How To Make It In South America

It’s talented world we live in. And success in surfing, along with golf, tennis and baseball is a formidable foe. If you’re from the United State’s east coast, you have to move to California (So Cal to be precise), join the onslaught of local rippers, and put in your time on the North Shore to get noticed. And the thing about the east coast guys is, they charge, and surf slop the majority of their days. The surfers that make it out of the region are of fine calibre, see Kelly Slater, the Geilselman’s, Balaram Stack, etc. But gaining exposure in South America is like ditching your waiter job for a minor role in a major Hollywood film. See, the vast amount of Brazilians on the Juniors and QS. And if you’re not from Brazil, and have dreams of professionalism, you relocate, become another lemming and pray for your break.

This is the story of Marco Giorgi, the only Uruguayan surfer competing at the QS level. It’s a prime example of the trials and tribulations of making it in South America, then America. This short doco profiles the man and his strife towards becoming a pro surfer then making a surprising run at the world at the Volcom Pipe Pro. It always comes down to performing on that seven-mile-stretch.

“Mucho Gusto” was made possible by Mark Daniel and Pedro Carvalho, shot in Uruguay and Brazil and won the recent MIMPI Festival.