THE G.O.A.T.

The chillest sport is getting serious. As surfers prepare to make a splash at the competition’s debut in the 2020 Olympics, athletes known for their cool are fighting for position. Only the top two men and top two women from each country will qualify for the Tokyo games — and the ranking shifts with each meet. To make the cut, members of the World Surf League ride the line between ocean and sky, unleashing acrobatic feats increasingly tested in the tubular perfection of artificial wave pools, a new training technology.

As surfing has gone mainstream, it’s extended beyond traditional centers of power — Hawaii, California, Australia’s Gold Coast — to Brazil. A new generation of talent has been lured by the country’s warm waters and beach breaks, surfing with more speed, greater athleticism, and bigger air.

“Over the last three years, we’ve watched Brazil -become the best surfing nation,” says WSL executive (and legendary surfer) Pat -O’Connell. “It’s a different type of surfing, a less traditional take. Very acrobatic.” All of these factors converged this June at the Oi Rio Pro competition, where 149,000 spectators mobbed the sands of Saquarema to watch elite riders tear through swells over four days. Rolling Stone was there to cover the action, in and out of the water. 

Pictured: Eleven-time world champion Kelly Slater is eliminated in round four and contemplates his future in the sport. “In my early twenties, I went through some personal stuff that was really tough,” the 47-year-old says. “My life’s not that way now. It’s easier when you feel like you have nothing and have to earn something. You put all those eggs in one basket — [surfing] — and it hyper-focuses you. Sometimes I feel like I need that again.”

AIR FORCE

“In the moment, I’m not thinking about being scared,” 25-year-old Californian Kolohe Andino says. “Just executing the rotation, or grab, or big straight air as clean as possible. But a heavy landing in a really critical section can cause a really serious injury. We’ve seen it a lot.”

NEXT-GEN COOL

Thirty-one-year-old Australian veteran Stephanie Gilmore (left) and 17-year-old American Caroline Marks during an evening free surf. “Stephanie is so down-to-earth and funny,” says 2018 Rookie of the Year Marks. “You’d never know that she’s a seven-time champ. When she puts the jersey on, though, she’s, like, super-serious.”

GO TIME

“More than anywhere else in the world, the energy and passion around surfing in Brazil makes competing there really feel like competing,” says 26-six-year-old John John Florence, who was sidelined with an ACL rupture during the competition. “In Brazil, there’s all this energy on the beach. But as soon as I jump in the water, I don’t even hear the [noise] anymore. It’s just quiet.”

HOLY WAVE

Tens of thousands of spectators cover the white sands of Saquarema during the four-day contest. International surfers have been making a pilgrimage to its two breaks — among Brazil’s best — since the 1960s. Predating those board riders by more than a century: Our Lady of Nazareth Church, completed in 1837. 

THE NATURAL

Twenty-eight-year-old Hawaiian Coco Ho first surfed at seven for fun; since joining the tour 10 years ago, she’s retained her relaxed passion for the sport. “I was born into a surfing family, and we surf because we love it,” Ho says. “We won’t surf for any other reason. Whenever I go in the water, I’m trying to surf to win, but I don’t put crazy pressure on myself.”

CATCHING AIR

Sally Fitzgibbons defeated Carissa Moore in the women’s final. “To try to read the ocean, you get lost in the moment out there,” the 28-year-old Australian says. “The ocean fully occupies your senses. But in Brazil, for some reason, I could feel the intense energy [of the crowd] almost heating my back.” 

POINT BROKEN

Florence was ranked number one in the world ahead of Rio. While attempting a flyaway on a breaking wave during a heat, he sustained the injury that ended his 2019 season. Florence is already recovering from surgery and training for 2020. “I think all of my injuries have weirdly been the best things that have happened to my surfing,” he says. “Once you really settle into it, you get an outside perspective. You think, ‘OK. What are my goals now? Why am I here? Why am I doing this?’ ” 

CROWD CRUSH

Young fans wait for their favorite surf stars. “I first came to this event 10 years ago, and even though there was no Instagram, people knew your name [in Rio],” says Ho. “You feel like a rock star there compared to everywhere else.”

