Stab Magazine | This Interview Will Change Your Perception Of Gabe Medina Forever

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This Interview Will Change Your Perception Of Gabe Medina Forever

“Isn’t he a dickhead?” Out of the water, no. 

cinema // May 13, 2020
Words by stab
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Gabe Medina is both the most loved (see: Brazil) and most hated (see: the rest of the surfing nations) surfer on earth. 

He’s polarizing. Provocative. A competitive savant that sometimes takes it too far, resulting in condescension and scorn from surfing’s more “cultured” (read: privileged) corners. 

But Gabriel’s got a dark secret. 

Beneath his cold, metallic exterior exists a soft, spongy core. One with filled generosity, compassion, and real human emotions!

According to Mick Fanning, Gab is both the best competitor he’s ever surfed against and one of the most genuinely fantastic humans he’s had the pleasure of meeting.  

Click above to find out both why and how you’ve been wrong about Medina for years. We certainly were.

For those without 30 free minutes in their day, here’s a time-coded breakdown:

  • 0:15 – Gabby’s humble origins (and why he parked cars at 6 years old)
  • 1:45 Gabby’s first board
  • 3:40 why doesn’t Gab release surf edits?
  • 5:00 have gab’s biggest waves been ridden in competition?
  • 6:45 gab sent mick an email asking for directions for surfing pipeline
  • 9:00 is Gab the best competitive Pipe surfer on earth?
  • 10:15 what’s gabs superpower?
  • 12:40 what don’t we know about Gabe as a person?
  • 18:40 what is gab’s biggest motivation?
  • 20:50 who will win more world titles—Gab or John?
  • 21:50 why does gab ride such massive surfboards?
  • 22:55 how does gab balance partying and performance?
  • 24:50 what does gab think of the WSL’s proposed changes?
  • 25:50 let’s talk about Caio
  • 28:35 Medina’s thoughts on the wavepool event

And for those who prefer more verbose accounts on their daily commute, check the extended cut here (or on ‘Stab Podcasts’ on Apple Pods).

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