To say a man, a surfer, is injury prone, is to condemn him. It might or might not jinx that person, but it might, and for that reason it should never be mentioned.
Leo Fioravanti is the very opposite of jinxed. He is blessed and he knows it. Riding high at number on the World Qualifying Series, and destined for a slot in the top echelons of the sport, the Italian surfer has come far.
If we go back to the 2015 Volcom Pipe Pro however, things were not looking nearly as rosy. Leo is not well known for pulling back on serious waves, and he went on a big, crazily jacking set wave even though he was in the middle of the peak and knew it a little unwise.
The resultant coral slam resulted in a mess of injuries and a world of pain for the young hopeful and put him on his back. Two broken vertebrae and torn ligaments in your back will do that to you. It was a back brace for two months and lots of time to spend watching surfing and pondering his lot in life before the arduous rehab process.
He obviously came back strong, straight to the top spot on the WQS rankings, and a number of excellent results behind him thus far this year.
Then in July he took a serious fin to the head injury, resulting in 20 stitches internal and external, and a sore head to boot. All from a free surf session at Huntington.
The surfer who placed 5th at Margarets River and eliminated Kelly Slater and Adriano along the way, as well as scooping three second places in QS events this year, is still fighting fit though, and rearing to go.
Tracks: It’s easy to see that you’re pretty fit. What do you do to keep strong and limber?
Leo: When I’m on the road I have a couple of training routines but when I can’t get to do them I just surf a lot and stretch. When there are flat days I always get a little training session in, to keep moving. It’s a different story when I go back to Hossegor though. I try to make the most of my time there by training and working with my physiotherapist. It’s a full on regime when I’m there.
You’re looking really good to qualify for the Championship Tour in 2017. Do you think that this is going to be a life-changing experience?
Since I was very young I have wanted to qualify for the Championship Tour. My dream was to be able to surf in the best waves in the world against the best surfers in the world, so if I do qualify it will be a dream come true. I have worked very heard to get where I am and I have no plans of slowing down, but I do believe that it will change my life irreversibly.
It’s starting to look much like a tour without Kelly Slater. You’ll be part of the free generation. Do you think a championship tour without Slater will be weird?
Kelly has done so much for our sport. Every generation he has taken it to the next level. I would love to be able to have a year on tour with him. He is one of my biggest inspirations and to be able to tell my kids in 20 years that I had a year on tour with Kelly Slater would mean a lot to me. I really hope that he stays for longer.
The World Surf league has done amazing things for our sport, and you will be the generation that apart from not having Slater around, will be able to fully reap the benefits of the new world tour. Still, if you were asked to make one fundamental change to the way contests are run, what would it be?
There should be the same number of events on tour, but the schedule should mix it up a bit. Instead of having a set schedule on every event I would look at swells around the world, and wherever is the best place on tour during that week everybody flies in and arrives to meets the best waves possible to offer at that location.
What two waves do you really rate in the world?
Greenbush in the Mentawais. It’s a never-ending freight-train barrel. You think you’re not going to make it, but if you pump as hard as you can all the way to the end, you actually make it most of the time. Then obviously La Graviere, Hossegor is right up there in my opinion. When it comes to getting seriously barreled, the famous French beach breaks in and around La Graviere are pretty much unbeatable. On a really good day you can get up to 30 barrels in about two hours of surfing.
To see the full QS rankings go here
