The Next Front Of The Brazilian Storm?

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Gabriel Medina’s cousin. 

Rodrigo Saldanha is one of those guys who will make you turn green with envy. Not just because of his skill on, above, or behind the lip, but because he knows how to be in the right place at the right time. Namely, three months in Indo with pandemic-sized crowds last year. And with this much talent, the juice is usually worth the squeeze. 

This might be young Rodrigo’s best work to date. Edited by Bruno Zanin, his Indo reel will make your head spin before you scratch it. Sure, at 18 years old (17 at the time of the trip) he’s still got room to grow, but he can already land full rotations and get very, very barreled going left or right. He’s also got plenty of guts, as evidenced by his attempt to board an derailed locomotive at 4:12. 

Most surfers book their ticket to this archipelago to reserve tube time, but Rodrigo seems just as comfortable boosting over the reef as he does getting drained at overhead Nias.

Watch Now You Know above and remember his name. You’ll probably hear of him again.