"... to have my name go down in surfing history"

Wiggolly Dantas has a penchant for huge waves, big goals and big words. The 18-year-old’s mission: ‘To be the WCT World Champion one day.’

When it has to do with physical well-being, the young Brazilian Wiggolly Dantas shows modesty: ‘Rice and beans, prepared by my grandma’ give him the utmost pleasure. His goals on the surfboard are a little less moderate: ‘I want to go down in the history books of surfing,’ Dantas says. ‘My goal is to take part in the WCT. And my dream is to become World Champion.’

Victorious against top favorite

And the wind direction seems to be blowing the right way for Dantas. ‘Guigui’, who proved himself to be one of the most promising surfing talents at the Red Bull Rising Selection Camp, recently won his first ASP title in Newquay, Great Britain: the Rip Curl Boardmasters on August 10. In doing so, he not only beat the ASP World Junior Champion, but also moved up the ASP ladder by a convenient 42 ranks.

Huge self-confidence boost

For Dantas, who was impressed most with meeting Mick Fanning at the Red Bull Rising Selection Camp (‘Unbelievable to have the honor of getting tips from such an idol’), the 5-Star triumph was his biggest success to date. ‘I got one step closer to my goal of qualifying for the ASP World Tour,’ he said, happily. ‘It’s a huge boost for my self-confidence because I now know that I’ll be competing at the front in the next events.’

Successful workshop for upcoming stars

Dantas is now the second youngster from the Red Bull Rising rookie program to have had great success this year. Two weeks earlier the 25-year-old Frenchman Tim Boal came second at the 6-Star Honda US Open in Huntington Beach, California.