Ferreira has not established major rivalries or had controversies involving any other member of the world's surfing elite. However, the Brazilian has already established himself as a strong opponent for Gabriel Medina, Filipe Toledo and the foreigners fighting for the WCT title. In 2018, he ranked 4th in the WSL rankings, behind only Medina, Australian Julian Wilson and Filipinho.

An animal lover, Ítalo has a special affection for dogs. One of his favorites takes the name of Peniche, a city in Portugal where a stage of the surfing world is held, in which he already took 10. But in 2020, he said goodbye to another "doggy". On social networks, he mourned the death of Titanio.

In 2019, he was stolen before leaving for a competition in Japan. Okay, but moved on! He managed to arrive and disembark, another unforeseen event. A typhoon had hit Tokyo. Even so, Ítalo still managed to catch another flight to reach the city of the championship, he borrowed a board and fell into the sea the way he was: with a pair of denim shorts. And secured 1st place! It's a lot of race and talent or isn't it!?

Italo has a very special project: he wants to transform his grandmother's house, Mariquinha (who died two years ago), into a support institute for children who dream of surfing. The headquarters are in the surfer's hometown, in Baía Formosa, in Rio Grande do Norte. The goal is for children in the municipality to have the opportunity to have a better life through sport, just like Ítalo did, who is, without a doubt, a great inspiration for the little ones.

Ítalo may have conquered the world, many awards and recognition, but he has not abandoned his roots. The surfer still lives in Baía Formosa, a city with just over nine thousand inhabitants and where it all began. Despite competing in several places, it is there that he always returns. Ítalo may have conquered the world, many awards and recognition, but he has not abandoned his roots. The surfer still lives in Baía Formosa, a city with just over nine thousand inhabitants and where it all began. Despite competing in several places, it is there that he always returns.