Adriano de Souza, tuning up at Whale Beach, NSW

Adriano de Souza is a man who’ll do the hard yards and compete whenever he can – in his eyes, every contest is prep for the big show, the world tour. So it’s unsurprising that he’s currently in Manly, competing in the Australian Open of Surfing. And just days after making it to the final of the Volcom Pipe Pro, another qualifier event that he didn’t really need to enter (especially considering he makes it to the biz end of most WCT stops). Not only that, but when he’s in town for an event, Ads stays in tune every chance he gets, which we find him doing here at Whale Beach, not so far from Manly. “It seems all the pros like to get away from the contest scene when they’re not competing,” says photographer Jason Corroto. “Adriano is staying in Avalon, north of manly, so I’d say he’ll be flaring at this spot a lot during the week. The guy rips. He’s a legend as well, really friendly.” And you can’t ask for much more than that.