Gabriel Medina was born on December 22nd, 1993 in Maresias, Sao Paulo, Brazil. He started surfing only six years ago and during that time he achieved more than 99% of all of the surfers alive.

He just won the gold medal in the Under 18 Boys division of the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship held in New Zealand in January. Before that, when he was 15 years old he won the following:

-The silver medal in the Under 16 division of the 2009 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship

-Th e gold medal of the Air Show in the South American Beach Games

-The Maresia Pro WQS, a six star event. Becoming the youngest athlete to win an ASP World Tour event

-The 2009 Quiksilver King Of the Groms

-The 2009 Rip Curl Grom Search

-The State Championship of Sao Paulo, three times.

He started surfing six years ago and in that short period of time, he learned to combine strong classical moves with the most innovative aerial maneuvers. At the same time he´s a great tube rider. And he knows when to shine.

In New Zealand, he made it all the way to the final, achieving high scores and winning his heats. But once he entered the final heat, he surfed what might be the best performance ever in an ISA event. He scored a total of 19.9 out of a possible 20 points. He was surfing so amazingly well that he didn’t even need to use the following scores: 9.46, 8.2, 8.5 and 7.4. Any combination of those would have given him the win against Jordi Watson (AUS), Tamaroa McComb (TAH) and Beyrick De Vries (RSA).

According to the surfing legend, 1989 World Champion, Martin Potter, who was the online Commentator for the event, Medina’s final heat was “One of the greatest performances in the history of competitive surfing.”

Once the final was over, Medina, a quiet guy just said: “I’m feeling great. I’m totally happy. The waves were so good for airs. I just love New Zealand.”

The amazing part is that Gabriel already did this, on his way to the final in the World Final of the King of the Groms last year, getting two tens in the same heat, reaching the perfect score of 20 out of 20.

According to Transworld Surf Magazine, that featured Medina on their last issue: “Gabriel´s stylish, light-footed approach is similar to Rob Machado, only if Rob whipped light-speed tail wafts and a variety of big, nasty airs,” and that’s a big statement for someone that’s 16!

Humble enough, he says, when people ask him why he´s not part of the ASP World Tour, that he “is not ready yet”.

Medina may very well be Brazil’s next big thing, if he isn’t already!