Long before wave pools became part of the surf conversation, Piu Pereira was already competing at the highest level of the sport. He was part of the same generation as Fábio Gouveia and Teco Padaratz, a group that helped establish Brazil’s presence on the ASP World Tour in the late 1980s and 1990s. That era laid much of the groundwork for what Brazilian surfing would become in the decades that followed.
Today, at Surfland Brasil, his work happens away from the spotlight. Managing check-in and customer experience, he sits at the intersection between operations and surf culture, bringing decades of experience into how people enter and experience a wave pool. We spoke with Piu about his journey, the transition from competition to the operational side of the industry.
Can you tell us a bit about your background in surfing and how your career started?
I started surfing when I was 11, in Santos, São Paulo. By 15, I was already competing in the amateur category. At that time, there were fewer divisions, and I started getting good results nationally quite early. That led me to represent Brazil at the world championship in Puerto Rico, which was the first time Brazil had a complete team, with men, women, and longboard.
From there, I moved into the professional circuit. I competed in Brazil and internationally, spent one year on the CT, and then a couple of years on the QS. It was a long period fully dedicated to competition, traveling and competing around the world.
You were part of an important generation in Brazilian surfing. How do you look back on that period?
It was a moment where Brazilian surfing was starting to build its presence internationally. We did not have the same structure that exists today, so a lot of it was about creating that path, competing abroad, gaining experience, and showing that Brazilian surfers could perform at that level. It was a different time, but an important one for what came after.
How did you transition from competition into the professional side of the industry?
Even before I stopped competing, I was already involved in other areas. I worked with events, did some consulting, and also acted as a contest director for QS events in Brazil, including in Maresias. After I stepped away from competition, I moved more into the business side. I worked with brands like Quiksilver in Brazil, more on the marketing and operational side, helping connect the brand with the local market. At that point, I also decided to study advertising, which helped me structure that transition into the industry.
How did you get involved with Surfland?
I moved to Santa Catarina, and that is when the opportunity came up. I joined a couple of months before the park opened, in November 2023. I started participating in meetings and preparations, and then got involved in structuring the check in and customer service side of the operation.
What does your role involve today?
There is no fixed routine, every day is different. I usually arrive and check that everything is running properly in the check in area, ticketing, and customer flow. But there are always unexpected situations, so a big part of the job is adapting and making decisions during the day. The focus is to make sure everything runs well and that the customer leaves satisfied.
Looking back, what has evolved the most in the operation?
The processes. At the beginning, we had guidelines and references, but we needed to adapt everything to our reality. Over time, we improved those processes and made the operation more consistent. Today, things are more structured, and we see that in the feedback. Customers leave satisfied, and we hear that a lot.
What do you enjoy most about your role today?
Seeing the customer leave satisfied. When someone finishes their session happy and thanking the team, that is the best part. It shows that everything worked well. And also being around surfing every day, watching the waves and sometimes surfing as well.
