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advertising and surfing

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Quiet, stocky, prodigiously talented goofyfooter from Baía Formosa, Brazil; 2015 WSL Rookie of the Year; described by surf writer Derek Reilly as "Electric . . . the most naturally ambidextrous surfer on tour; he moves faster, turn to turn, than anybody in the world."

Ferreira, the son of a fish merchant, was born (1994) in the coastal village of Baía Formosa (home also to world tour surfer Jadson Andre), and learned to surf on boards borrowed from his cousins. He won his first surf contest just two months after getting a board of his own. That first victory led directly to his career as a professional. "It was motivation," he told 

 magazine. "It was me wanting to buy everything for my family. The past was so hard for my dad and mom."

At age 15, Ferreira was spotted by Oakley-backed surfing talent scout and coach Luiz 'Pinga' Campos, who convinced Ferreira's family to let Italo move to Sao Paulo, where he attended school, and surfed constantly with the other Campos-coached talents like Miguel Pupo and Caio Ibelli.

Small and thick-chested (5'6", 150 pounds), incredibly light on his feet, highly focused, and seemingly immune to nervousness or distraction, Ferreira quickly developed into a first-rate surfer. His backside turns, especially, were powerful and well-placed, and Ferreira's catlike balance allowed him to push maneuvers to the ragged edge and beyond, knowing that he could feel his way back to center. Riding out of a wide, low stance, Ferreira was equally skilled in the air.

In 2014, after just one full year on the WQS tour, Ferreira, 19, qualified for the WCT—that same year, Gabriel Medina became the first Brazilian surfer to win a professional world title. Making his WCT debut at 2015 Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks, Ferreira beat 11-time world champion Kelly Slater in his first heat and finished 9th. Later in the year he earned a semifinal finish in the Oi Rio Pro, followed by a 2nd place in the Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal in which Ferreira, although losing to Medina, completed a dizzying backside air reverse for a near-perfect 9.93 score. "It was a Costco-size rotation," 

 magazine reported, "that had most of us screaming at our computer screens like crazy people." Perhaps most surprising, given that he grew up surfing small right-breaking waves, was Ferreira's evident natural talent in big left-breaking barrels at tour stops in Fiji and Tahiti. Ferreira placed 7th in the year-end rankings, and easily earned Rookie of the Year honors.

The surf media, meanwhile, was unable to find an angle on Ferreira. As one blog noted in late 2015, Ferreira seemed to be "the world's only 20 year old not active on social media." Ferreira himself seemed glad to keep the attention on his wave riding. "I'm a very simple guy who doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, and just loves to have fun with friends."

Ferreira, Italo

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

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