My name is Filipe Toledo. I'm from Brazil.
I'm a professional surfer, part of the World Surf League.
Filipe started to approach waves
with a completely different idea than anyone else.
He's really pushing the boundaries of where surfing is going.
Toledo goes for the air. Massive.
Filipe has everything. He's got big turns. He's got speed. He's got power.
And then he's got huge airs to go with it.
He's like a bonfire. You light it, and it will just go up.
Again, he goes for the air. You're kidding me!
Unbelievable.
The only problem for Filipe
is that sometimes in those big pressure moments,
he can't find the match to light that bonfire.
I've been training for this major victory the whole year, and,
you know, one heat.
Filipe has been kind of eclipsed by his own countrymen,
Gabriel Medina and Ítalo Ferreira.
Filipe was earmarked to win that World Title.
And then it was kind of Gabi.
And then Ítalo kind of came out of nowhere.
I have a lot to prove,
especially winning against Gabriel and Ítalo.
He'll be in their shadow
until he's able to break through that and get a win.
It has to be something that weighs heavily on his mind.
Every time I came close to win a World Title,
something wasn't right. I was really in a dark place.
The stakes are so high in professional surfing.
It's gonna push them to the limits in every aspect of their life.
Not only are surfers surfing against their rivals on tour,
they're surfing against Mother Nature and what she has to offer.
They're also surfing against themselves. They've got that battle internally.
And it's only the surfers that are able
to transcend all three of those elements that are gonna rise to the top.
It's now or never for Filipe.
I just gotta take all that pressure,
turn it into motivation, and I'm ready to go.
How's it going?
Look who's here!
Everything good?
I'm good and you? All good?
This is Yasmin, my girl.
How are you?
Shall we go surfing in a while?
Yeah, man.
Catch some waves!
I just need to pick up a surfboard and I'm good.
We do have a lot of talent in Brazil,
and when I was growing up, I surfed against all of them.
Gabriel, Ítalo, Patterson, Deivid.
We were, like, 14, 15.
We all surfed against each other on amateur events,
until, you know, we qualified for the World Tour.
And then we met again, you know, which is really cool.
Look.
Are we gonna check these out?
I have a great relationship with Filipe.
He's a great kid. People like him, they are really passionate.
He feels it more.
We all love to compete. So even though we're close to each other,
we have to have that rivalry in the water, you know, 'cause it's a selfish sport.
We're always trying to be our best version in every event to be there on the top.
The Championship Tour is very much a machismo-driven environment.
It's super competitive,
and if you can't deal with that psychologically,
then you're giving your competitor an advantage.
I'm ready to go in.
You have Gabriel with two titles. Now Ítalo.
You're gonna go in, right?
For a little hike
on the rocks.
So I feel like there's a lot on the line for me this year.
It's beginning now from Oahu,
the Billabong Pipe Masters presented by Hydro Flask.
It is time to kick off a new season on the Championship Tour.
We're dealing with Mother Nature, you know?
We have to be prepared for anything.
We can surf, like, two-foot waves today,
and tomorrow, it could be, like, eight foot.
My first time here in Hawaii,
it was like the biggest waves I've ever seen in my life.
I was just watching and shitting my pants.
I was just like, "Oh, my gosh." I'm never gonna forget that feeling.
Your first wave can always be nerve-racking.
Conditions looking a little bit challenging.
This is not an easy place to surf.
Fioravanti pulling into this one with a lot of speed.
Gets the completion, and that'll be the best score in the matchup so far.
Now it looks like Toledo's interested.
The wipeout.
Oh, my God.
Never take that lightly at Pipeline.
It's so powerful no matter what.
Fioravanti still leads over Filipe Toledo.
We are gonna run out of time, and we lose the big game of Filipe Toledo.
Definitely, I wanted to start the season a little bit better, but it didn't happen.
I just wanna be on the top five to qualify for the WSL finals.
It is so much pressure.
Filipe Toledo has been a World Title contender,
but his performances riding big waves have let him down historically.
My strong point is the high-performance surfing.
When we say, "high performance," it's the way we surf.
It's all about the turns, then doing urgent landing on the flat.
I still have a lot to improve with the bigger waves.
He's not managed to match
what Ítalo and Gabriel are doing in those bigger waves.
He's judged, unfortunately, by the surfing world for being inadequate.
What can he do to rectify that? I think that weighs on his shoulders.
