pros
Feb 24, 2017
Content Floater
--
Let's play a little game of word association. When I say Italy, you say: Rome, history, architecture, Vatican, wine, pizza, pasta. Now if we were to play the same game with 18-year-old professional surfer, Leonardo Fioravanti, he would likely rattle off a different list: surfing, waves, sea, beach, family, proud, home.
This is because Leo grew up in a small beach town 20 minutes outside Rome. And every summer, his family would spend their days at the Ocean Surf Beach Club, where he first got on a surfboard at the age of 6. I absolutely loved it. All my friends were at school playing soccer or the sports you play in Italy, Leo recalls. All I wanted to do was spend time at the beach and surf. I fell in love with it straight way.
By the time he was 8, Leo and his brother were taking surf trips to France and Portugal. But after a decade living in Italy, the powers that be in the surf world had bigger plans for him. Quiksilver offered Leo a sponsorship, and the team took him under their wing. The following year, Red Bull signed him, too. So at 12, Leo hung up his book bag and switched to fulltime homeschooling to start travelling and practicing with the Quiksilver surf team.
I had Stephen Bell taking me to a lot of the Championship Tour and World Tour places-Jefferys Bay, Gold Coast, Bells Beach and California. That was an incredible experience for me. I got to spend a lot of time with Kelly Slater, Dane Reynolds and Jeremy Flores, who were all on the Quiksilver team at the time. Imagine being 12 years old, you get to go to these amazing places and you're staying with your heroes. It was huge not only to be able to surf with them, but to spend time at the house and see what they're eating, what they're doing, how they react to things. Those memories I'll have forever. It was an incredible experience.
Stephen Bell, a.k.a. Belly, is one of surfs' most iconic mentors. He's been Kelly's right hand man for the last 15 years. And he also happens to be Leo's stepdad. It was all fun and games for Belly-supporting his stepson while cheering on his closest client and friend, too-until this year.
At the start of the 2016 World Surf League season, the Margaret River Pro on Australia's West Coast, the Italian wildcard, Leo, was slated to compete in the same heat against his longtime hero, Kelly Slater. Leo saw an insider's perspective into Kelly's life and routine, being on the same surf team and staying in the same house as the surf legend for many years-an advantage competitors could only dream of having when it came time to throw down in a heat.
I paddled out, looked to my right and I saw Kelly Slater, the best surfer of all time. I couldn't believe it. It's a dream come true whether you lose or win against Kelly just to be able to spend those 30 minutes in the water with him. I tried to tell myself, you've got nothing to lose. Worst case you lose to the 11-time World Champion. So I just tried to have fun and make smart decisions. I somehow ended up beating him, which was definitely the best heat of my life. We went back to the house and talked about it for a little bit and he was super cool about it, which was really good to see.
History somehow repeated itself in October at the Quik Pro France, where Leo was again slated to compete against Kelly. The conditions were really hard for both athletes, but Leo came out victorious, leaving the score at Leo-2 to Kelly-0. Not many wildcard surfers on the qualifying series hold that record against the world champ.
Content Floater
--
Leo went on to do so well that he became the first Italian surfer to qualify for the World Championship tour, a lifelong dream.
I've had so many incredible things happen this year because I have so many people supporting me, especially my family and close friends. I get so much support from all the Italians at home. I can almost hear them in the water. I hope I can make all the Italian fans proud. I'm proud to represent Italy. It's an incredible feeling to be the first Italian on tour.
But achieving this goal didn't come without major trials and tribulations. In 2015, Leo was out of the water for more than half the year with a back injury. He remembers paddling out on Jan. 31, into messy, onshore waves during his first competitive heat on the North Shore at the Volcom Pipe Pro. Leo took off late on his second wave and got pitched straight over the falls and into the reef. I instantly felt a crazy pain from my toes to my neck, and I knew that something was wrong in my back or spine, Leo recalls. He immediately went to the hospital where they told him he fractured his L1 and needed surgery. That day at Pipeline was scary, he said. It was one of those days people get hurt. If it were a free surf day, I wouldn't have surfed. But because it was a competition, I paddled out.
The injury only proved to make Leo a stronger, more determined athlete. He is now gearing up for the Australian Open of Surf and the first stop of the World Tour at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast.
In Bocca al lupo, Leo! Good Luck!
Most recent headlines
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
pros 
