Xandinha da Pororoca.........

This week we catch up with a woman from Brasil who likes nothing more than dodging river debris and chancing encounters with red bellied piranha, black Caiman, green anaconda, bull sharks and vampire fish to name a few to fulfil her desire for adrenalin and the lack of ocean surf.

In Xandinha's own words......

" My name is Alexandra Ereiro, I am better known as Xandinha. I am an athlete and bodyboarder from Pará a region in Brasil.

I live in the North of Brasil in Belém, In my state there is no Association or Bodyboard Federation and at the beginning of my career I was away from my family to go in search of my dream that was to compete and be recognised, this was so hard because we had no local competitions so I spent some time in Rio de Janeiro in search of career progression.

Where I live the beaches are very far it could take up to 4 hrs to get to the closest beach, however I was able to surf a lot due to the phenomenon of the Pororoca.

The Pororoca is a tidal bore that can travel as much as 800 metres on the Amazon river.

In fresh water the waves are different from ocean waves, they are quite different in density. I am also known as Xandinha da pororoca because I surf in a beautiful phenomenon that generates from the middle of Rio, a natural manifestation of energy that travels inland upstream of the Amazon river, forming walls of water upwards of 4 metres that can be surfed.

I was champion of the Circuit Kpaloa Musas in the beginning in 2006 and since then have never stopped to compete.

Today for Brasil I participate in stages of the world tour in Brasil and I hope to compete on more competitions on the tour soon.

I have managed to get some sponsors in the form of Seel, Kpaloa, Amazon Power, Brazil Industry, Grace Lopes Bikini, Uga Tattoo, Craud and Sou Crossfit, so thank you guys for the support.

Outside of competing I am a physical education student and the mother of a couple of children.

I am 33 years old and for 15 of those years I have been bodyboarding.

In my state I am the only bodyboarder that competes and today I am looking for a new partnership to promote the sport inside my state so that we can have more competitions and competitors within our region.

I have a small project where I teach bodyboard lessons to children from the coast of Pará. I would like to leave a message for the desire to be a bodyboarder and to compete at the highest level "never give up on your dreams, believe and persist and always have faith that you are able to get and meet wonderful people and friends too, the world is very beautiful and sports are a big part of that "I would like to thank LidLife for this opportunity and great interview.

Alexandra we would love to try the Pororoca one day, and loved catching up with you.

Photo credits:

Jeremy Dias

Raimundo Paco

Cristiano Cantao

With thanks to:

@seel

@kpaloa

@amazonpowerdrink

@biquinigracelopes

@soucrossfitoficial

@uga.tattoo

@industrybrasil

@craudnet

Next week sees us catch up with Paola Simoa ........

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