Gabriel Medina

Gabriel Medina is an enigma…

3 X WSL world surfing champion, social media sensation with over 14m followers on IG alone and now Olympic medallist Paris 2024 Games, the 30-year-old goofy foot is either a bright star or dark lord to surf fans world-wide depending on the day.

Unafraid to do things his own way and with an unstoppable will to win when on a roll, Rip Curl’s #1 team rider is not like anybody else.

Born and raised on the sands of Praia de Maresias a 100 kms north north of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Medina is equally at home in the shorebreak of his hometown as he is rubbing shoulders with the elite of world sport on the global stage.

His “floating Jesus” image (shot by Jerome Bouillet from the big day at Teahupo’o during the Olympics in Tahiti) where he is captured soaring above the lip line, finger raised to the sky in pure stoke post barrel remains the single most iconic shot of the 2024 Games and helped to bring more eyeballs to the sport than any single moment of the past decade. Even if it was just a kick out to the core surf community!

Few surfers can command the respect Medina does in any conditions. He can surf Pipe, Bells, Trestles, Gland, JBay, Cloudbreak and of course Teahupo’o with the best of them. His innate positioning, timing ­and feel for the ocean – attributes which belong to all great surfers ­– are the keys to his success in both competition and freesurfing scenarios.

Medina has grown up a lot since he burst onto the world tour scene as a Rookie of The Year in 2011. He may even have become one of the most likeable surfers in the world as he ages through the ebbs and flows of his surfing life. As Mick Fanning once said: “He’s a beast in the water, I am glad I am not competing against him, but on land he’s such an amazing guy he’s always welcome at my home…”

If it’s good enough for Mick…