FERREIRA Italo

Preferred stance
Goofy (worldsurfleague.com, 01 Nov 2019)

General
UNLIKELY GOLD
Four days before leaving to take part in the 2019 World Surfing Games in Miyazaki, Japan, his car was stolen, with his travel documents inside, while he was in the United States of America. He had to apply for a new passport and visa to enter Japan, and arrived in Miyazaki with nine minutes left in his heat. He had no equipment, and competed wearing a t-shirt and denim shorts on a board he borrowed from compatriot Filipe Toledo. He ended up winning the gold medal. "Without a doubt, the competition made me mentally stronger. After everything that happened I put my mind in a mood in which I had to win at any cost and to show the power of my faith and of believing until the end." (olympicchannel.com, 11 Sep 2019; esportes.r7.com, 21 Dec 2019; livresurf.com.br, 15 Sep 2019; folha.uol.com.br, 19 Dec 2019)

2019 WORLD TITLE TRIBUTE
He dedicated his 2019 world title to his late grandmother, who died a few weeks before he claimed the title. "My grandmother was so quiet, but every time I came home after winning something she would say, 'You did it good, my son'. She always said those words. The first thing I would do when I arrived home was to look for her and shout 'Nanna, look at the trophy!' This time [2019] I will do the same, even though she is no longer here, because I dedicate this world title to her. Only now I have to scream much louder, so that she can hear me in heaven." (uol.com.br, 23 Dec 2019; folha.uol.com.br, 19 Dec 2019)

EARLY DAYS
He was born in Baia Formosa, Brazil, a small village by the sea in the northeast region of the country. His father was a fisherman and Ferreira learnt to surf using the top of his father's cooler box. "It sounds incredible, because it didn't give any balance on the sea, however I could catch a wave on it." A few months later, with the help of family friends, he received a second-hand surfboard. At age 11 his family was able to afford to buy him his first new board. When he began competing, he would go from house to house asking for money to support his surfing. "Most of the time people didn't even pay me any attention. But every time they said 'no' this only gave me more will to raise money. If I didn't get the money, my father would do whatever it took to sell more fish, and my mother [a teacher] would walk to her school so that she could sell her transport tickets and gave me some money." (jcnet.com.br, 28 Dec 2019; uol.com.br, 23 Dec 2019; folha.uol.com.br, 19 Dec 2019)

RESIDENCE
He divides his time between Pupukea, HI, United States of America, and Baia Formosa in Brazil. (livresurf.com.br, 07 Jan 2020; YouTube.com, 16 Dec 2019)