Doc: Hey Mauricio, where you from in Brazil and what do you call your local waters these days?
MD: I’m from Porto Alegre, capital of Rio Grande do Sul, the southerly state of Brazil that makes border with Uruguay and Argentina. Actually it’s hard to tell which place I can call my local water due to Porto Alegre city is situated inland. The closest beach is Tramandaí, 100km from where I live, there is a fishing pier which have some good waves when the seas, the wind and the astrology want it… still have it’s days though. Torres is kind of different beach over here, with some beach breaks, a sick point break, and a break wall too.
Doc: what mix of Prone and DK are you riding?
MD: 100% Prone
Doc: What boards are you running in your current quiver and what are your current faves?
MD: Have a mix of boards, depending on the conditions we get I use to mix from B2BR ( Bodyboarding Brasil), Science CP1 (that’s a gem) and a NMD Winchester PE.
Doc: What dimensions and core compositions are you finding hot for your riding at the moment?
MD: B2BR 42” PP Crescent tail Single Stringer, has a great manueverability, and flutuation for small and works great on bigger waves
Science CP1 41.6” PP Crescent tail, no words for this board… perfect for barrels and heavy conditions
NMD Winchester 42” PE with single stringer and mesh. Was a good board, got a bit negative with the time, but still doing
Doc: And how about accessories – leash, fins and wetsuits?
MD: Tried some fins around as Viper, Kapaloa but still using Redley fins. Now it’s coming some. Ballin leash, and o’neill and mormaii wetsuits.
Doc: D.O.B height and weight?
MD: 1,83 m
85kg
Doc: Many people around here think Brazil only has small sloppy waves as that is what we are mostly exposed through in IBA comps. What can you tell us about the bigger waves in Brazil?
MD: I believe it’s kind of a bad mystic idea, as every where have it’s flat day’s. The Katherine Melo Bodyboarding Pro this year kind of broke this paradigm. We had 4 days straight of big surf, unfortunately any Australian come here to see this year. Like Shark Island, once had 40 days for waiting period, as it’s hard to break big and good…Last year was a bit sketchy and small, and remember a year that the had to finish with complete the finals...So imagine a contest form man and women’s over a 6 days period that need at least 5 days of waves… You never know what can happen. There as some specials places like Hawaii, Chile and a few others that are much more consistent that the bad part about contests, also some sponsor or council have to give money for the event, it must have public and bring tourism and profit for them… Hard to compare with free surfing where you can watch the swells and hit the best place you can.
Here in Brasil there is always some good swells around hitting some exposed beaches all around the year, Itacoatiara, Maresias, Paúba, Ilha dos Lobos, Rio de Janeiro beaches and secrets spots and Santa Catarina have some awesome waves and big too. Itacoatiara is certainly the sickest and heavy beach break in Brazil, where Dudu Pedra, Giu Lara and others are pushing the limits of the sport over here. Bahia (Uri Valadão home) and Espirito Santo (Magno Oliveira home) also rocks. Just would like to said to avoid summer, march till October usually very consistent.
Doc: What do you love the most about Brazil?
MD: The nature, the vibe and chicks… With money in the pocket is a good place for living.
Doc: Fave breaks – local and elsewhere (no secret ones of course)?
MD: Campeche/Riozinho in Florianópolis – Santa Catarina
Cardoso and Cigana beach in Farol de Santa Marta – Santa Catarina
Praia do Silveira in Garopaba – Santa Catarina
Itacoatiara – Niterói – Rio de Janeiro
São Conrado – Rio de Janeiro
Torres beaches – Rio Grande do Sul
Tramandaí and Atlantida piers close from home.
Aussie Pipe
Straddie
D’bah
G-Land
El baul
R*****ds
Doc: What would be the biggest wave you’ve taken on?
MD: Pipeline and G-Land
Doc: And what’s the toughest wave to ride you’ve hit up?
MD: Hard to tell between some waves from Chile like a big El Baul and El Gringo. Some smaller waves as Shark Island and Punta 2 the most dangerous cause they are so shallow. Pipeline over 10ft was not for me as well.
Doc: Who are your crew in the water?
MD: I’m proud to have so many good friends to travel around and search for the waves, Cassiano Rossi, Tiago Tonin, Andre Carvalho, Demitrio Fleck, Leonardo Fleck, Gustavo Lazzari, Rafael “Faoro”, Luigi Ligabue, Jaime Redivo, Gladson, Felipe Sangaleti are some of the bodyboarding searching crew that are always monitoring the waves and calling for a trip. Also most of my best friends are surfers and bodyboarders too like Daniel Azambuja e Roger are just sick as me to go to the beach.
