Joaquim Chaves, a promising surfer from Portugal, is 20 years old and is the national surfing champion. He claimed the first position in the national championship last October, in a victory that is unusual for such a young surfer. The results and the 'mentoring' of Frederico Morais, aka Kikas, the best Portuguese surfer today, allow us to look at Joaquim Chaves as one of the most exciting athletes in the sport in Portugal.

He grew up in Costa da Caparica, where he started surfing with his father, who also practiced the sport, after competing in acrobatic gymnastics between the ages of seven and ten. He currently lives in Ericeira, one of the great epicenters of national surfing.

Now, among the top practitioners, Joaquim Chaves seeks to renew the title, even while struggling with an injury. In an exclusive interview with Desporto ao Minuto, he reveals his main goal and explains why Portugal is the country in Europe with "better and more consistent" waves.

The Porto Pro will take place soon, between April 12 and 14, the second moment of the national surfing championship calendar, after the Figueira Pro. What are your expectations?

"I'm still recovering from a back injury, but I've been at a very consistent pace, both in the gym and in the water, despite not having the best result in the first stage of the MEO League [won by Tomás Fernandes]. I also wasn't in the first stage last year, and I managed to turn it around and become national champion. My boards are very good, I've had them for a short time, everything is set to go well from now on."

When and how did the injury happen?

"I had the injury at Pro Portugal, in Peniche, and I rotated a vertebra that ended up inflaming a disc between two vertebrae, which caused a herniated disc. It's much better now, in a much more advanced stage, I already feel much better than in the first stage."

Last October, you were crowned national champion. How did it feel to be considered the best in your country at such a young age?

"In fact, Kikas, Vasco Ribeiro, and many other older athletes dominated the elite of national surfing for many years, for 7 or 8 years. The national title was always around. It's been a long time since someone so young has won it. Having achieved it was, without a doubt, a great feeling. It's a great source of pride, it reflects the work I'm committed to."

Frederico Morais, besides being a great friend, is an example

I saw that you recently went to train in Hawaii. Do you usually do that?

"It's my third season in Hawaii. I usually go there for a month and a half. It's a special place, because it has much stronger waves than anywhere else in the world. Boards with completely different shapes than those in Europe. It's very important to go there to train, for as many years as possible. It's very rare to find someone who wants to compete who has never been to Hawaii and has good performances. This is a very important year, because I managed to be with Frederico Morais, we have the same coach, Richard March, and other surfers. It's a great learning experience, to live their routines and breathe surfing. To be dreaming a little bit in the reality of what it's like to be at the top of the top and to visualize what I want for myself in a few years."

What does Kikas tell you? What does he say about your future, what advice does he give you?

"Frederico, besides being a great friend, is a very important person in these last three years, I treat him as a friend, but he's 11 or 12 years older and has a lot of competitive experience. One of the only Portuguese surfers who were in the WCT [World Championship Tour]. The information he gives me every day is very important. He's very focused. He's an example."

How many surfers are able to live exclusively from this profession in Portugal? Are we able to produce many surfers, despite having a sports culture focused on soccer?

"Without a doubt. There's my generation, Kikas was the best Portuguese surfer ever, and there's another one of kids who are 15 or 16 years old who can be very good, we have very strong and dedicated surfers. There could be a revolution in national surfing. We already have surfers like me, Guilherme Ribeiro, Francisca Veselko, among many others who are already included in world surfing, that is, without a doubt, an affirmation that we have all the conditions to represent national surfing."

I saw an interview with you in which you admitted that the surfing market is "going through a more complicated phase", with many surfers creating content for brands. Why?

"Nowadays, let's say that brands no longer have as much budget to support surfers who train every day to achieve their competitive goals. I'm lucky to get the support I have and to live from this sport. But the reality is that any surf brand is looking for a lot of content that reaches people outside of surfing. Without a doubt, that's very important for promoting brands."

Does the surfer almost end up being a model as well?

"I don't like to call myself an influencer or a model. My only goal is competition, but I have the possibility to produce content that people consume and that brands like. Brands are looking for a little bit more than the training routine because there are already so many athletes doing the same thing. It ends up being an added value."

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It was announced that, in the next two years, a stage of the WCT will continue to take place in Peniche. I imagine that this is good for Portuguese surfers.

"Right. I had the opportunity to participate in the World Championship, this year, I managed to enter through the national championship, it was an incredible experience. I hope to win the national title again because, without a doubt, the World Championship is where a person evolves, it's with the best."

Are we privileged, in Portugal, for the waves we have?

"Portugal, in my opinion, is the most consistent place with the best waves in Europe. France has some places that can be almost as consistent as Portugal>