I remember a championship that took place in Playa Unión, Chubut, a few years ago, a date of the Argentine National Championship that I was lucky enough to go and cover.

I've known Martín, Thiago's dad, for a long time, and that's where I ran into him. And during the usual pre-swim chat, on a waterfront next to the parked cars, there was Thiaguito with a skateboard.

The dwarf was about five years old. He was trying a trick with the benches there. It was dangerous… The bench was high, the feat wasn't easy, there were stones, it was cold, it was seven in the morning…

I was a first-time father, not long ago, and the conversation, always entertaining with Martín, began to suffer because inside I was thinking, "This kid is going to kill himself." And the little guy would suddenly fall, try again, laugh, and have fun.

Martin was chatting to me as if nothing was happening, and I was trembling because I was about to witness an accident.

Nothing ever happened, and that's where the conversation ended.

But I always remember that when I see Thiago Passeri's evolution. The kid isn't afraid of his rivals (in that case, the bench), he has fun surfing, he's a super friendly and humble guy, he greets everyone as an equal, and he pushes forward with unbridled (persevering) passion, just like in that skateboarding situation.

They can weigh up whether yesterday's QS 4000 is worth more than the World Championship medals. That's not the point of this article. I think yesterday's result is huge because, as has been said many times, you can have all the talent in the world and still not know how or be able to win a QS tournament.

There are surfers who have a successful entire professional career and never win one. Thiago won one when he was 17.

But the other thing: Mentally, what are you made of to go into the water in Brazil with all the big guys fighting for regional qualification and devour them raw? Because in a good part of the heated heats, Thiago won by a landslide.

So, this madness that is Thiago Passeri, what he made clear yesterday, or made even clearer, is that he is not just a youthful spark, a promise or anything like that, he is a beast of today and tomorrow who truly threatens any surfer.

And without going into detailed technical aspects: It flies, attacks with force, carves likewise, and is quickly climbing the ladder of the heavy waves.

Everything is in place, and he already has what he needs to climb the QS-CS-CT ladder. I believe it's entirely possible, which is why I say in the title that the threat is real.

Some might say it was real before yesterday's QS, maybe so... But hey, now it's more real than ever.