Ítalo Ferreira, from surfing with fish boxes to Olympic champion: "Now I live a better life"

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"My greatest reward has been being able to help my parents with money. Not buying them a house anymore, but knowing that we will always have for day to day, to buy food, to live a better life. I give a lot of value to that", proclaims the Brazilian

, the reigning Olympic surfing champion, a star in the sea and from the sea.

It is there, among the waves, that he is idolized: surfers from all over the world recognize him.

It is there, with the saltpeter sticking to his skin, where he grew up.

In Baia Formosa, the easternmost point of his country, his father was a fairly humble sailor and his mother cleaned albacore -a kind of tuna- in an inn, so his life offered him two paths: capturing fish or cook fish.

And he, of course, chose a third.

As a child, he would take the typical white polystyrene boxes that his parents used, break them and with them he would make surfboards all day.

When he grabbed his first real board, a broken stocking that a cousin gave him, he already knew how to do tricks, he was already 10 years old.

Today the company Timmy Patterson has two models named after him, the IF-15 Ítalo Ferreira and the Ítalo Ferreira Pool Party, at 670 euros each.

"Just three years ago I couldn't imagine the life I have now. I was already competing in the World Cup [started in 2015], but lately everything has changed a lot. All the dedication, all the effort has been worth it," adds Ferreira in conversation with EL MUNDO after the launch of the documentary 'Barcelona Surf Destination' in which he stars.

In it, already available on Rakuten TV and Surf Channel TV, the Brazilian visits the beaches of Castelldefels or El Masnou with his friend Álex Vilalta, a professional surfer from the area, the surfer Lucía Martiño and the actress Amaia Salamanca, among others. others.

It is a kind of trip, a 'surftrip' that tries to value the surfing tradition of the Catalan coast, less known than those of Cádiz, Vizcaya or Fuerteventura, not to mention those of other parts of the world.

The Spain-Brazil comparison

"I was very surprised by the waves near Barcelona. I didn't expect such good conditions. I knew the city, but not for surfing. To tell you the truth, the waves reminded me a lot of the ones in my house," says Ferreira. , who year after year plays the World Cup with a compatriot,

, fourth in the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Spain did not have representatives in surfing in the last Games.

If the waves are similar, what is missing to have level surfers? I think it takes dedication.

In my case, it was the conditions of life that led me to improve, to leave home every day to throw myself into the sea.

I know good Spanish surfers and I am sure that with dedication they will be there.

In fact, that insistence is what marked Ferreira's life.

Oakley's marketing director in Brazil,

'Pinga', was going to the beaches of Natal, near his house, to see another young man, but on the way he found him in the sea, making one 360º jump after another , and decided to sponsor him.

At the age of 16, in 2011, Ferreira was already winning events in the Junior World Cup, and at 20, in 2015, he made his professional debut in the World Cup.

Surprising by his aggressive style, he was rookie of the year, and thus progressed to take the championship in 2019. He did it in jeans and with a borrowed board due to a robbery suffered the day before the competition.

He did it in such a way that, for his takeoff to stardom, he only had to enjoy that gift that was the inclusion of surfing as an Olympic modality.

"I never imagined myself with an Olympic gold because it was impossible, surfing was not in the Games, but as soon as I arrived in Tokyo I realized that this would be a unique opportunity, that it would reach many people who had never seen surfing in their lives. ", concludes Ferreira, who in his country caused a phenomenon similar to that experienced in Spain by Alberto Ginés, Olympic champion in climbing.

In his case, from surfing with fish boxes used by his parents to an absolute star of his sport.

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