Adriano
de Souza
Brazil
·
Surfing
Date of birth | 13 February 1987 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | São Paulo, Brazil |
Age | 38 |
Nationality | Brazil |
Career start | 2003 |
Disciplines | Surfing Competition |
After winning 11 world titles, it's safe to say that Kelly Slater knows a thing or two about competitive surfing, and what he knew when he first saw São Paulo’s Adriano Elias de Souza surf in competition was that one day he'd be surfing against the kid on the world tour.
Adriano started surfing at the age of eight and within two years was already competing. At 15, the press were calling him the next great hope for Brazilian surfing. However, it was in 2003 that Adriano really gained the world's attention, when he became the World Junior Champion.
Adriano qualified for the world tour in 2006 and has been a consistent threat at the business end of the championship ever since. A determined performer, his results include wins at the 2009, 2011 and 2012 Billabong Pros, the 2011 Rip Curl Pro and second at the 2012 Quiksilver Pro. Another great result came when he was crowned the 2013 Rip Curl Pro Overall Champion, simultaneously making history as the first Brazilian man ever to do so. Then, in 2015 all of Adriano's dreams came true as he rode his way to overall victory in the World Championship Tour.
At the end of the disrupted 2020 season, the man known as 'Mineirinho' announced that the 2021 campaign would be his last. But he still continues to compete in some select events, and won the QS 1000 in Garopaba, Brazil, in 2023.
No matter what the stakes, Adriano surfs with more passion than anyone else, period. He'll ride each wave like it's his last and wears his heart on his sleeve. It's for this reason that he's loved and respected by true surf fans all over the world.