At 28, he won his first World Surfing Championship, beating Brazilian rival Gabriel Medina in the final event at the Billabong Pipe Masters in Hawaii to clinch the title. He also became the first Brazilian to win the prestigious Pipe Masters. He also won the Margaret River event in Australia. De Souza has been competing on the World Surf League Tour since 2005 and is the eldest member of a strong group of surfers that has been called the ‘Brazilian Storm’ since Gabriel Medina won Brazil’s first ever surfing world title in 2014.
