Thomas Traversa is a humble character who very much carries the soul surfer image yet slays it on the World Tour. He flies below radar, appearing at spots where others are not, where no cameras follow. Fortunately for us, this time there was an eye on the beach with a lens pointing in his direction. This is Faro, or somewhere in the neighbourhood, with the swell that was thrown up by Storm Imogen as she charged across the Atlantic Ocean.

We tried to get a hold of Traversa for a few words about his session, but his elusive character left is pondering if unicorns really do exist. Nevertheless, the waves he scored were on the edge of historical as he dropped in, without back up support on these… There’s even a short video already, check that out at the bottom of our continuous scrolling gallery.

Images by Eduardo Vidarte Charola