When I'm on the tour, I'm always traveling,
and it gets really hard sometimes.
So it's refreshing being home between events.
I'm from Brazil, but I live in San Clemente.
That's where the WSL finals are gonna be.
My dad used to be a professional surfer. He's a three-times Brazilian Champion.
He was always an inspiration for me, and surfing was definitely in the blood.
My name is Ricardo Toledo. I'm Filipe's dad.
When he was young, he told me, "Hey, Dad, I would like to be a professional surfer."
I said, "Okay. I think we can do it. Let's go."
I'm really a family guy, you know. I love it.
Being around my mom and my dad and my kids and my wife.
And now the "I".
My name is Ananda, and I'm married with Filipe Toledo.
And he's a special guy.
Come to daddy, come. Climb here, look.
Because of touring, he's always, like, away from his family.
It's definitely the hardest part, especially with the kids being so young.
For both of them, I wasn't here for their birth.
And that hurts a lot.
Surfing takes a lot from you. And in the past, I've struggled with that.
Come here to daddy.
Let me ask you something.
Are you going to miss daddy?
The last few years, I was surfing,
but I was thinking about all the other things
that was happening around me.
I was not really focused in each area of my life.
And I was trying to do everything,
be good to everyone, and be perfect to everything I was doing,
but I wasn't able to handle the situation.
We decided, if he was going to Australia, that I was coming with him.
So he can have someone just to be around,
to make him feel more confident going through it.
So, I'm leaving my kids with my in-laws.
Thank you for taking care of them.
Not a problem, it's a pleasure for us.
Are you going to respect grandpa and grandma?
You promise?
Don't forget this. I know you won't forget this
but you are leaving your homes, your families,
so make it worth it.
It's been seven years on tour now.
Sometimes you just wanna be, you know, like a normal person.
You know, like, just relax and go surf, come back home.
But this is my job.
I make money out of this to pay my bills.
And then I'm dedicating my whole life and sacrificing a lot of things.
So if I don't beat Gabriel and Ítalo, it could really destroy everything.
The most difficult thing for him to beat is in his mind.
But when he keep cool, he can beat anybody.
Go and nail it.
Safe travels!
Bye!
Good morning and welcome to the state of New South Wales.
The World Surf League Championship Tour continues here in Newcastle.
It's finals day for the Rip Curl Newcastle Cup
presented by Corona.
This coffee is cold.
I'll have a tea, it makes me feel better.
Can you make me one too?
I really need to fight
to be on the top five to battle for the World Title.
So I've been looking for points and good results
and trying to climb the rankings.
To win the World Title,
it would be, like, next level for his career.
Filipe's had a few shots at World Titles and hasn't converted.
Is that gonna play into his mind?
Is the pressure gonna get to him?
It all just depends on what Filipe we're gonna see.
You sense that there's a little bit more of a sensitivity there,
that he doesn't have that sometimes menacing streak
that someone like Ítalo Ferreira can summon.
I am very nervous, he's in the semis.
Him and Ítalo.
Ítalo, he's an amazing athlete.
He fights for his goals and does whatever he can to win events and win titles.
Every event, every day, it's like,
"You have to meet the sea to get the points."
You have, like, only 30 minutes to perform and show your best.
Waves are pumping.
Now it's Ítalo, the reigning World Champ, versus Filipe.
I just cannot see how this cannot produce fireworks.
Come on! I'm sending lots of energy to you, my love.
Lots of energy for you now!
What an incredible way to start for Filipe,
one of the fastest surfers in the world.
Let's go! That's it!
The wave was beautiful!
Toledo has the lead and the early jump on Ítalo.
Now Ferreira's speeding out the back.
Toledo with front row seats. He saw every bit of this.
Ítalo definitely winning that last exchange.
Who will it be? Ítalo or Filipe to join Medina in the final.
Uh-oh. Here we go.
Ítalo finding a speedy lap.
There's that throw-tail reverse. He nails it.
He's just having an air show out there. That is as radical as it gets.
Big whip full-rotation reverse for Ferreira has the fans losing it.
He is unbelievable to watch.
I can't believe it!
Filipe looking for the answer.
There's all this pressure from the judges,
your sponsors, your family, your friends and your fans.
If I take that in the wrong way, it's gonna affect me in the water.
I'm very, very worried.
If he loses, it would be tough for him to handle that.
I don't think I want to watch it anymore.
I'm very nervous.
