Filipe has proved to be unstoppable in small waves. Question is: does he have what it takes to perform in heaving conditions? Photo: WSL / Kelly Cestari
There’s a new champ in town, and his name is Filipe Toledo. He’s pushing Gabriel Medina out of the spotlight as Brazil’s newest superstar and he hasn’t shown the slightest hint of slowing down. He has just about every young female in Brazil from twelve to twenty-five lining up on the beach to take a selfie with him. However, there’s an elephant in the room: will Filipe be able to hang in surf of consequence? Or will he live up to his title as the world’s best small-wave surfer?
Just last year, people were asking the very same question about Medina. Even with his great start to 2014, many surf fans remained unconvinced Medina was a threat in bigger waves. They couldn’t have been further from the truth. Gabriel’s critics were relegated into a corner wearing a dunce cap, as Gabriel finished 1st at Fiji, 1st at Teahupoo, and 2nd at Pipe—not to mention he won the fucking World Title.
With Fiji, J-Bay, and Teahupoo approaching, everyone has an eerily similar question in mind: can homeboy Filipe hang when it gets big? Of course, there will be naysayers muttering, “Hell no! He’s just another Brazilian small-wave specialist.” But look at what Gabriel did last year. He stepped the fuck up amidst all the criticism and took down some the world’s best barrel riders at one of the world’s heaviest waves. Who’s to say that Filipe can’t do the exact same thing? If he’s throwing these full rotations like he came out of the womb doing them, why can’t he learn to make an air drop and pull into a big Teahupoo cavern?
Filipe’s 9.23 during the 2014 Pipe Masters, where he finished equal 5th after making it to the Quarter Finals. Photo: WSL
“Well then why hasn’t he done it already?” some might ask. The key difference between Filipe and guys who are primarily big-wave surfers lies in the fact that they have a rare mentality paired with a shitload of experience that pushes them to levels of insanity in big surf. All winter long, these dudes put out insane clips and nab Wave of the Winter nominations, which, of course, brings us to the ever-so-pertinent question: where the hell was Filipe this winter? He wasn’t in contention for any Wave of the Winter awards, but neither was Dion Atkinson, Bede Durbidge, Ace Buchan, Julian Wilson, and a lot of other guys on the WCT who kicked ass at Teahupoo and Pipe. These guys are paid to make heats, not get Wave of the Winter nominations. Were they chasing monster swells around the globe in between contests? No. Did they step up to the plate and charge in big surf when it came time to do so? Abso-fucking-lutely. Just because you didn’t see Filipe out during the biggest swells at Pipe and Teahupoo last year doesn’t mean he can’t surf big waves. Plus, the last thing tour surfers want to do is to get injured during a free surf. They put it all on the line when it really matters: in a heat.
As it turns out, last year Toledo copped some of his best results at two of the heavier waves on tour: Fiji and Pipe, where he placed ninth and fifth, respectively. To be fair, Pipe wasn’t exactly maxing out last year—nor was Fiji. But was it respectable? Yes. Death-defying? Not quite.
The heart of the matter here still hinges on the fact that you can’t write off Filipe in big surf—or anyone else on tour, for that matter. He has proven time and time again that he is capable of unbelievable things, and to think he’s unable of surfing bigger waves is simply naïve. Thus, I wouldn’t be so quick to dump the flaring young Brazilian off my fantasy team quite yet—even if the waves are going to be big. In addition to the aforementioned, such as his results last year and the simple fact that his aptitude is next-level, you can bet your ass Filipe will be spending some quality time out in Fiji with his coaches in the weeks leading up to the contest.
Simply put, the guy’s a phenomenal surfer, and when he gets a little experience out there, he is fully capable of dropping excellent scores, just like anyone else on tour. And lastly, Filipe has been on an absolute tear this year. The boy is oozing confidence from every damn pore on his body, and as we all know, confidence is a key ingredient in making heats at places like Fiji, Teahupoo, and Pipeline.
