Pro Surfer Rides Wave With Majestic Pod Of Dolphins In South Africa: WATCH
The world's No. 6 ranked surfer, Griffin Colapinto, had an incredible experience at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa.
While practicing for an event in South Africa earlier this month, pro surfer Griffin Colapinto rode a wave he'll never forget — because he was joined by a huge pod of dolphins.
Ahead of the Corona Cero Open at Jeffreys Bay, competitors were getting in their last practice runs when about 200 dolphins came from out of nowhere. Colapinto saw his chance and pounced on it.
"I think the wave I had was maybe the most [dolphins] there had been on a wave... there's, I don't know, 30 on that wave all coming down, and they're coming right at me," the 27-year-old surfer told PEOPLE. "I'm like, 'Oh, these dolphins are so smart. They will know not to hit me.' So I was like, ‘This would be so fun to ride with them, so I just flipped it.’"
The whole thing was caught on video, and it looked like something out of a Disney movie.
"I just did that long floater at the end because I felt like that's what a dolphin would do," he said. "I probably would've tried to do an air or something if the dolphins weren't there, but I want to just relax on the wave with them."
Colapinto said the experience was as "magical as it gets."
"I just think about that being special, a good omen almost," he says, doubling down, "Yeah, it's a good omen for me."
Colapinto went on to finish in 2nd place at J-Bay, losing to fellow American Cole Houshmand in the final.
Originally from San Clemente, Calif., Colapinto represented Team USA in Tahiti at the 2024 Paris Olympics and has finished twice in the top-three at the World Surf League Championship. He is currently the sixth-ranked male surfer in the world.
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