Italo Nicks JJF’s Pyzel, Immediately Stomps Huge Full Rotation 

Thanks to the seeding system, many of surfing’s greatest rivalries rarely get to square up. 

Italo Ferreira and John Florence have both spent 8+ years together on tour, in which time they have surfed against each other only three times in man-on-man heats. John is currently 2-1, thanks to wins on the Gold Coast (2017) and West Oz (2019). Italo’s only w came on home turf in 2015, where he put a 10+ gap between the two, and went on to clinch rookie of the year honors.

Outside the jersey however, it’s safe to assume the two are friends. Or, at the very least, someone from John’s camp is friendly enough to let Italo sample some of his less-than-prize-ponies – which glue rather nicely to his hoofs on this opening spinner. 

During the filming of Stab in the Dark (SITD), where Italo ranked the Pyzel as his fourth favorite HP at Fernando de Noronha, the Brazilian’s surf stats were comparable only to the serial surf pest that occasionally takes his homemade Jet board to crowded Shark Island, catches two waves in a set, and kills disgruntled lineups with shaka kindness (still one of our most read stories to date, btw). 

Averaging four 42-minute sessions per day, Italo caught one wave roughly every 3.5 minutes, fuelled by drinking up to five Red Bulls, all while maintaining a make-rate on his air reverses of 66%. By contrast, John is known for surfing over much longer intervals and rarely, if ever, with energy drinks fizzing in his guts.

“I was waiting for someone to go out,” he said after long outlasting his peers this session. 

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