Cover photo: Italo by ISA/Evans

I didn't like processing at all Trip magazine note about how Italo and Gabriel's physical trainers deliberately transformed their physique into aerial machines, taking into account the importance that the maneuver has acquired in recent years at a competitive level.

I understand that there is a judging criterion, I understand that stunts should be rewarded but also the surfer who flows with fundamentals along with the wave, doing what it presents and not permanently forcing ramps so that, just like that, a judge pays 10 points and a championship ends, should be rewarded.

The latter is something that Italo Ferreira has done a lot (Here is a review, Tokyo is missing because the article was done before).

It seems unnecessary to say that both Medina and Italo's ability to carve well and attack the lip very well in sections that seem impossible is acknowledged; it seems unnecessary to say that they are much more than "aerial machines". Medina's carvings are impeccable, Italo's are below par, but they are also good.

Both of them, yes, lack consistent big wave surfing. Slater brought it up when he was commentating the WSL finals, they were talking about who had the best year in surfing history and he mentioned John John who won the title, the triple crown and the Eddie; giving that importance that big wave surfing has for a real surfer.

Returning to the subject of strength and acrobatics, several surfers come to mind to talk about the topic, the first being Rob Machado. There was an article in Surfer or Surfing in the nineties in which they asked if strength is important for surfing, and a heavyweight surfer answered no: “Look at Rob Machado, his legs are like two pencils and he rocks.”

He was referring to one of the best in history, who, in any case, never won a world title, but did win one of the best Pipe Masters in history, in 2000, and is still widely considered, to this day, to be one of the best styles of surfing.

As is the case with Brazilians today, the Australian-born Californian lost time and again to Slater, who was one of the first to bring the gym and healthy eating to the world of surfing; you don't have to go far or search very hard to find champion surfers who had a beer for lunch with a few things for dessert and never went to the gym.

Alongside Machado, there is Tom Curren, who in a different world, won three world titles by flowing with the wave, with fundamentals, with some moments of greater radicalism than others but never being an aerialist.

*Below: Curren on what is considered one of the best waves ever surfed at JBay. Yes, of course, better than Toledo's double alley oop in 2017.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R17wr7vKlVM

One of Curren's sons is Conner Coffin, currently fourth in the world, who lost to Filipe Toledo in the WSL finals due to an aerial.

I remember a series Coffin did at Bells or Snappers in his debut year on the CT, 2016, in which the Californian power surfer came out of the water defeated having shown the best of his surfing. Asked what he would change about his series, he said that maybe he could add some aerials, but he immediately corrected himself and said that he wouldn't do that, that he would surf the way he likes to surf.

It seems that, like everything, balance is the order of the day and it shouldn't be too much, or too little. Everything is OK with the aerial game, but it would be good to see Italo and Medina burying the edges like Coffin does.

I think the best combo of both worlds is done by the person I consider to be the best surfer in the world: John John Florence, who flies, carves and attacks on par with the best (and also rides giant waves)... But he is the one who, with three knee injuries in the last three years, clearly lacks a bit of the strength that Italo and Medina achieved by going to the gym so much to become aerial machines.

Perfection is impossible.

Related: John John on his injuries: “Sometimes I think that might be the reason, surfing so much”