Recently in Red Bull Category

Professional surfers Sofía Mulanovich, Sally Fitzgibbons, Maya Gabeira and Nadja de Col prepared a Peruvian ceviche while learning about nutrition at the Red Bull Girls Surfing Only camp.

Keeping a healthy and balanced diet is a key part of achieving a top athletic performance, and the coaches at Red Bull Girls Surfing Only camp know this well. A significant part of the third day of the camp was spent discussing nutrition with lady surfers "It's very important to teach the girls to eat correctly so they can replace all the energy spent at sea", states Andy Walshe, director of high performance programs for Red Bull. For Dan Ross, Sofía and Sally's coach, "fish is an excellent source of protein, which we tend to figure prominently in our diet because it's readily available as we are usually working close to the sea."

"Caballito de Totora" is the name of the typical Peruvian surfboats, made of a watergrass type, typical to this region. Originally used by fishermen, the caballitos are a versatile tool to navigate the waters. Sofia Mulanovich together with world-class surfer Sally Fitzgobbons and junior Nadja de Col changed their boards for the ancient type to test the surfing quality of these Peruvian boats that have thousands of years of history.

Few athletes are as unanimously admired in a sport as 23-year-old big wave surfer Maya Gabeira. The latest evidence came this Friday (23/04), when the Brazilian big rider took her fourth straight Girls Best Performance title in the Billabong XXL Awards. The 10th edition of the event happened in Anaheim (CA), and gathered the cream of the crop in big wave surfing.

"Female big wave surfing has grown significantly among since I began. To be crowned once again as the best rider, with so many new talented girls on the scene is definitely satisfying", said Maya, who won U$ 5,000 for her supreme performance during the season 2009/2010. An enourmous wave at Dungeons (South Africa) and the scary barrels of Teahupoo (Tahiti) were some of the respectful spots where Maya left her mark during the last year.

There is no shortage of surf talent at Red Bull's Project Air and there is no shortage of surf coaches on the job, getting the most from their squad. Dan Ross is an ASP World Tour competitor and the 2009 ASP World Qualifying Series champion. Richard "Dog" Marsh is a former top 10 rated professional who divides his time between France and his beloved Australia. Together today the pair barked orders and trained up Red Bull's junior squad in an hour-long intensive that replicated the "Hell Session" of last week.

The regime included muscle-burning sprints into the surf and run/swim combos that had even the best young surfers, like Kolohe Andino and Conner Coffin dragging their heavy legs up the sand. For guys like 20 year-old Wiggolly Dantas, the lean, Brazilian fighting machine who currently sits in the top three on the Qualifying Series, the workout was second nature.

"It was fine, no problem," remarked Wiggolly after it was all said and done.

The friendly rivalry that exists between Evan Geiselman and Kolohe Andino reached fever pitch today.

Both surfers found themselves in the final against each other in this morning's mock heats, going wave for wave and air for air.

An unlikely snaking interference (Kolohe on Evan) led to all-out debate on the shore as the coaches and team riders disputed the correct call.

Evan rode the wave in front of Kolohe and pulled an air-360 in his face, but with the final verdict still pending, it has been decided to call in the third umpire for adjudication - the vision captured on Sean Hayes' handycam.

It's certain to make for some wild calls and heckling when the judgment is passed after dinner!

If there's one constant in life, it's change. So you can bet when Red Bull's juniors are pulling on colored jerseys on the ASP World Tour a few years from now, the way to win will be different to the way it is today.

Andy King is a former professional surfer who knows what it takes to win. King has overcome adversity, tasted competitive success and experienced the exhilaration of a 10-foot Pipeline tube spitting him safely to the channel.

With his coaching hat fitted snugly to his melon, King today espoused the overall message of Red Bull's Project Air as his young, eager charges listened intently.

"At the end of last year, the ASP introduced changes to the judging criteria and I guarantee you that by the time you reach the elite level, they will have changed again," said King. "The future of the sport will revolve around maneuver done in the air ... "
And while the waves of Tallow's Beach in the lee of Cape Byron and its iconic lighthouse did not throw up much in the way of perfect air-ramps today, Red Bull's junior surfers still managed to land a few with aplomb.


The sun is shining brighter, the participants are much younger and the airs into the foam pit are getting higher!


Conner Coffin, 16, from Santa Barbara, California is among half-a-dozen grom's from Red Bull's Rising Team to arrive at camp following the departure of the open elite team two days ago, and the energy shift is palpable.


"I'm not going to say the older guys weren't excited, but these young guys just dove straight into it," said High Performance Manager, Andy Walshe. 


"For them it's less about narrowing their mental focus and preparing for any upcoming event, it's really about throwing the doors wide open and having fun."
Nursing damaged tendons in his right foot incurred during a month of all-time waves at his beloved homebreak, Rincon, Coffin was exploiting the luxury of soft landings into the foam pit.

At the heart of Red Bull's Project Air is a single objective - exposing the elite surf team to new and innovative ways of progressing the most exciting move in surfing today, the aerial.

And for each athlete, behind this objective lies a deeper, personal motive for taking part - competitive success.

Today, at an isolated stretch of beach, the elite team competed against one another in simulated heats, bringing structure to their performances for the first time in 2010 after an extended hiatus.

In two weeks, the race for the men's and women's ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) World Titles will begin in earnest, so with Red Bull's resources - coaches, cameras and jet-ski assist - the gang got down to business!


During a strong south swell, Snapper Rocks on Queensland's Gold Coast has two levellers, the current pulling hard around 'the rock' and the crowd desperately trying to survive it. Everyone is out there, hoping for the 'one' - a frothing, spitting barrel on takeoff, that then doubles up through the inside and runs on down past Little Marley.
Today, Red Bull's elite surf team got their first real taste of Snapper in 2010. Within two weeks, thousands of adoring fans will fill Snapper's beach, as they cheer on the world's highest ranked professional surfers in the Quiksilver Pro, and six from seven of Red Bull's Project Air participants are guaranteed to be in that spotlight.


Fanning, the hometown hero and two-time winner of the event, sits at the top of the heap and his appearance today at Snapper was like watching Moses part the Red Sea. 
As he made his way from the carpark to the lineup, friends greeted him warmly while strangers ogled his every move. Once in position at the spot he knows best, he deftly tore apart every wave he could get his board into.