Leonardo Fioravanti lives and breaths surfing. As a kid, growing up in Italy, waves were few and far between. So, when there was swell, Fioravanti’s mom would pull him and his brother out of school so they could surf.
“Without her, I definitely would not be here,” Fioravanti says of his mom’s contributions to his surf career. “When I was eight or nine years old she left to come travel with me because she saw how much I love this sport.”
Eventually, the family met Stephen Bell, the global team manager of Quiksilver, and Bell and Fioravanti’s mom fell in love. Under Belly’s mentorship and as a result of his career, a young Fioravanti found himself at CT events, surfing world-class waves, and rubbing shoulders with some of the best surfers in the world. Fioravanti was presented with a lot of opportunities at a young age and being the dedicated surfer and competitor that he is, he made the most of them.
“You have to be grateful to live this life,” says Fioravanti. “Not many people in this world get to do what they love as a job. So at the end of the day, I’m so grateful for that. Even though I’ve worked hard for everything that I have, I’m lucky to be able to say that.”
In the above video, Fioravanti sits down with Joe Turpel and talks about the origins of his career, his mom’s impact on his surfing, navigating and overcoming setbacks, and the legacy he hopes to leave for Italian surfers.