Travelling around have meet many people that inspired to keep searching for some waves as Magno Oliveira, Paulo Barcellos, Jorge Baggio, my friends from Pacific (Iquique and Viña crew), Australian friends like Don, Stuart, Cris and Justin Vassalo.
Doc: What’s the maddest road trip you’ve been on and what made it crazy?
MD: Gold Coast to Perth, all around the Australian coast 10.000km including the peninsulas, Tasmania, over 23 days sleeping on a tent, every day in a different place on the bush. Had two good friends to share a Daihatsu Charade with all my stuff moving to Perth. Unforgettable one.
The maddest thought ( risk one for sure) the way road to Grajagang in a Indonesian bus, like no love for live Indonesian driver at night…
Doc: Best boat trip?
MD: Never had on a boat trip
Doc: Who are some of your fave photogs?
MD: Tim Jones
Phil Gallager
Aleko Stergiou
Bruno Lemos
Pedro Felizardo
Tony d’ Andrea
Tim Mackenna
Doc: Board history – any chance you can remember and name the boards you have had under you over time? Fave ride ever of all of them?
MD: MS Science CP1
Doc: Scariest moment on the boog?
MD: Once I broke a vertebra at Campeche beach.. for sure…six days at hospital and 3 months to recover…The scariest and same time luckiest day to still walking.
Doc: What do you love most about the BB culture?
MD: The searching for bigger, hollow waves together with the moments at the beach and nature, sharing with friends
Doc: What do you reckon BB needs most at the moment?
MD: Man, I thinking that we need keep doing the best we can, showing the power of the sport charging big waves and the best barrels. Like a friend said, we don’t have to be always seeking the same as the Surf, we are bodyboarders and that’s it, we need media, movies, a good circuit but we are different and that’s it…There is the side of the athletes and the free surfers, just hope for better sponsor for some riders that really deserve it.
Doc: Who would you like to give a shout-out to?
MD: Advance English for me… If I got it, would like to give to my father and mum.
Doc: Do you have sponsors?
MD: Yes, I have… my family and my work!
You’re also a damn fine photographer Mauricio. So we’ll run through a photographer interview for you as well – always love looking at fresh shots of fresh places!!
Doc: Current Equipment (incl. housings)?
MD: Canon 30D, 300mm F4 L, TC 1.4x, 50mm 1.8, 10-22mm and Ivan Custom Made Housing. Still pretty compact equip to carry with the board and surfing stuff.
Doc: Favourite glass?
MD: 300mm F4 L
Doc: Fave editing programme?
MD: Adobe Lightroom
Doc: When did u start shooting and what age are you now?
MD: Started shoot in Hawaii in 2003/2004 season, at 21.
Doc: What inspired you to start shooting on a more serious basis?
MD: Started feeling the need to register the waves while I was living in Australia, they were so perfect!!! Right now it’s more a hobby.
Doc: Which leads us to the next question, What would you say has been your most hectic moment in the surf to date?
MD: I’m think I was blessed to have travelled around Australia and other countries.
Had some many different ones, longest barrel of life at Kirra, The Box even just with 5-6ft, Aussie Pipe (most perfect session ever!), G-Land in high and low tide, Guillotines (NSW), Deadman’s/ Winkpop in Manly (NSW), South Straddie (breaking for two insane weeks every day), Pipeline, some secret spots here in Brazil, El Baul in Iquique.
Doc: Where would you say is your favourite location to shoot (if you can mention it)?
MD: Can’t mention…
Doc: who are your fave riders to shoot?
MD: Pierre Louis, Mitch Rawlins, Magno Oliveira, Mike Stuart, Tâmega, Jeff Hubbard, Alan Muñoz ( Chile)
Doc: Do you have a favourite wave-type to shoot (beachbreak/reef/barrel/wedge etc)?
MD: Barreling reef/point break with a channel. Avoiding too much paddling!
Doc: Fave rider move to shoot?
MD: Barrels
Doc: Fave shot ever - yours?
MD: El Baul in the water, with Argentinean Emiliano Tabaré
Doc: Fave shot ever – other photographer?
MD: Cyclops by Tungsten
Doc: Who or what sources inspire you artistically?
MD: Like museums, classical and contemporary art, like to navigate a lot on the web looking for surfing and bodyboarding shots from all around the world. Like places where I can compose the wave with the nature as a background, don’t like very close shots much.
