Recently the World Surf League has been dropping world champ comebacks like they’re on sale. Carissa, Stephanie, John, Gabriel! That’s 19 world titles rolling up almost out of the blue for the 2026 tour. They’ll change the game for sure. But in the meantime, what about the current men’s champ? Universally hailed as a great winner at Cloudbreak back in September, the magnificently chill Yago Dora has nevertheless not featured in any Western surf media since that win. Nick and Hannah thought this was very weird, so we asked Yago if he’d mind joining us to explore his life as a super-kid in Florianopolis, Brazil, how he made the transition from free-surf star to elite competitor, stepping out on his own at title level, and how he produced that searingly confident Finals performance.