{"id":10098,"date":"2025-11-23T11:25:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T11:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/?p=10098"},"modified":"2025-12-26T12:43:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T12:43:06","slug":"dani-garcia-this-year-ive-caught-more-waves-than-in-any-other-year-of-my-life-im-experiencing-the-surfing-revolution-from-the-inside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/dani-garcia-this-year-ive-caught-more-waves-than-in-any-other-year-of-my-life-im-experiencing-the-surfing-revolution-from-the-inside\/","title":{"rendered":"Dani Garc\u00eda: \u201cThis year I\u2019ve caught more waves than in any other year of my life; I\u2019m experiencing the surfing revolution from the inside”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Talking about surfing is talking about Dani Garc\u00eda. A legend of Spanish surfing, multiple Spanish and European champion, and one of the surfers who has written his name in gold most often in the history of the Spring Surfest Las Am\u00e9ricas Pro. At 52, he surfs by combining his inexhaustible talent with a calm maturity. If he\u2019s in the water, the eyes of anyone watching from the beach always go straight to him. One more year, he returns to Las Palmeras looking to defend his Euromaster +50 title and complete a triple crown [he won in 2023 and 2024], confirming himself as the absolute dominator of the category.<\/p>\n

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Q: Hi Dani, here we are one more year\u2026 Las Am\u00e9ricas awaits you again. How are you arriving? Looking forward to it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Yes, one more year\u2026 and the truth is I\u2019m arriving with a lot of excitement. I look forward to this event all year long. For me it\u2019s not just a sporting goal: it\u2019s almost a reward. Ending the season in Las Am\u00e9ricas, competing and at the same time enjoying a few days there with family and friends, is something I value enormously. And this year, I\u2019m arriving even better. I feel in shape, with great sensations, and with the magical Pukas IN-Carbon board from last year. I\u2019m very motivated.<\/p>\n

Q: A year ago you told us you were in your best moment and that you still had a long way to go\u2026 What can you tell us today? How do you feel? Is the competitive bug still alive?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I hope there\u2019s still a long way to go for Dani \u2014 that\u2019s the idea. Every year I feel better. It\u2019s true that I\u2019m not as obsessed now with competing in every contest; I\u2019ve focused more on technically improving my surfing. But as soon as the day gets close or I put on the jersey, I get fired up just like always. That spark is intact.<\/p>\n

Q: The spark is still there\u2026 Even though you compete less now, you surf more than ever. How are you handling this new reality?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Yes, I now work at Wavegarden, and part of my job is to test and fine-tune waves in new facilities and improve the ones already operating. That means that this year, at 52, I\u2019ve probably caught more waves than in any other year of my life. We\u2019re talking about thousands of waves. Thousands. I\u2019m experiencing the artificial-wave revolution from the inside \u2014 it\u2019s drastically changing surfing and how far surfers can improve.<\/p>\n

Of course, like everything in life, it has its \u201cless perfect\u201d side: my physio, Luis Morales \u2014the physio of the Spanish National Team\u2014 literally told me, \u201cNo hip can handle more than two thousand waves in two weeks,\u201d which is what I surfed in S\u00e3o Paulo in May. And he\u2019s somewhat right, because my hip complains from time to time. But I\u2019m strong, motivated and ready. For Las Am\u00e9ricas 2025, this hip will hold.<\/p>\n

Competitively, I did the important part: I won the Spanish Master +50 Championship, I was runner-up in +40, and I won +50 at the Master Surf Reunion in the Dominican Republic, where I also finished third in the Master Overall. I feel good and, above all, really enjoying surfing.<\/p>\n

Q: And in Las Am\u00e9ricas, what can we expect from Dani this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> The goal is to defend the +50 title, knowing that in surfing anyone can knock you out if you slip or the waves don\u2019t line up. I\u2019ll also compete in +40 because surfing Las Palmeras with so few people is a privilege. I\u2019ll also try to win that, although I\u2019d be satisfied with making the final because the \u201cyoungsters\u201d in +40 are incredibly strong. I enjoy this event a lot. If there are waves, I want to make heats just to surf more.<\/p>\n

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Q: Last year Christian Jim\u00e9nez took the Euromaster from you and a few months ago he beat you in +40 at the Spanish Championships\u2026 Is there rivalry? Desire for revenge?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> There\u2019s always rivalry, but not only with Christian \u2014 with anyone in the heat. And honestly, in those two occasions I was happy for him, especially in Asturias, where he came very motivated from the Canary Islands with his daughter. It\u2019s also true that I had already won the +50 and I was relaxed.<\/p>\n

