There was no such thing as a “Brazilian Storm” when Adriano de Souza arrived on the scene. It wasn’t even conceivable when he started surfing as a kid in the first place — Brazilian surfers had little to no presence on the world tour. And while Gabriel Medina’s 2014 World Title may have been the first-ever for a Brazilian surfer, it was de Souza grinding away alone on the CT who blazed the trail.
De Souza was on tour for a full decade before finally hoisting a title himself. He lost to Kelly Slater nine times between 2006 and 2010 before finally finding a way to beat him. He went his first three years on tour without winning an event. Even then, it was three years later before he won another and started to build some serious competitive steam. Then, of course, there was the memorable and monumental 2015 title he captured.
By now, we’ve all heard Adriano’s underdog story — the humble beginnings growing up in a favela and how it all started with a board his brother gave him. The impact of Adriano’s contributions to the sport was obvious this past year, when competitors donned his #13 jersey in June’s Surf Ranch Pro. But Adriano’s retelling of his path is inspirational in its own right. Adriano de Souza: The Captain and the Storm is mostly told in de Souza’s words, leading up to this past season on tour — his last.
