In all the hoopla surrounding Kelly Slater’s inevitable, remarkable 11th world title, a nod needs to go to Adriano De Souza.

Last week, he won the Rip Curl Pro Portugal in heaving beachbreak barrels against Kelly. But more than his win, what drew most attention was his exuberant claims and poo stance. It seems in surfing – still – it’s not cool to care.

Earlier this month, former Surfer editor Chris Mauro wrote a great lil’ piece on Grind TV about how Dane Reynolds – the coolest surfer in the world by a country mile – is making young up-and-coming pro surfers think that not giving a crap is a good career move.

Mauro talks about how Adriano, the anti-Dane, thrives on competition, so is dismissed by most surfers. Yet what’s weird is that Adriano should be a role model. He grew up dirt-poor in Rio and scrapped his way tooth and nail to get where he is now. More than any other surfer on the World Tour, Adriano deserves to be there, yet outside his home country he’s best known for his less-than-pleasing style, and a propensity to claim every wave he catches.

Claim, Set and Match from Surfing Life on Vimeo.

Why don’t we give Adriano more credit? We’d be interested to know your thoughts.