CAPTURE THE FLAG

After a pyrotechnic display of aerials in the men’s final versus Jordy Smith, Brazilian Filipe Toledo clinched the hometown victory. “When you start pumping to go through a turn here, everybody is quiet, waiting,” Toledo says. “And as soon as you land, [the beach sounds] like a stadium. It’s mayhem.”

AFTER HOURS

When Gilmore puts her board away for the day, she picks up a camera and becomes a tourist. “What we call ‘work’ is most people’s holiday,” she says. “I don’t speak Portuguese. The best is communicating through smiling.

BALLING

The soundtrack of the beach is altinha — volleying a soccer ball — which involves athletic skill even beyond that of some professional surfers. “I found out I’m so uncoordinated,” says Carissa Moore, a 27-year-old from Hawaii.

THE SOUND OF VICTORY

Twenty-four-year-old Toledo clinched his second Oi Rio Pro victory in a row after a rough year. “I was going through some hard times in my personal life,” Toledo says. “This felt supernatural, you know?”

HITTING THE BOOKS

Florence’s strategy for staying sharp: fiction. “I was reading a book called Name of the Wind,” he says, name-checking a Patrick Rothfuss fantasy novel set in the fictional world of Temerant. “It can take your mind out of where you are.”

SAYING OLÁ

A young fan shows his “shakas.” “Most of the people don’t speak English, but they’ll pick their favorite surfer and yell your name as you run through the crowd,” says Fitzgibbons. “Surfing is a world language.”

A MOMENT OF ZEN

“He’s one of the strongest surfers in history, and just the most competitive beast,” says the WSL’s O’Connell of 25-year-old Gabriel Medina. “He’s a little bit New Age. The Brazilians bring a different focus.”

HAPPY HOUR

“The level on tour is higher than it’s ever been,” says Californian Conner Coffin. (One way Coffin relaxes is kicking back with a post-competition beer.) “The airs and combinations are really exciting,” the 26-year-old says. “And when we surf the bigger, amazingly beautiful hollow waves — where there’s some carnage — it’s unlike any other sport.”

HANG 20

In Brazil, surfing isn’t just for bipeds. This dog shreds a whitewater wave with natural form.

KING OF BRAZIL

“We have only this one event in Brazil, so everyone gets to watch and support us,” Medina says of his home country. “It feels really good to feel the love. I get to see my family and friends rooting for me — it’s a big one.”

DAWN-TO-DUSK PATROL

Young fans crowd into a rare patch of shade during the contest. “They come to the beach super early in the morning and stay all day long,” says Gilmore. “As a surfer, you get such a thrill out of [seeing them].”

SCOREBOARD

“Anyone who says the Olympics isn’t on the forefront of their mind is probably lying,” says 25-year-old Californian Lakey Peterson — out of the seven American women competing in the WSL’s Championship Tour, only two can make it to Tokyo. “My goal is to win the world title, and if I do that, I’ll make the Olympics. It adds additional pressure to have a great year.”

FOOT TRAFFIC

When the World Surf League comes to town, all roads lead to the beach.

THE MENTAL GAME

Since debuting on tour in 2010, Moore has developed a more fluid style in the water. The second-place finisher says, “I feel more confident in the line that I’m drawing [with the board]. I used to second-guess myself.” 

BREAKING THROUGH

“I never expected equal pay for men and women to happen in my day,” says 23-year-old Brazilian Tatiana Weston-Webb of the World Surf League employing pay parity for the 36 men and 18 women on the tour. “It means a great deal. Some women on tour don’t have sponsors, so now they can afford coaches and physical therapy. We all want to be at the top of our game.” 

HAPPY WARRIOR

“At my first victory, in 2010,” 29-year-old hometown hero Jadson Andre says, “people were crying on the beach — a Brazilian hadn’t won in Brazil in a decade.”

GOING SOLO

“When I’m actually riding the wave, everything kind of disappears,” three-time champion Moore says. “It’s like time stands still for a little bit. That’s why I love surfing in the ocean — it’s just you and the elements.”