A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Flyweight Brazilian goofyfooter from Rio de Janeiro, world-ranked #3 in 1999, making him the highest-ranked Brazilian in the history of world tour pro surfing at the time. Ribas was born (1971) and raised in Cabofria, Brazil, began surfing at age 10, and was soon being mentored by high-profile surfboard shaper Ricardo Martins. "He was a very '80s type of competitor, like Damien Hardman," one Brazilian surf writer later said of Ribas. "Three waves to the beach, 382 maonvuers per wave, no mistakes."

Ribas turned pro in 1990. He'd stopped growing at a fairly young age (topping out at 5' 4", 125 pounds; the lightest male surfer ever on tour) and, using his size to his advantage, was immediately recognized by one and all as a small-wave dynamo. Fast and flashy, able to glide over sections that brought other pros to a bogged-down halt, Ribas struck fear into the hearts of fellow competitors at beachbreak events, "He surfs like a scalpel," Florida pro Shea Lopez said. "You never want to draw Victor at Huntington or Rio."

Ribas moved steadily up the ratings to finish sixth in 1995 (notching his one and only world tour win, at the Lacanau Pro in France), dropped all the way to 37th by 1998, then rocketed up to the #3 position in 1999, finishing the year behind champion Mark Occhilupo and runner-up Taj Burrow. On the final day of the final event—the Pipeline Masters—Ribas was still in the running for the title. He was stopped in the quarterfinals by Kelly Slater. (Ribas was nowhere near as comfortable as his top-ranked peers in big powerful waves. At the 1998 Masters, he became the first male surfer in world tour history to turn in a zero-points performance after failing to catch a wave during an early heat.)

Ribas was 28 when he finished at #3, and never again would he crack the top 10; only twice—in '01 and '05—did he rise above #20. At the end of 2007, at age 36, Ribas finally lost his WCT seed.

Two other career highlights: in 1996, Ribas was runner-up to Taylor Knox in the World Surfing Games, held in Huntington. In 1997, he won the WQS tour.

A shy, quiet-voiced, mild-mannered surfer who by and large stayed in the background during his time on tour, Ribas nonetheless melted down in spectacular fashion after a paddling interference call went against him in 2001, protesting the decision by throwing a barrage of coral rocks at the judging stand. "It was the most radical situation I've ever faced in 13 years on the tour," head judge Renato Hickel said later. "Rocks were everywhere, flying over our heads; good-sized rocks." A surf magazine photographer was hit. Although Ribas was fined $2,000, he was not suspended from the tour.

Ribas, Victor

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

The Sunday Joint

Videos

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

The Sunday Joint

Videos