Olympic and world champion Italo Ferreira spent about $4000 at Nike to get the brand's attention and finally land a contract with the brand he likes, which is now one of his main sponsors, he told Guilherme Dorini's Lets Surf podcast, according to Surfer.

"When I lost Billabong (in 2023), I got injured and knew it wasn't going to be an easy switch to another big sponsor; I didn't have much value... One day, I was in Rio de Janeiro, I walked past the Nike store and saw some cool clothes. I had a vision: 'I wonder if I can get their attention.' So I went in, spent 20,000 pesos (4000 dollars) and came out with a bunch of bags... Then I posted this picture of me, all dressed in a Nike Brazil jersey, pants, sneakers, everything," he said.

“Then they contacted me via direct message asking why I didn’t have a clothing sponsor and said, ‘Well, we’ve arrived. We should talk.’ So we continued talking and I contacted the director of Nike Brazil, who has become a great partner and friend, and we managed to forge an incredible collaboration.”

Ferreira is one of Brazil's best-sponsored surfers with support from Red Bull, Vivo, Banco do Brasil, and of course Nike.

Below is the video and the podcast.