Adriano de Souza is currently rated sixth on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour and feels he is ready to make a push for the title.
At only 21 years of age, the Brazilian Standout has two and a half years of ASP Dream Tour experience under his belt, not to mention the fact that he won the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) series by a greater margin than any other ASP WQS Series winner in history back in 2005 and was also the youngest ASP Pro Junior Champion at the age of 16 in 2004. It’s safe to say that this Brazilian wunderkind is nothing short of prodigious and now de Souza feels that the next essential step in claiming the title of ASP World Champion is to move from his home in Guaruja Sao Paulo, Brazil to San Clemente, California.
“That is my plan,” De Souza said. “One day I want to be the World Champ and I have to move from my home to do it. I’ll be able to do more training in America and hopefully I can put it together next year.”
The high-flying Brazilian feels that the move to San Clemente will be a multifaceted improvement for his career aside from training for the title. De Souza feels that the move to the States will bring him closer to his sponsors and put him at the heart of the surf industry.
“Here in America I have everything,” De Souza said. “All of the support of the magazines and the industry. I can build a better relationship with my sponsors and I’m going to be surfing Trestles, so it will be good exposure for me.”
At this point, the only thing holding de Souza back is the paperwork. The ASP World Tour campaigner is working closely with his sponsors to get his papers in a timely fashion so he can start his new regiment towards his ASP World Title campaign as quickly as possible.
“I have to wait for my visa to come through,” De Souza said. “I was with the Oakley team and those guys are going to organize my visa so I’ll definitely be living here by the end of this year.”
Adriano de Souza will continue his charge on this year’s ASP World Tour at the upcoming Quiksilver Pro France, running from September 19-28, 2008.