Filipe Toledo

If you’re playing word association with a surfer and you say the name, “Filipe Toledo,” chances are you’ll get answers like: electric, fast, innovative, thrilling and maybe even, WTF?. The Monster Energy team rider from Ubatuba, Brazil, is the youngest surfer on the World Championship Tour and quickly becoming the most feared. His airs. His turns. His speed. It all screams FUTURE. The surfing he displayed during his win at the 2015 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast was 50 decibels louder than the rest of the world — squeezing turns where they didn’t belong, doing airs against the wind and dropping a 10 on his final victory lap. But really, he was just warming up. After relocating his entire family to San Clemente, CA, to have the world’s most rippable wave at his disposal, he ran the table at the 2015 Oakley Lowers Pro. You almost felt bad for the other competitors; from the first horn, the contest was his. And now chatter is getting louder. The interviews. The covers. The signature movie with SURFING Magaizne. If the weight of his family, his fans, his country and his hype are holding him down, it doesn’t show.