Behind the team with Vasco Mónica

I started surfing because of my father's influence. He's a surfer, and he always took me to the beach with him from a very young age. I got used to staying on the sand watching him surf, and gradually, my love for the sea grew, and surfing was introduced into my life in a very organic way.

Surfing is a sport that requires us to spend many hours in an environment as vast as the sea, which makes us more humble and aware of our limitations as human beings. At the same time, it opens up horizons for us to explore endless possibilities in life. For me, it reflects our personality and is an excellent way to express ourselves both creatively and intellectually. It's interesting how we can perceive people's personalities simply by observing how they surf or their behaviour in the water. Deeply, without a doubt, shares similar values to mine, and working with the brand has given me more confidence to continue with my projects. I feel that we are aligned for what's to come.

Although surfing is closely associated with nature and a healthy lifestyle, the market is far from environmentally sustainable. Both surfboards and technical gear are extremely polluting. However, there have been many advancements and efforts by brands to reduce the environmental footprint. In the case of Deeply, the brand I work with and know best, I am very proud of all the efforts made in recent times. The new wetsuits with Mineralprene (neoprene made from limestone and recycled oyster shells) are an example of how we can use natural products to produce incredibly lightweight and flexible wetsuits without harming the environment as much.

                                                                                                                                           

I love Portugal, it's the best country in the world for me. I explore many aspects of surfing, from longboarding on soft waves to riding tubes on big, cold water waves. Torres, where I currently live, has some of the best and most fun waves in Portugal, but it becomes a bit limited when we are looking for tubes and more powerful waves. That's why I try to spend a lot of time in Ericeira whenever the sea conditions are good. Coxos and Cave are waves I love to surf because they offer some of the best barrels we have. In addition to Ericeira, this winter, I plan to spend time in Nazaré and surf slightly bigger waves.

As expected for any surfer, I've had thousands of wipeouts, but at the moment, I don't remember any specific one. I had a funny incident last winter while surfing with Antonio Silva at Cave. The sea was big, and there was a kind of storm, so we decided to do a tow-in session. On one of the waves that Antonio towed me into, I let go of the rope too early and said that the wave wasn't good, that it would close completely and wouldn't be good. So, I turned back. When we got out of the water and checked the footage, the wave was incredible and would have been a dream tube if I hadn't let go of the rope. Antonio was mad at me, and the wave stuck in his throat for the rest of the winter. Nowadays, we laugh about it, but at the time, it was a bit tense.

Any time I'm at the beach with my friends, watching my father surf, it's moments of laughter. Something always happens, whether it's a board breaking in a ridiculous way or spectacular wipeouts. It's always an adventure.