Martim Fortes crowned Portuguese Under 18 champion!

Martim Fortes won the Portuguese Under-18 title last Sunday at Ribeira D’Ilhas beach in Ericeira.

This was a very special victory achieved and celebrated at home in front of his family, friends and the public whom have followed his growth and progression on these waves.

The 17-year-old surfer applied his strong frontside rail surfing to reach the event’s final and clinch an important title in his junior career.

“I’m really stoked with this win and to have achieved my goal of becoming the Under 18 National champion in front of my family and friends and in Ericeira which is my home,” said the surfer who is part of the new generation of Portuguese surfers. “I used the same board during the two days of competition. I felt confident on it and knew I could push the rail, which made for some epic carves! It’s always important to have good boards for each type of wave. I’d like to thank Semente for always being with me and helping me to evolve so that I can show my best surfing, whether it’s free surfing or in comps,” he finishes.

From the Ericeira surfboard brand there’s a big satisfaction in accompanying Martim on his journey and watching him surf consistently and achieve good results. “We’re super stoked to have our homeboy win the National Under 18 title. With Martim it is especially rewarding as the Fortes family blood runs thick both in Semente’s history and growth through the years. The old expression that “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” fits like a glove with Martim Fortes. His father and local legend Miguel Fortes has been riding our boards since 1983 and is undoubtedly the surfer with more hours dedicated to our local home break. We have been working with Martim and his brother Manel for 11 years now, mom and dad came around for their first boards when they were 7 years old. In working with Martim, the board changes and evolution have been continuous and fast paced, this being due to the fact that his growth pattern is always demanding more length, width and thickness. I originally made boards for Martim working off of Gony Zubizarreta’s designs, shrinking and modifying them to fit. With the passing of time, we have been designing to fit Martims style and to meet his needs for what we have discovered works best for him. Surprisingly we are now using Martim’s base work for a lot of older surfers, the pendulum goes back and forth. His board quiver now runs from a 5’9” x 18 9/16” x 2 3/16” x 25.2 Liters epoxy board for small wave comps, up to a 6’2” pintail for solid surf. His day to day go to would be 5’10” x 18 1/2” x 2 1/4” roughly 25.5 Liters. Martim carries a lot of pintails in his quiver and one or two squash tails for contest or softer days. Looking forward to this winter and the probability of shaping up some step ups for Madeira or Hawaii. Martim is part of a very promising up and coming generation of surfers from the Ericeira area, and the next changing of the guards is upon us. We are stoked to have him on board and are looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead.” – Nick Uricchio – Semente Surfboards

Congrats Martim! Stronger than ever! 🏆

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