Brazilian Males Have Won 5 World Titles In The Past 7 Seasons

Until 2014, a Brazilian male had never won a world title. In the past 7 CT seasons, they have won 5, giving them a 71.4% World Title winning percentage since they got the ball rolling.

The Brazilian Storm term is no longer apt, we’re experiencing climate change in professional surfing, and the hopes of a sunny day for the rest of the surfing world seems a long way off.

It is not one man’s excellence either, the top three this year were all Brazilian, all of whom seem to possess another gear above and beyond what the rest of the tour has. Filipe, Italo, and Gabby are all under 28 years of age and have at least another five years left in the tank before they fall out of title contention.

For the record, Joel Parkinson was 31 when he won his world title, Kelly Slater was 39 when he won his last, and Mick Fanning was 32 when he clinched his third. In the years when a Brazilian didn’t win the world title (2016 and 2017), Gabs placed second and third.

Whatever the Brazilians are doing is working. Their complete dominance is praise-worthy and warrants investigation. They’re hungry, deadly under pressure, and incredibly well-rounded in a multitude of conditions for a nation that is mostly beaches with the sporadic point break here and there.

With World Junior Champion Mateus Herdy poised for greatness on the Challenger series, defeating Italo not once but twice at Barra de la Cruz as a wildcard, the Brazilian storm is only brooding with the promise of more lightning bolts and thunder to follow.

Grab the wellie boots and poncho, it’s La Niña season.