“There are no demons to vanquish, no apparent self-loathings even with a tattooed lion covering his heart.”
Filipe Toledo is a gift of which we are not worthy. The best small wave surfer on the planet has thrilled surf fans for years both on and off the sea. His ability to turn 2ft waves into art truly unparalleled. His refusal to paddle when things get lightly uncomfortable now the stuff of legend.
Toledo is, of course, a two-time World Surf League champion, winning both titles at li’l Lower Trestles, but it is the haunting of Teahupo’o and Pipeline, his historic 0.00 heat totals, being schooled by geriatrics, an Olympic performance that will go down in history for its timidity even as a 13-year-old Chinese wrestler who had never been to Teahupo’o sent it, that are as much a part of his fascinating narrative.
We imagine he cares. I imagine he cares. Those times in life where I have not pitched over the ledge, as it were, bedevil me even decades later. JP Currie wrote of Toledo’s Olympic no show, once the surf turned into a deadly paradise, “With all sincerity, I hope he is ok, because I can scarcely imagine a greater swing from high to low. Yesterday, his demons had been vanquished, silenced and sent back to that dark chamber in the pit of his soul.Today, they are back upon his shoulder, wailing and cackling into the shot blood of his eyeballs. And I fear that when it’s all said and done, it won’t be two world titles and some of the most dynamic surfing ever done that is Filipe Toledo’s legacy, but simply a handful of waves he refused to paddle for.”
Except for Currie, me, maybe you are all wrong.
Toledo does not care. There are no demons to vanquish, no apparent self-loathings even with a tattooed lion covering his heart, staring at him every time he dries off after showering. Rigid social media control, a defiant father and a chorus of sycophanies have allowed the 29-year-old to occupy a space lighter, fluffier than the finest Parisian croissant.
He can, without satire, post phone camera to self and make sincere claim that future Olympic events should be conducted in a wave tank.
Imagine that gall.
Do you envy?
Complete freedom from the shackles of noble, though maybe antiquated, ideals?
Something to ponder.
