About Justin
From Parguito to Carcavelos
I learned to surf at Playa Parguito, on Margarita Island. I arrived in Portugal in 1999. I stayed.
About Justin
I learned to surf at Playa Parguito, on Margarita Island. I arrived in Portugal in 1999. I stayed.
1999
I won the ANS national circuit in my first season in the country. It was a strange year in Portuguese surfing: the best surfers had split from the federation and set up their own circuit, so there were two champions. The official one was Freddy Brito. The one the surfers and the industry recognised was the Venezuelan who had just arrived.
I've never told that story any other way. There's no need.
2004
I sealed the title in October 2004, leading the rankings, when the second-to-last event in Tenerife was called off for lack of waves. It's not how you imagine winning a European championship. But a season-long ranking is beyond argument: it counts what you did at every event, not on one lucky afternoon.
POR & VEN
I competed for Portugal in Europe and for Venezuela in Latin America. In December 2012 I won the ALAS Latin Pro at Playa Parguito: the final, on the beach where I learned to surf, against Brazil's Alan Saulo.
In 2013 I finished eighth in the world at the ISA World Masters in Montañita, in a Venezuela jersey, in a draw that also had Sunny Garcia and Kalani Robb in it.
Back to Margarita with a camera along: Parguito, El Yaque and the coast near Caracas. Photography by André Carvalho for ONFIRE.
2001 — 2010
Twelve event wins on the Portuguese national circuit. It's the sixth-best mark in the history of the Liga MEO Surf, behind João Antunes, Frederico Morais, Vasco Ribeiro, Tiago Pires and José Gregório.
The last one was in 2010. Then came the injuries, and a new generation — very good and very young. Both at once.
2022
In November 2022 I won a national championship again, this time in Grand Masters, at Praia do Marcelino in Costa da Caparica. I was behind and came back in the closing stretch of the heat.
Between the European title and that one there are eighteen years. For what I do now, that says more than the European title itself.
May 2026
I put on a competition jersey again at the Quiksilver Heritage Heat of the Allianz Ericeira Pro, with João Antunes, José Gregório and Paulo Rodrigues.
“It will be a beautiful thing to put on a competition jersey again and share a heat with great Portuguese surfers. It is always an honour to be part of the history of Portuguese surfing.”
Statement to ANSurfistas, May 2026
A trip with Teresa Bonvalot and Xaninho: empty right-hand points and long days. Photography by André Carvalho for ONFIRE.
Becoming a coach
I started coaching almost without noticing, correcting friends in the water between heats. With the Hurley Surf Club I discovered it was a real craft: watching someone surf, seeing the one thing holding them back, and telling them at exactly the right moment.
Twenty years of competing gave me the eye. Teaching gave me back the hunger. What I like most today isn't winning a heat: it's the face of someone coming off their first clean wall. That hasn't worn off.