After narrowly missing the cut to compete for a world title in his San Clemente backyard in both 2021 and 2022, this year Griffin Colapinto finally made his dream come true.
Well, almost.
While Colapinto was ultimately defeated by an on-fire Ethan Ewing in his first match, he left with his head held high, humbled and hungry for next season. The day after his loss, he took to Instagram to convey his feelings.
“Wow! Blown away from the support I got to feel from our community yesterday. Absolutely love all of you! This past week has been quite the experience. A memory I will never forget.
So now that the season has come to an end, I want to acknowledge all the beautiful people that I have been fortunate enough to attract into my life. We really can’t do this game alone. It takes a community! And I’m very grateful for these legendary people. You know who you are.
“Yesterday didn’t pan out to be the fairytale story that we were pushing to create but hey, that’s life. Most of the time our dreams come true when we least expect it. I still Had the best season of my career finishing 3rd in the world and got room for improvement. Absolutely in love with this journey and getting my life lessons from it.
“To anyone out there that has a dream, go after it! Your journey to that dream will teach you everything you need to know. If you’ve read the Alchemist you know what I’m talking about. On another note big congratulations to @filipetoledo and @caroline_markss for winning the world title! 100% deserving! Until next near, let’s keep LIVIN.”
Now, we get to experience the Final 5 at Trestles from the camp Colapinto POV, thanks to this short film from Red Bull, which features “an intimate look behind the scenes of an entire surf town rallying behind one of their homegrown, hometown heroes as Griffin chases the glory of someday becoming a World Champ.”
Click play now.
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