Is Pedro Barros the World’s Best Surfer/Skater? (Video)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Dec 12, 2024 8:08 PM ET

One of the main draws of wave pools is the repetition. You get the same wave, over and over, on demand, to practice maneuvers until you stick ‘em; or, from a competitive perspective, it’s the same playing field for everyone. No flat spells. No unforeseen oceanic randomness in the pool.

For Pedro Barros, an Olympic silver medalist skateboarder, that’s an alluring aspect. And it turns out, Barros is no stranger to surfing, either. Enough so, that after a recent trip to Boa Vista Village in his home country of Brazil, the pool pondered: “best two-sport athlete on the planet?”

You be the judge:

“This is insane being here,” Barros says in the video. “I think this is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a skatepark. It’s just crazy to go on and on, and keep trying something you’ve been working on. Every section is just perfect. I feel like this is the closest it gets to surfboarding [sic] in a surf park…or skatepark.”

Joining Barros for his session at Boa Vista was pro surfer, Miguel Pupo. And within hours of surfing the pool, Barros was landing airs that he’s been trying – to no avail – for years in the ocean.

By the end of the session, Barros is stomping backside full rotes. So, it begs the question: Best surfer/skater in the world? Who’s to say. There are others out there, like the young Sky Brown, who also has Olympic medals for skateboarding. And she attempted to make history during the Paris 2024 Olympics, qualifying for both surfing and skating. But she didn’t quite make it…not yet.

For both Barros and Brown, it goes to show the impact wave pools on surf progression. It’s real. And there’s always the LA 2028 Summer Olympics for a potential surfer/skater to make history.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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