Two thousand and eleven will be a year to remember for Brazilian Filipe Toledo. Without warning, he came and conquered the Under 16 division of the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship, and two months later he went on to win the Pro Junior division of the infamous surfing event, the US Open of Surfing.

Filipe was destined to be a champion from birth. His father, Ricardo Toledo, is an ISA World Masters Surfing Championship medalist, a former two-time Brazilian Champion and a World Tour competitor. Coming from a surfing family, he grew up with a lot of support in front of the consistent Ubatuba waves.

In his teen years, he started showing some amazing skills that came to fruition with aggressive and innovative moves, smart competition tactics and contest results. He proved destiny right in the course of the last five months.

He made the Brazilian Team for the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship, held last May in Peru, where he stood strong in the week-long event against strong contingents from Australia, Hawaii, South Africa, USA and France.

After showing that he knows how to surf perfect left and rights like the ones of Señoritas and Caballeros, Toledo won the gold medal. An emotional Toledo, with tears in his eyes, said, “I was dreaming about this and I did it, it’s simply unbelievable!  I want to thank all the Brazilian Team, my dad who taught me how to surf and everybody who supports me. It was a tough final but I made it.”

The ISA World Champion Title earned him a great sponsorship deal with Nike 6.0, which led to an invitation to the US Open of Surfing. Toledo, at the age of 16, competed against the best Under 21 surfers in the world and won.

In a final packed with locals, the Brazilian came on top. He beat Kolohe Andino (2nd), John John Florence and Conner Coffin. Toledo was carried on his friends’ shoulders straight to the podium before a crowd of over 30,000 excited fans.

“I feel unbelievable,” Toledo said. “Thanks to all of my Brazilian brothers and my new sponsor Nike and my family in Brazil. The wave here in Huntington is a beachbreak, just like in Brazil, and I think I’m a good surfer in these waves.  It’s just unbelievable to win.”

In two months, Toledo rose from relative obscurity to world famous. His name is one you will only hear more and more in the years to come.