11-Year-Old Performs Stab High-Worthy Airs in Waco

Ask any surfer under the age of 13 what they want to be when they’re older, and the answer is clear: ‘a professional surfer’. A few years ago, this was a singular career path, and we all knew what that entailed. The groms were referring to surfing on the CT and competing against a 50-year-old John John Florence or a grey-haired Steph Gilmore.

Today, the phrase has a new meaning and follows a variety of roads to success. Take Cruz Dinofa, for example. Cruz is an 11-year-old surfer from New Jersey with a nack for airs. Could Cruz surf in a CT event one day? Probably, but he also doesn’t have to. He can be a free surfer, make a living off a monetized Youtube channel, and get paid for doing his already dialed-in backside mute grabs.

Times have changed: vlogs, alternate contest formats, did we mention wavepools? Being a ‘pro surfer’ is now a broad term, and with compact aerialists like Cruz, it will keep expanding.

Refer above for the latest definition.