Watch: Supernatural Surfing From Italo, Adriano, The Pupos, And Cruz Dinofa In A Pool Twice The Size Of Waco - Stab Mag

SHARK WEEK! The Great Debate is coming... July 26 (PST)

1461 Views

Watch: Supernatural Surfing From Italo, Adriano, The Pupos, And Cruz Dinofa In A Pool Twice The Size Of Waco

Break your brain in 10 minutes or less at the new PerfectSwell® machine in Brazil.

cinema // Jan 10, 2023
Words by Holden Trnka
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Since September, we’ve been slow-fed bits and pieces of the newest PerfectSwell® pool in Sao Paulo, Brazil — yeah, the one with a double air section. But we’ve been waiting on a full clip.

Fortunately, we must wait no longer.

PerfectSwell® just sent us a full-fledged 10-minute montage, which features a Brazilian Storm battalion thoroughly enjoying their nation’s new pool — located at the newly developed Boa Vista Village. 

Italo Ferreira, Samuel Pupo, Miguel Pupo, Adriano De Souza — along with honorary Brazilian Storm members Rob Kelly, and Cruz Dinofa — hop, skip, and jump along what the elder Pupo called “the best wavepool in the world.”

At one point, someone asks Italo if he can do an alley-oop. He responds with an interplanetary oop-reverse one-two. Everyone is surfing well in clip, but Italo is literally on video-game mode as he button mashes his way to some of the most absurd combos and aerial variations we’ve seen in a wavepool.

“The performance wave and the double air section are the best I’ve surfed in a pool by far,” said Ferreira. Sorry Uncle Slatz!

Conveniently placed logo, eh?

Between World Champion approval and this treasure trove of footage, the caliber of this wavepool is pretty clear.

Miquel Lazaro has been the lead engineer of American Wave Machines (AWM) — the company that invented and develops PerfectSwell® technology — for roughly 9 years, and is understandably excited about the doors this achievement has opened for the wave-pool world.

“This pool is twice the size of Waco, which we thought was huge — but the clients always want something bigger than the last one, so we’re definitely gonna find out what the limit is eventually,” he says. “Since Japan, we’ve been really interested in exploring how to experience every surfing feeling in the book. Barrels, airs, and turns on the same wave, ideally. Our pools have so much variety now, that it just depends on what you want your day to look like.”

The easiest vision of Italo’s life.

As he possesses the ability to play god, I curiously asked Miquel what his ideal wave look like.

“One of my dream waves would be: takeoff, stall into the barrel, do one turn, then hit a small, realistic air section, make the air and then bottom turn last second under the lip into a crazy wedge barrel.”

Fair enough. Let’s hope he makes it happen.

One can’t help but wonder what the future holds for wavepool contests, especially air comps. While many have mused on the potential creation of “wavepool specialists” and usage of wavepools in the Olympics, it’s a slow-road until much of that is realized. This pool however, is the clearest step towards those possibilities that we’ve seen in a long time.

On this front, AWM’s Willy McFarland added, “Wavepools are beginning to closely mimic other sports, and more disciplines will open up within them, just like skateboarding or snowboarding. I think it’s creating more options for people — more surfing for everyone, basically.”

It’s also creating more clips of Italo being so distinctly Italo.

Very few 13-year-olds can hold their own amidst CT talent. Cruz Dinofa is one of them.

If the airs in the clip above feel too unapproachable for your taste and/or skill level, be sure to stick around for the tube clips at the end.

When can we, the laypeople, go surf it anyway?

If you happen to have purchased one of the apartments at Boa Vista Vilage, you’ll be butt-dragging through extendo-cones this month.

As for the rest of us peasants, we’ll need to wait until they finish building the hotel on the property. “When it rains in Brazil, it rains, and there’s been some weather delay,” Miquel told me. “The hotel is still being built, but once it’s done you’ll be able to stay there for access to the pool.”

We’ll keep you posted on that.

A rare Adriano De Souza sighting!

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

How Reunion Island Survived Shark Purgatory

With more shark attacks per capita than anywhere else on Earth, it's taken millions to…

Jul 22, 2026

Introducing EAST’s First Goofyfoot Test Pilot: Harry Bryant

“My life’s already a board test.”

Jul 22, 2026

The Trauma Gap: Surviving vs Seeing Shark Attacks

Three witnesses recall the incidents that changed them.

Jul 21, 2026

Are There More Great Whites In California Than Ever Before?

A firsthand shark attack story, a conversation with two researchers, and how to avoid becoming…

Jul 20, 2026

Australian Oil & Gas Co. Wants To Destroy A World-Class Reef

Does that make you mad? Good. Here's how you can save Scott Reef:

Jul 20, 2026

Welcome To Stab’s Shark Week

An editorial week dedicated to the large cartilaginous fish we share lineups with.

Jul 20, 2026

What, You Haven’t Heard Of Weslley ‘King’ Dantas?

The 28-year-old has beaten loan sharks, empty bank accounts, and unmet potential to stage his…

Jul 19, 2026

Kinda Pumping: Cole Houshmand And Teresa Bonvalot Win ‘Plan B’ Ballito Pro

The sorting hat for the 2027 CT season begins its dirty work in South Africa.

Jul 18, 2026

How To A.I.-Proof Your Life With Skip McCullough

“Fences? Laundry? It’s not sexy. But it makes money. That’s the bottom line.”

Jul 17, 2026

How Surfers Spend Their Money

We asked 7,500 surfers where their next paycheck is going.

Jul 16, 2026

How Do You Score Ethan Ewing (Musically)?

The three musicians who soundtracked Ethan Ewing’s SITD drop their playlists and surf-music wisdom.

Jul 16, 2026

Joyride: The AI Exacta Pro ’97 By Lost Surfboards

Are glass-ons back?

Jul 14, 2026

2026 Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico, Episode 04

A right, a left, and four very frustrating heats.

Jul 13, 2026

Is The Y2K Trend Dead? | StabMic Ep. 22

Dane, Dooma, and Sam discuss the state of surf cinema.

Jul 13, 2026

Op-Ed: How Australia Can Revolutionise Shark Attack Prevention Using Drones

And why New South Wales' $120 million shark mitigation program is only scratching the surface.

Jul 10, 2026

The Beautiful & The Damned: A 2026 Challenger Series Preview

Featuring 16 surfers who may just ascend to the 2027 CT.

Jul 9, 2026

Steel Vagina, Choc Tops + The Longest Handshake In Surfing

Tom Carroll on the Wherethefakawis, Bob Hawke and the absurdity of staying sponsored for 50…

Jul 9, 2026

The Best Surfing I’ve Ever Seen: Jason ‘Mini’ Blanchard

Dane Reynolds passes the torch to John Florence at an unbelievable Japanese river bar.

Jul 7, 2026
Advertisement