The arena primary, the two-time champ, has owned the Quiksilver Professional for a decade. Anything else gonna alternate?
(Editor’s notice: The creator and filmmaker Jamie Tierney is the manufacturer/director on Clay Marzo: Simply Upload Water, Dane Reynolds: First Bankruptcy, Younger Weapons 3 and Letting Cross. In his tenure as director of movies and on-line content material at Quiksilver he watched Medina’s upward thrust, first hand, over the process a decade in Hossegor, France. Under, the ones pivotal moments.)
September 2009
Waves are small within the Bay of Biscay. The storms within the Atlantic transfer within the fallacious course, out to sea. Contest organizers of the Quiksilver Professional France run the competition directly throughout the first 5 days of the ready duration in meager, dribbly lefts at Les Bourdaines. It’s the remaining of the rock n’ roll days on excursion. Chris Ward misses his Spherical One warmth utterly and displays up for an early morning appointment within the second Spherical with handiest fifteen mins left. Rumor has it that he slept at the seashore. Dane Reynolds, in the meantime, on the top of his powers, remains up all evening partying earlier than Spherical 3. He runs out for his warmth on a tiny twinny with a small trailing fin with Bukowski’s “Nice artwork is horseshit, purchase tacos,” hand written at the backside. Dane, most probably nonetheless inebriated from the festivities the evening earlier than, then obliterates Roy Powers with probably the most perfect small-wave browsing ever noticed in a warmth.
Fifteen-year previous Gabriel Medina is there as neatly, competing within the King of the Groms tournament. He’s approach too younger for the birthday celebration program. He’s were given hairy brown hair, thick eyebrows, braces on enamel and a shy smile on his face. He does gymnastic taste backflips at the seashore to heat up. The children’ contest is held the day after Mick Fanning wins the lads’s tournament. The surf is rather larger and has a mild puff of side-onshore wind blowing into the lefts.
Medina rolls to the overall in opposition to Caio Ibelli and destroys him. He blasts airs and tail hucks on each wave. His lowest scorer is a 9. His two tens are a white scorching glimpse of the longer term. The second includes a superman adopted through an air opposite. A couple of execs keep round and witness the stunning show. All have the similar idea. “If that child was once in the principle tournament he would have gained.”
October 2011
Medina is seventeen now. He will get on excursion after profitable a QS simply up the street in Lacanau the mid-year reduce/commencement that Bobby Martinez famously melted down over out on the remaining tournament in New York. Technicall,y Medina’s no longer even a rookie but, however it doesn’t subject. He’s in France and he’s in a position to take at the international. He’s packed on muscle and has that icy glance in his eyes now. He mixtures Kelly Slater, then en path to his ultimate international name, browsing quicker, looser and extra explosively than the thirty-nine-year-old Slater. Medina’s ten in opposition to Taylor Knox remains to be one of the most perfect airs ever carried out. He launches vertically off the hole segment along with his fins six toes above the lip. Good enough, the touchdown isn’t absolute best, however he pulls it off. He then takes out a tender Julian Wilson within the some of the hi-fi finals ever. The converting of the guard is on its approach.
Afterwards, he hits the Position du Landais sq. through the seashore in Hossegor with Alejo Muniz and a couple of buddies in tow. This has historically been of browsing’s maximum debauched locales and the evening after the top of the competition is typically one in all largest of the yr. This time it’s surprisingly quiet. Andy Irons died 11 months in the past and that tragedy has nearly ended the birthday celebration scene on excursion. Medina and Muniz, stone sober, kick a football ball across the sq.. No person can pay them thoughts. Simply two youngsters enjoying round.