Toledo has got a big aerial game,
but he is taking on a fairly conservative approach to the World Champion.
He's had no answer to Ítalo at this point.
We will run out of time for Filipe Toledo.
We're going to have another Ítalo-Medina final.
And put your hands together
as Filipe Toledo makes his way to the beach.
Man, losing sucks really bad. It's something that hurts.
I've cried so many times.
Though, I felt like I could've win that heat against Ítalo.
I almost did. I swear to you!
You should have done it.
My performance was good.
But at the same time, I felt, in the back of my mind,
there was something trying to make me doubt myself.
So I was trying to fight with that.
If you don't work at your mental health,
by the end of the year, you're gonna be done.
That was definitely something that happened to me before.
I had an injury on my back.
I was barely standing on my board.
That was probably the trigger for me.
Because I wasn't really happy.
I was really dealing with, I wanna say, depression,
but I was never diagnosed with it.
It was just, you know-- I was really in a dark place.
I didn't want to surf. I didn't have the fire to compete.
-Filipe Toledo! -It's been really hard for me.
Personal life, you know, some-some other stuff happening with me,
and I-- Kind of been, like,
a really hard year, you know, just mentally.
And this-- this is--
I wasn't doing 100% as a professional surfer.
So if I was not 100% good as a surfer,
I was not 100% good as a father or as a husband or as a son.
I was failing in all the areas of my life.
At first, I didn't talk to anybody,
and then I started talking to Ananda.
And she was really by my side, really helping me out.
One day, he just started talking that he wasn't happy.
I'm gonna go surfing, wanna come with us?
I was super worried about it.
It was such a hard time figuring out what was happening to him.
I didn't know what to do, and I wanted to help him.
Touring, sometimes, can be very lonely.
He's always, like, away from his family.
Love you.
Love you too, grumpy.
He likes to be the best.
And sometimes he puts more pressure on himself than he can handle.
Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. And you have to deal with that.
Like, you feel like you're a failure because you lost.
And being away from the family, it's something that makes him feel like,
"Okay, I'm not handling it."
Last two years was lots of ups and downs.
It wasn't easy. But I started talking to a professional, which is a big help to me.
So now, this year, I feel like I'm really solid in my game plan
and what I have to do and controlling my emotions.
My worst nightmare is about his breakdowns.
If I'm not around to help him to go through that.
I had my wife with me. Still, someone to talk to, you know.
Like, it was a little bit easier. On those days I was kinda losing it.
I've been in Australia one month,
and I've never been away from my kids for so long.
Look at the mess you are making on the floor, Miss Ananda.
You are eliminated from MasterChef!
We FaceTime them every day,
so it helps a lot with the feeling of not being a good parent.
Look, Daddy!
Hey my love! Look what dad did.
But I have to go back to them.
Mom is going to get there in 3 days!
I'm excited about seeing my kids.
Hi, my love!
And then I remember that my husband's not gonna be there.
He's gonna stay. But he's going to do a great job here.
He has so much to show.
Wow!
Ananda's been really amazing.
Supporting me, helping me out and having fun.
She's always trying to look on the positive side of things.
It's hard to control that feeling of missing home, missing family.
I wanna be more focused,
but I'm tired to be on the road and just want to be home.
Hi, my love. I arrived back at the house.
I miss you a lot. I can't wait for this to be over.
I love you. Anything you need, I am here. Kisses, my sweet.
Surfing, I think, it's one of the hardest sports to be a world champ.
You've got that pressure, nerves, rivalries. All the expectation.
Filipe's always put on, like, this really positive, forward-facing attitude.
But he's obviously had a lot on his shoulders.
It's really tricky to quiet those nerves and overcome that challenge.
Anything you need, just call me. Kiss. Bye.
After Ananda left, I was just hanging out with the boys.
Before this year, I never talked about my feelings with them.
I never felt comfortable talking about it, but they knew.
And, of course, they were just like,
"Okay, man, if you ever need anything, I'm here."
The place is looking quite tidy for a dude's place, man.
It's really amazing just to know that I can count, you know, on someone.
That makes me feel better. We're pretty much a family to each other.
Cheese.
What about this here?
We needed support from each other,
and when we're traveling three months away from home…
So, the more time we can spend together doing things, the easier it gets.
Check out this video!
When we're competing, there's surfers that can really focus,
and don't need a lot of people around.
With Gabriel, it's more of a-- That way, you know,
and Ítalo sometimes as well.
