10/03/2025
“Surfing has given me everything—fight, joy, loss, purpose. The ocean is my home.”
This is Luana Silva. Brazilian roots, born and raised on the North Shore, she carries both in her surfing—the graceful beauty of Hawaii, the passionate spirit of Brazil.
“I won a few grom contests when I was 12, and after that my dad and I were like, ‘Oh maybe we could actually do this.’”
But the path from the North Shore to the Championship Tour is crowded and unforgiving. Hundreds of kids chasing the same waves, the same ladder. For Luana, the wins came, and then they didn’t. The biggest punch was missing the cut, two years in a row.
“You start asking yourself, what’s the point, what’s my purpose? It was a really hard time, just trying to find the belief and trust that I belong here.”
For most surfers, there comes a time to decide between trying to be professional, or going to school. But she never wavered, and the shape of a true competitor emerged. What set her apart wasn’t luck, but a system of visualization.
“It became everything to me: grab my headphones, put a towel over my head, get in a quiet space and just visualize where I want to be, how I want to win.”
This is what she did when all the chips were on the table, and the 2025 mid-season cut was a pivotal moment.
“I wasn’t thinking about it during the heat, but it was definitely in the back of my mind—having to go back and try to qualify for a third year in a row. When I realized I made it, it was an incredibly proud moment, a huge sigh of relief.”
She’s talented, young, and thirsty, but her gaze stretches beyond results. “I’m here to inspire the next generation, especially Brazilian girls, to believe that there’s space for them to be here.”
Her story is one of endurance, and for Luana surfing has always been more than a career—it’s a way of believing, fighting, and beginning again.
“If you let short term misses crush you, you lose out on the long game of chasing your dreams.”