Stab Loves Brazilian Champions - Stab Mag

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

182 Views
Nothing but love, folks. Photo: Cait Miers/WSL

Stab Loves Brazilian Champions

A response to a fire we started on Instagram.

news // Jul 12, 2021
Words by Brendan Buckley
Reading Time: 2 minutes

We got in trouble.

Last week, Stab published a Premium story called “Are Brazilian Champions Detrimental To The WSL?” 

This, sadly, is not an uncommon belief in the surf world. The article opens with a quote from a Brazilian CT surfer that reads, “The Brazilian domination is not good for business. The WSL is tired of Brazzos winning everything and they’ll bring us down whenever they have the chance.”

From there, it explores how and why someone in that position could arrive at this opinion. It enables you to hear from a range of individuals, calls out some little-known injustices to the WSL’s Portuguese-speaking audience, and concludes by stating that Brazilian surfers are good for the WSL. 

The story was pitched, written, and titled by a Brazilian, Steve Allain. Steve has put a lot of his heart into Brazilian surfing over the years, starting and heading his own publication and serving as a correspondent for many international surf magazines. 

We posted a teaser for the story on Instagram and it received over 4,000 comments, mostly from people who were upset. 

Which is fair. The headline could easily be interpreted as blatantly racist when coming from an outlet headquartered in Australia and the USA. It was an oversight to post it like that, where context is minimal and headlines are often the only words that are read (less than half the amount of the people who commented hit the link to read it on our site). 

However, the piece itself took a journalistic approach to removing a saddening belief in surfing. And the title took that controversial belief by the horns, which is not rare in the world of headlines.

We love surfing. All of it. And we’re going to keep venturing into its depths and its corners. 

To make that clear, we have made the story available to our entire free audience here.  

If you want extra credit, you can also read Steve’s Premium piece on why there is no female Brazilian storm here, which we also just set free. 

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Matty McG Skydives Into CT Heat, But Jordy’s Still The Main Event

A full day of heats at J-Bay, and only one shark warning.

Jul 12, 2025

Controversial Opinion: No One Needs To Yoga In Boardshorts

12 Trunks for the traditionalist.

Jul 12, 2025

Correction: J-Bay All Foreplay, No Climax

Slim pickings on Day 1 of the Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025.

Jul 11, 2025

What Do Hollywood, Surf Lessons, Michael Jackson And Traction Pads Have In Common?

A Stab Interview with Teva Dexter, the man behind surfing's hardest new hardware brand —…

Jul 10, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 10, 2025

How Josh Ku Nearly Died Trying To Cross From Ulus to G Land by Hydrofoil

“If someone finds me dead at least they can find my phone and know what…

Jul 10, 2025

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025

Surfing’s 2025 Q2 Report

An assessment of surfing's vital signs throughout the second quarter of 2025.

Jul 2, 2025

What Actually Happened to Occy’s Mad Max Plunger Pool In Yeppoon?

Surf Lakes’ brass talks: internet hecklers, the unplugging of the plunger, and the Tom Curren…

Jul 2, 2025

Poor Goofy Foots 

Data shows that the world is stacked against goofs — they even make 15% less money than…

Jul 1, 2025
Advertisement