The makeup of the 2017 WSL Championship Tour looks increasingly cosmopolitan, due in no small part to Italy's first-ever addition, 18-year-old prodigy Leonardo Fioravanti.
Pegged early on by Quiksilver as a bright star, Fioravanti has been traveling and surfing with fellow team rider Kelly Slater since his early teens. Now tall, tan and lean (not to mention wicked smart; he speaks five languages fluently), Fioravanti is a modern day version of Shaun Tomson. With a level head, a keen sense of tactics and solid backing -- his step-dad and coach are one and the same, Quik team coach Stephen "Belly" Bell -- the rookie looks like a good bet to be on the elite tour for years to come.