On March 1st, 2026, the first-ever Medina Surf Fest went down at Beyond The Club in São Paulo, gathering 8 of the top surfers in the world for an unprecedented showdown using the Wavegarden technology. Notably, this marks the first time in history that a professional surfer has organized a competition of this caliber, a milestone made even more special by the fact that Gabriel Medina is a partner at Beyond The Club.
The event brought together three World Champions and eight of the world’s top surfers: Gabriel Medina, Italo Ferreira, Filipe Toledo, Alejo Muniz, Ian Gouveia, Miguel Pupo, Samuel Pupo, and João “Chumbinho” Chianca.
Tailored specifically for a 50-minute live broadcast on Globo TV, one of South America’s biggest television networks, the production featured an impressive 16-camera setup to capture the action from every angle. This agile format gave each surfer four opportunities: two waves featuring a crowd-favorite barrel setting, where the surfers challenged themselves to link turns, get in the tube, and keep carving, transforming an accessible barrel wave into a true high-performance test. This was followed by two air waves for each surfer to test their limits.
Delivering a spectacular performance in the pool, Italo Ferreira claimed the title i with a combined 17.33 points, followed by Samuel Pupo in second with 13.24 points, and Gabriel Medina rounding out the podium in third with 9.60 points.
“It was very special to welcome world-class athletes to Beyond The Club and see them explore the full potential of our lagoon. Wavegarden’s Cove technology allows us to generate a wide variety of waves, with different shapes and levels of difficulty, expanding the technical possibilities and turning each heat into a true spectacle. Seeing these great names perform in this setting reinforces how Medina Surf Fest will emerge as a landmark event for surfing in Brazil.” — Oscar Segall, CEO of KSM Realty, the company behind the creation of Beyond The Club
More than 2,000 lucky Beyond The Club members and their families enjoyed the spectacle in person, while audiences around the world followed the live broadcasts through Globo TV in Brazil and the World Surf League (WSL) internationally.
Beyond The Club, the world’s first private social, sports, and surf club of its kind, features a 62-module Wavegarden Cove system, the largest Wavegarden machine to date. With rides lasting up to 30 seconds, wave heights exceding two meters, and a customizable menu of more than 25 wave types. It is the ultimate playground to progress the sport, not to mention, test elite level surfers, all while utilizing our market-leading, highly energy-efficient technology.
A massive congratulations to Italo, Gabriel, and the entire team at Beyond The Club for an unforgettable day of surfing!