Revenge? Yes, of course I want to beat him this year, but without tension. I\u2019m at a point where I compete very comfortably: more focused on surfing well and improving than on having to prove anything. When you compete without that weight, you enjoy it much more and the surfing flows. If there are waves, this event is one of the ones I enjoy the most all year.<\/p>\n

Q: This will be your third year as an ambassador for the event. What can you tell us?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> For me, it\u2019s an honor and, besides, it\u2019s very easy to be the ambassador of something I love. I spend the whole year telling everyone over 40 to come. What annoys me most is when they later see you surfing those waves, in boardshorts, enjoying the Bit\u00e1cora hotel, and say, \u201cI should have gone.\u201d Well, then I don\u2019t want to hear any complaints.<\/p>\n

The festival keeps growing: it\u2019s more solid, bigger, and a stronger reference every year. Great atmosphere, music, activities, perfect weather, and the peace of mind of knowing that the event always delivers. Masters, juniors, and open competitors appreciate it enormously. The organization puts everything into it, and you can feel that.<\/p>\n

Q: The competition that has evolved the most in recent years is the Eurokids, which has become a celebration of European surfing for the youngest. It\u2019s common to see you on the beach watching them compete\u2026 What do you think of this event?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> The Eurokids is amazing. The December long-weekend dates work very well: families travel, there are good waves, and the atmosphere is incredible. I love staying after the Euromaster to watch the juniors compete. As a coach, it\u2019s a luxury for them to surf and compete on a wave like that. It breaks away from the typical beach contest. At Las Palmeras, they have to surf solidly, with adult lines and complete maneuvers.<\/p>\n

Here, that flat, \u201ckid surfing\u201d that sometimes scores in bad waves doesn\u2019t work. Competing on a good wave makes them progress a huge amount, even though some get frustrated at first when they don\u2019t get the scores despite the great waves they catch. But the judges are right to be demanding and ask for solid, more adult surfing that matches the wave. For coaches, it\u2019s a golden opportunity to work with them.<\/p>\n

Q: Competitively, the big new feature this year will be the Tenerife PRO Spanish Championship. What do you think about the national title being decided at Las Palmeras?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I think it\u2019s a great choice. It\u2019s one of the best waves in the country, and the Spanish Championships deserve a stage like this. The best surfers are going to be there, and I think this raises the level of the event.<\/p>\n

Q: And now comes the tough one\u2026 Who will leave Tenerife as Spanish champions?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I\u2019ll take the risk. I\u2019m betting on my son N\u00e9stor. I\u2019m very critical of his surfing and I think that even though I\u2019m his father, I\u2019m not too biased \u2014 I can say objectively that he\u2019s surfing at an incredibly high level, even if luck hasn\u2019t been on his side this year and sometimes he takes more risks than the judges are asking for or rewarding. He needs to fine-tune a few things, but he has more than enough surfing to win. I don\u2019t believe in luck, but it\u2019s about time things go his way, haha\u2026<\/p>\n

That said, the level is enormous. If it\u2019s small, Jacobo Trigo, Yago Dom\u00ednguez and Sean Gunning \u2014the three goofie standouts\u2014 are very hard to beat. And once it gets a bit more solid, Luis D\u00edaz and Andy Criere join that group. Then you have surfers like Rub\u00e9n Vitoria, Mario Rasines, Mois\u00e9s Dom\u00ednguez or Markel Vizcarg\u00fcenaga. The title is very expensive this year.<\/p>\n

In the women\u2019s field, my bet is a \u201cdouble\u201d between Melania Su\u00e1rez and Luc\u00eda Machado. I\u2019ve coached both of them, both are from the Canary Islands, both are goofies, and when they compete on a good left like Las Palmeras, they can make a big difference. Either of them could take the title.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Talking about surfing is talking about Dani Garc\u00eda. A legend of Spanish surfing, multiple Spanish and European champion, and one of the surfers who has written his name in gold most often in the history of the Spring Surfest Las Am\u00e9ricas Pro. At 52, he surfs by combining his inexhaustible talent with a calm maturity. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[107,96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2025-edition","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10098"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10551,"href":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10098\/revisions\/10551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lasamericassurfpro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}