But I'm a bit different. I just love to be around everyone.
And they're smiling and having fun, and it distracts me from that pressure.
It's my turn to play. I play this card,
and I have to say Uno because I only have one card.
Damn, bro! That card is out of order!
We're really like brothers.
It's actually the only time that I can be myself, you know.
Like, not really worry about anything else.
Why does it have to start with that color?
It was random, bro?
I wanna help people out too.
I make it clear for everybody.
All my friends. If they ever wanna talk about anything, I'm here.
Take that!
Burn, boy!
When I feel positive, I can really perform.
It's, like, pumping pretty massive out there.
She actually could be legit dangerous today…
'cause people are gonna be a bit out of their comfort zone.
Especially here in Margaret, we've never surfed waves this big.
In terms of the World Title contender, there's definitely Ítalo, Gabriel.
I think Filipe could drop out.
His performances riding big waves have been not good enough.
It'd be interesting to see what happens in Margaret if there's swell,
because there's no hiding from that.
We're here for the Boost Mobile Margaret River Pro
presented by Corona.
It is finals day here at Main Break.
Off-shore conditions, still plenty of size in the lineup.
Margaret River is a critical wave.
It's got a lot of power and push behind it which matches certain surfers.
Their power and their speed are big elements to this wave.
They need to be doing big, major turns
to be getting up into that high, excellent scores.
Let's finish it with a bang.
At Margaret River, the swell, it's pretty big and challenging.
Ítalo will do really good.
The guy is a freaking machine, you know. He knows how to handle that.
Quite a bit of head-to-head history
between these two competitors.
It's a tricky one for me, but I really need a win.
I'll do whatever it takes.
Ítalo now. Drives up into the section.
Big backhand flow.
That was incredible.
We'll see what Toledo can put on the board here.
That wave's not gonna pan out too nicely for him.
An eight-point ride for Ítalo,
I think the conditions are working to Ítalo's favor.
Toledo playing catch-up.
Really putting some torque into these maneuvers.
These two guys going head-to-head, wave for wave,
they're starting to put on that show that we love.
-It's a tricky exchange. -We know.
Seems like everyone's in the zone.
Super close heat.
The judges were saying the critical nature of the turns
is gonna be under the spotlight.
And that's something that Ítalo hasn't had just yet.
There's something different in this event.
I feel stronger, and I'm gonna absorb this good energy.
And I'm gonna put it all on the line.
And Toledo looks to fight back against Ítalo.
Big first turn.
Beautiful carve to kick this ride off.
So much power.
First turn is a top notch turn, so, pretty well the best that we've seen.
He is so strong.
That's gonna be his best ride yet. Puts him out in front.
Filipe Toledo has just answered back in a big way.
Toledo charging through to the finals.
Winning against Ítalo, current world champion,
it's a big thing for me.
I really enjoy the moment. I'm gaining confidence.
And I really miss the kids and the family, but I'm here already.
Just gotta do it for them.
We're down to the final heat.
Jordy Smith up against Filipe Toledo.
What a show we're about to witness.
Coming in at seventh and eighth on the leaderboard.
The winner of this event is gonna jump all the way up into third position.
Toledo, bringing in the power
and just attacking that final section there.
Jordy here. He leans into it.
His timing was a little bit off.
This is a much more aggressive approach from Toledo.
He's just pushing harder on every turn,
and it's really cool to see Filipe in top form.
The confidence is just building and building.
The emotion's starting to come out. He isn't acting right now.
There's less than a minute to go.
There's a good chance he's gonna take this final.
Jordy Smith just gets slapped down by that lift.
And this is in the bag for the Brazilian.
Good drop-in for Filipe, and it's a nine-point ride.
Yeah!
You must be super proud to lift the trophy for your family.
I promised little Koa and Mahina that I would bring the trophy back home.
And promise, you know, done. Thank you so much.
It was a mix of emotions.
My love!
You know, really happy,
and at the same time, I was really far away,
and I wanted to be with my family.
I was missing them so much.
I promised that I would take the trophy home, right son?
That gave me the motivation.
I was like, "You guys keep me going every day."
I love you guys! I love you guys a lot!
I love you!
Winning Margaret changed my mindset.
It gave me a lot of confidence to keep going on the year.
I wasn't forcing anything. I was just being me.
And I guess that's why the result was really good.
I'm so excited to have him back home in California.
I think he's a lot more relaxed.
There, there, there, look!
