Italo, Gets Set In Steel, Bigly

The town of Baía Formosa has a new sculpture today, dedicated to Olympic gold medalist, 19’ World Champ, and Baia Formosa native, Italo Ferreira. The sculpture, unveiled on Friday was made in honor of winning the first Olympic gold in the history of surfing. 

“Never, in my most beautiful dreams, would I have imagined having a Statue in my honor, even more so in Pontal, where I was born, where I was a child, I played, I surfed, grew up, have my friends, and a place that allowed me to run around the world doing what I do best, which is surfing. I thank God for the opportunity to be healthy to continue dedicating my energy to my Country, to my State, to my city Baía Formosa and, mainly, to all the people of the Northeast. Big kiss,” said Italo on IG.

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A post shared by Italo Ferreira (@italoferreira)

The sculpture was modelled from this picture below supplied by Fransisco Seco after his commanding win over Kanoa Igarashi in the final at Tsuriagasaki Beach. The work was carried out by Guaraci Gabriel, a renowned sculptor and visual artist.

Italo is currently ranked #3 in the SSOTY awards, and the only surfer thus far to vote themselves as #1.

“I see myself as an inspiration to myself. I wake up at 5:00 to surf, then go to the gym. I surf 3 or 4 times a day to make it count. I know it depends on my hard work to pay off,” said Italo regarding his first place pick. 

Italo, now strolls into Pipe, an event he has already won, with a 12 ft statue to his name, adding just a tad more mojo to add to his already teeming repository of swagger. 

Big kiss.