Doc: What would you say delineates your shots as individual to you?
MD: Love for life, nature colors and happiness to be close and in the water!
Doc: Do you have a wishlist breaks to shoot?
MD: A long one…
Canarias – El Fronton and others over there
Mentawaii
Puerto Escondido
Gnaloo
Mavericks
Teahupoo
Some breaks in Portugal
And I really want to travel shooting all around Australia again
The Zone
Shark Island
Hossegor
Doc: What is your wish list riders to shoot?
MD: Alistair Taylor in off the wall/ backdoor 10-12 ft closing out!
Mitch Rawlins at Shipsterns
Tamega in El Fronton
Mike Stuart in pipeline/banzai
Doc: Locations that inspire you?
MD: Shipsterns
El Gringo
Florianópolis
Itacoatiara
Aussie Pipe
Straddie
Some secrets over here
Doc: What music do you play when you are editing?
MD: From: Artic Monkeys, Chemical Brothers, Justice, Kasabian, Bob Marley, Hot Chip, The Doors, Brazilian music, some times Triple J radio, to Ray Charles hehehe
Doc: Any tips to riders you are going to shoot?
MD: Free fall looks good, watch the elbow and hand position on the side of the board to don’t look like a bus driver, positioning on the board specially, and a clean line to not spill to much water over the face and ruin the shoot.
Doc: your website http://drunn.multiply.com/ has shots on it from a lot countries such as Brazil, Uruguay, Indo, Hawaii, Chile and Australia. Do you find the natural light and water combination is softer/harder/brighter on average to compared to these other countries?
MD: Chile was a hard place for shooting, the water is very clear with some beautiful green and blue color, but the weather of Atacama keeps the clouds till late morning and early afternoon. It’s desert almost never rains but it’s a bit too cloudy very often.
Hawaii has maybe on the most beautiful light for shooting from 9a.m to dusk. Very bright and colored skies.
New Zealand most spectacular light that I ever seen.
Travelling around have I found that the southerly the place better the light in my opinion.
Doc: You’ve seen a lot of riding in a lot of countries. What sort of variance in style do you find on average through a photographer’s eye?
MD: Brazilians rock in manoeuvres even in a 2ft wave, hard to beat then in these conditions, but we lack of experience in reef and point breaks.
Australians, for me are, barrel specialists, real chargers of any conditions.
Hawaiians look like they have water in the veins…
In Chile got the feeling that even a 10ft wave over a half-meter deep water was too natural. I would like to see more Chileans travelling and charging big waves around the globe and at the tour, lots of riders with great potential, the charge big barrels, and go high in the air.
In Uruguay people surf really well on a more laid-back style, enjoying much more the free surf , and making the line of the waves than anything. Hard to tell some much impressions…
Kiwis the enjoy the place, the cold water and uncrowded places, brave surfers there considering the conditions. I felt to lonely in the water there…hard to tell about.
Thanks very much for your time to cover such a comprehensive interview. As well as taking the time to provide all the responses, Mauricio has provided us with a heap of shots to froth on. Awesome.
All shots from http://www.drunn.multiply.com/photos
1. Rider: Alan Munoz
2. Rider: Alan Munoz
3. Brasil Secret Spot
4: Crew Checking
5: Rider: Emiliano Tabare - El Baul
6: Rider: Guilherme Tamega - Katherine Mello B Pro 2009
7: Rider: Hugo Cairo - Secret Spot
8: Rider: Jeff Hubbard
9: Rider: Joaquim Viveros
10: Rider: Jorge Baggio
11: Rider: Leandro Perez
12: Rider: Luis Villar - Secret spot
13: Rider: Luis Villar - Secret Spot
14: Rider: Mauricio Drunn - G-Land
15: Rider: Mauricio Drunn - Itacoatiara photo: Cynthia Schmaedecke
16: Rider: Mauricio Drunn - Padang Padang - Photo: Pedro Felizardo
17: Rider: Mauricio Drunn - Padang Padang - Photo: Ricardo Junji
18: Rider: Mauricio Drunn - El Baul - Photo: Hernan Almeida
19: Rider: Emiliano Tabare - El Baul (Mauricio Drunn pictured photographer in foreground). Photograph by: Hernan Almeida
20: Rider: Mike Stewart
21: Rider: Rafael Faoro
22: Rider: Rafael Faoro
23: Rider: Secret Spot
24: Rider: Secret Spot #2
25: Rider: Uri Valadao