I was able to get them together.
The whole family, all of them. And even get, like, some other friends.
Go, Bro!
He was far from home for a long time,
so we are all happy to be here and give him the support.
Hey.
She's got a surfing injury too, Dad.
You got hurt?
Look at that surfer's injury!
It's just like when Daddy hurt his back, isn't it?
That was a long time ago?
All good then?
Filipe's been talking about his depression with all of the guys for the past year.
Now that he's opened up about it,
they come to Filipe to talk about their problems too.
I feel so proud of him
because he might be helping other guys that are going through this.
He has a light soul, but you can feel that.
Surf Ranch, it does feel like home for me.
I'm gonna enjoy. I'm gonna have fun and not overthink it.
Good morning, and welcome to central California
here in Lemoore for the Jeep Surf Ranch Pro.
Two men remain. It's time for the final. Filipe Toledo. Gabriel Medina.
Medina's goal is be undefeated here at the Surf Ranch
and going for a third victory this season.
Gabriel is an insane competitor
and maybe one of the most calculated competitors that we've ever seen.
He's had such a fantastic year so far.
He's sitting in there with that target on his back.
Everyone wants a piece of you.
Keep calm, relax. I feel 100% untouchable.
The guy to beat is definitely Gabriel.
He's super dangerous.
Definitely one of the best out here in the pool.
Yeah, I have to really step up my game now and not make any mistakes.
Really focus 110% so I can solidify my top-five spot.
Total tranquility.
Yes, yes.
Just remember the little game.
Forget about the championship, forget about what's going on.
I got nothing to worry anymore. I got the family here.
It gives me motivation,
gives me confidence to go out there and perform.
Give a kiss to your dad. Give us a kiss.
But you already surfed!
-Yeah, but I'm going again. -Why?
God bless you, son! Take it easy, okay? Smash it!
Surf Ranch is the one man-made wave on tour,
and it is a perfect wave.
And it has multiple sections for the surfers
to put on a display of their top level of surfing.
And that really allows us
to be super critical on their performances.
No one is gonna get a 10 at the Surf Ranch unless they put on a flawless performance.
Every four minutes, there's a perfect wave.
The wave itself, it's so fast. But I don't have to think about strategy.
I don't have to think about priority.
And I don't have to think about Mother Nature,
if the wave's gonna come at me or not.
You're surfing against yourself. You're surfing against your mind.
Filipe Toledo blitzing sections
looking so calm but going incredibly fast.
Always surfing with his heart on his sleeve.
Gabriel Medina wasn't even watching.
Toledo on his last wave.
He's just trying to put it out of reach for Gabriel Medina.
Why does he make it look so easy?
Filipe Toledo, you are my hero.
Wow.
Yeah!
After I finished my two rides, two big scores,
I feel like I can take the win. So I was like, "Let's see what happens."
Gabriel Medina getting started.
Feeling the heat already and the intent to win from Medina.
He gets a little bobbled.
Now he's trying to change things up and recover a score.
Medina gets it. That is a miracle finish.
It all comes down to this moment.
He needs a big score. He has to play that risk factor.
He's gone for a big air in the flat.
He goes down and that is it!
When I won, everyone was there.
My dad was there and my wife was right there.
To share this moment, this feeling, with them, it's priceless.
I really hope to share more moments like this with them.
For sure, I'm very proud of him because he did well. He did so well.
Two years in a row, Gabriel beat me out here,
and it really felt good to take the win this year.
It doesn't matter if it's Gabriel or if it's Ítalo,
we're always trying to beat each other.
But when we lose, it is a lot of emotions.
There is only one winner, and that day was my day.
It's a big thing for me.
After everything that happened in my life, the last few years have been really crazy.
And then to be able to prove it to myself that I can be the best, that felt amazing.
Filipe has grown so much.
He just seems more settled in himself at the moment.
To have won against Ítalo at Margaret River,
and the waves were really sizable.
And then to win at the Surf Ranch against Gabi who's been so dominant,
it feels different for Filipe this year.
Coming into the top five,
Filipe is 100% a contender to win that World Title.
Where's the sunglasses? Did you lose them?
That's poor.
Very chic!
Might lose the championship but won't lose the sunglasses!
Stephanie Gilmore is a seven-time World Champion.
But the perception of the sport is changing.
A new wave of surfers who are really a lot more physical.
To Steph, that's challenging.
She's fighting for her career.
I have to find a way to win it.