Watch: Large Atlantic Swell VS 12 Kids Seeking To Prove Themselves In Front Of A World Champ 

Results don’t lie.  

And, in episode 3 of EDP’s Surf For Tomorrow series, we get the honest truth about the training program crafted by Tiago Pires and Zé Seabra: It works. 

Two of the team’s four young surfers — Kai Ordiozola and Janire Etxabarri — win QS events in the UK and Spain. And if Janire’s name sounds familiar, it’s because she also just qualified for the Olympics.

Access to the program is a privilege, and that’s made quite clear in this episode. If the current surfers want to stay on the team, they must prove they belong by fending off eight new kids who’d love to fill their shoes. 

Which brings us (plus Annette Etxabarri, Maria Salgado, Lua Escudeiro, Martim Fortes, Guilherme Ribeiro, Lucas Camargo, Dylan Donegan, and Jaime Veselko) to an island in the middle of the Atlantic.

And, right on cue, a menacing swell greets them. The keen viewer might recall a series of real-time Instagram stories on our channel a few months back. 

I was on site, and had never seen anything quite like it. The program truly is masterfully curated to challenge the kids in every way, and you could tell how badly they wanted it. Imagine being a teenage surfer with competitive aspirations and, over the course of a 4-day trip, you suddenly end up with a guy like Adriano de Souza in your corner? It’s life-changing, for real.

So, who makes the cut? You’ll have to wait until Ep 4 to find out.