Italo Ferreira (BRA) is the reigning World Champion in surfing and ranked number one in the world. After the canceled 2020 season, he started 2021 where he left off in 2019, placing third at the first event of the World Surf League Championship Tour and then finishing first in Newcastle, Australia in April.
Italo Ferreira was born to a poor fishing family in a small town in northeast Brazil. He wasn’t able to buy a surfboard because they were too expensive, so he used to surf on the lids from the packing crates that his father used to dispatch the fish. His luck changed when a talent scout for Brazil's surfers noticed his obvious talent, and Ferreira left home at 12 years old to pursue his dream of a professional surfing career that would lift his family out of poverty.
His success is due to his hard work, his willingness to go out in the water even when others would avoid doing so, and never forgetting his family nor where he came from. When surfing makes its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Olympic Games, make sure to look out for Italo Ferreira and his famous aerial leaps!
Congratulations to Italo on being named April’s Athlete of the Month, and we’re looking forward to cheering you on in the future!
As The World Games Athlete of the Month, Italo Ferreira will receive The World Games Athlete of the Month diploma as well as a branded gift from the Official Sponsor of Athlete of the Month, Protective Life.
Read more about Italo and previous Athlete of the Month honorees on The World Games website.