October 2012
Gabe’s eighteen and it’s his first complete yr on excursion. He’s been taking some lumps after profitable two times in 2011. He begins off the season with remaining position finishes in two of the primary 3 occasions. The waves in France this yr are giant and burly on a daily basis of the comp. In Spherical 4 he surfs a non-elimination (take into account the ones?) warmth in opposition to Kelly and Kieran Perrow. The 3-man precedence rule doesn’t but exist and Medina hassles either one of fighters mercilessly. He will get an interference on Perrow, who wins the warmth. Slater confronts Medina within the competition’ house later on. He’s offended however appears to be intent on making it a studying revel in for the younger Medina. He explains that Medina’s ways had taken each them each out of warmth and had passed it to Perrow. Medina stands tall. Says not anything. Seems him directly within the eye with a useless stare. When Slater’s speaking, Medina says 3 phrases:
“It’s a contest.”
October 2017
Medina is a person now. He’s twenty-three, has packed on 20 kilos of muscle and is an international champion. He’s were given seven million fans on Instagram, rages with Neymar and Brazilian pop stars all through his break day. In spite of all that, he’s turn into browsing’s anti-hero. He’s a quiet, darkish, mysterious, (a minimum of to non Brazilians) foil to John John Florence’s “simply having amusing” aloha sunshine. It’s onerous to inform what the connection is between them since they by no means publicly have interaction and feature had reasonably few heats in combination over time. These days, even though, is particular. It’s a Saturday afternoon in Hossegor. It’s 80 levels and the seashore is full of other folks. The waves are four-to-six-foot and glassy at Los angeles Graviere, and it’s John as opposed to Gabs within the semi-finals. Everybody within the competition’ house has their eyes glued at the ocean and a overwhelming majority of the Frenchies at the seashore are rooting for Jean Jean. There’s not anything just like the power of getting the 2 perfect surfers on the earth at their peaks going face to face in entrance of a giant crowd in pumping waves. And if if it’s true they don’t in point of fact like each and every different, all of the higher! It feels just like the makings of an epic Slater/Irons conflict from the former decade.
The target market actually holds its breath each and every time when one in all them takes to the air, they gasp once they fly into the air and cheer once they land. Florence starts with an unsightly touchdown on a large air. Then he will get a small tube adopted through every other overlooked contact down on a punt. 3rd wave: first rate snap, then every other pancake flat touchdown and fall on an air rev. Difficult at the knees, the ones. Medina’s first wave is cast however not anything flashy, a sequence of spray chucking bottom carves. Gabe then does a rodeo on his subsequent one. It’s no longer the most important or perfect one in all his existence, and the touchdown’s beautiful tough, however he’s were given the power to drag it. John John high-lines ones at the subsequent set complete velocity into a large slob. He floats so excessive that he’s only some toes clear of the drone filming him. However he can’t pull this one down both. After that, Florence is going again his 75% Bede Durbidge coached browsing. He lays down a couple of first rate rankings however remains to be at the back of. After all it’s shut. John John wishes a 9.four and will get a 9 on a smaller wave. He then tries to chase down a 7.four close to the top, however no units come via and he isn’t in a position to recuperate from his falls initially.
Medina wins the overall in opposition to Sebastian Zietz, then takes the following tournament in Portugal to near the distance in 2nd spot at the back of Florence. Jeremy Flores ends Medina’s yr at small windy Pipe a pair months later, however the France win swings the momentum again in Medina’s course. Florence tears his knee in Bali in 2018 after which does it once more in Brazil this yr. Medina, in the meantime, has in large part been damage unfastened his complete occupation. He now has two international titles to his title and looks as if a lock to have fun on the finish of 2019 along with his 3rd.
Those had been all turning issues in Gabriel Medina’s occupation and so they all took place in Hossegor. There’s many the explanation why the extremely variable seashore breaks of the Côte Sauvage (The Wild Coast) swimsuit him so. He’s one of the most few guys on excursion with a free-flowing solution to heats.
He hardly ever sits. He roams across the rips, feels out the adjustments within the tides.
He catches wave after waves, is going giant on some, locks in rankings on others.
Does somebody see him no longer profitable subsequent week? Particularly with out John John there?
And, extra importantly, when JJF does come again, will he nonetheless be handiest man who can in point of fact fit up with him wave for wave?
Or will Gabe be browsing’s maximum dominant power for future years?