Juliana Freitas
Our next rider is from a landlocked city in West central Brazil.
The regions earliest settlers came in search of Gold but as this was exploited cattle ranching became the dominant industry.
The city name translates as "Great Field" and is home to the official headquarters of the Western Brazilian Army, the town has been stuck with the nickname of "Brown City" because of the colour of the soil.
"Hi my name is Juliana Freitas , I am 38 years old and I was
born in Campo Grande MS, central Brazil.
I grew up in São Vicente and Guarujá near São Paulo and lived around many cities in Brazil, like Porto Alegre, Xangri-lá, Florianópolis and Rio de Janeiro, now I live in Newport Beach, California.
I started bodyboarding in1998 in São Vicente, it was summer when all my friends started but they stopped and I kept going.
I started by myself when I was little when I used to go to a beach called Matinhos in Parana southern Brazil, I watched people in the water all the time and that made me want to start, I was around 8 when I saw that people loved the ocean and I wasn’t living on the beach back then, so I would tell everyone that one day I would be a professional bodyboarder, then one day my parents moved to the beach and I remembered about my dream and I started.
I was a big fan of Lisandra Tutty back when I started and I wanted to be like her.
My heroes were always my parents, I was a fan of famous people but my mom always told me they were normal people, the same as us so I learned to have my parents as the greatest people in my life.
When I started my favourite breaks in my country were at Itararé beach and later when I moved to Guarujá it was Pitangueiras Beach, in Southern Brazil it was Atlântida Beach, Mole Beach and in Rio de Janeiro São Conrado Beach.
I reckon thou that São Conrado and Itacoatiara are probably my favourite waves in my country.
In the world I think I love Teahupoo the most.
My first board was a Genesis that my mom bought for me, it was purple and white and my dad was my coach and always travelled with me .
I started competing in the same year I started in 1998, I was champion in some of the state contests, and had my name in between the best of the country for many years, I became vice brazilian champion in 2013 and had my name in the best of the world for many years too, the list of titles I won was long.
Yes I am a professional but I don’t have any sponsors now, I charge with a Hubboards, my fins are stealth, my leash is a pride leash and my wetsuits are Xcel.
I am having a break from competing at the moment because I did for so long, but I will come back for sure, maybe not as before.
I really like everything from Mike Stewart I think he always did good stuff, I also like the Hubboards and the Gt boards from Guilherme Tâmega.
I only buy boards I don’t really wear any bodyboard branded clothing as it is quite limited for girls.
I really like fun music and happy I have been listening to a lot of Alok and Sevenn lately.
I have so many favourite memories but definitely my first session at Pipeline and my first barrel In Teahupoo are up there with the best.
Well I started in 1998 and never stopped I had the blessings of being able to travel around the world because of my sport and thanks to my sport I got more than I imagined.
I still consider myself as a pro rider I still train the same way as when I was competing it is just my normal routine and if I don’t do it I feel very sad.
I do all kinds of training like yoga, lifting weights, some classes at the gym, I run, I do dance lessons, I am always doing something new so I don’t get bored.
When I was competing I have to say that my routine was more intense but it didn’t change much. I used to write for some sport websites for many years I want to say thank you for everything that my sport gave me in my life and I just wish our sport could grow bigger and with more people doing it. I love my sport and want the best for all the athletes!
Photo credits include:
Fabriciano Junior
Leo Neves
Private collection
Juliana we all wish the sport to grow and in order to do that we have to get behind the people and brands that give back to the sport........
We have teamed up with the guys at SENNOSEN who are one of those companies, click on the pic below and use coupon code KRISTIANMARTIN to grab yourself 10% off a brand new wetty.
Join Valentina Diaz and our boy Heriberto Sanchez on The Exclusive All Female trip down in Mexico, click on the pic below to book your spot with The Puerto Experience
Or if you fancy it hi upt Stevie Maher for this years All bodyboard Charter to the Mentawais
Why not even surf the Pororoca river in Brazil, get in touch with Alexandra Ereiro
Keep the weekend of the 24th April free if you are going to be in the UK....
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