Pedro ‘Scooby’: the thunderous life of a big-wave rock star
He presents himself as a surfer who is “a twist of a rock star and a spiritual guru.” Meet Brazil’s big-wave rebel, Pedro “Scooby” Vianna.
Although not a name widely recognized in the mainstream, Anglo-Saxon-dominated media, he is the second most followed surfer in the world, only behind Gabriel Medina.
Pedro Henrique Mota Vianna was on August 10, 1988, in Rio de Janeiro.
He had his first contact with surfing through his father when he was only five years old, even though he was mostly raised by his mother, Gracinda Mota.
Pedro studied in a traditional catholic private school in Barra da Tijuca. He did not go to the beach between the ages of 5 and 10, though.
While riding horses at his father’s farm, Vianna dreamed of becoming a cowboy.
“Scooby” only resumed surfing at 11, when he started winning his first competitions and spending more time surfing.
“I had a tough life. My father was arrested when I was still a kid, and suddenly I saw myself as the man in the house,” Pedro once revealed.
“Everything could’ve been a disaster for me.”
“A friend of mine was murdered, but surfing saved my life, and I started providing for my family with the money I made.”
The surname “Scooby” originates from his childhood.
According to the surfer, “When I was a child, people said that I looked [and sounded] like the Scooby-Doo pup of the cartoon.”
Pedro’s talented surfing skills emerged when he was a teenager.
At 13, he pulled off a kerrupt flip completely naked. Later, he surfed Mexico’s Pascuales, also in the nude, for two consecutive days.
The goofy-footer got his first sponsor from a Californian brand at 15, and two years later, he would become Brazil’s first surfer signing for Nike.
Attraction for XXL Waves
Soon, it was clear that Pedro’s appetite for waves of consequence was inevitable.
In March 2010, he was at Puerto Escondido in Mexico during an XXL swell.
Despite not having a board, Pedro borrowed one and caught one of the best waves of the day.
In August 2011, while on honeymoon in Bora Bora, he asked his wife permission to fly to Tahiti and ride the Code Red swell at Teahupoo.
At the End of the Road, Pedro Vianna shone with another borrowed, too-small tow-in board.
However, in 2019, “Scooby” almost died in the treacherous waves of Nazaré.
The Rio de Janeiro-born surfer was hit in the head by the surfboard, caught and held under several waves, and unable to resurface.
“It was one of the most important days of my life. You only live once,” he said.
“There’s a video from the day of the accident, before going into the sea, where a friend asks if I wanted to surf.”
“The weather was ugly and rainy, and I said I didn’t want to go out, even though I always wanted to catch the most sinister waves.”
“Scooby” suffered a multi-wave hold-down but did not lose consciousness.
“I lost my vision, but I didn’t black out, thank goodness.”
After being taken out of the water, a tourist on the beach rushed to help.
“He put some blankets on me. I recovered really quickly.”
In 2024, as a team, “Scooby” and Lucas Chianca won the Nazaré Big Wave Challenge at Praia do Norte in Portugal.
The Brazilian free surfer has been consistently listed and nominated for some of the yearly big wave awards shortlists, mentored by a well-known in the scene, Carlos Burle.
Controversial and Charismatic
Pedro “Scooby” is not your average polished surfer.
His sharp personality and charisma often make headlines in the Brazilian gossip and tabloid media for good and not-so-good reasons, more interested in his tumultuous and glamorous personal life than his professional achievements.
The surfer’s recurrent television appearances, including Big Brother and Exathlon Brasil, and high-end fashion and jewelry marketing campaigns granted him unprecedented public visibility, at a rare level for a surfer anywhere in the world.
Nevertheless, it’s his skills as an all-round surfer that stand out. The Brazilian never enjoyed that his celebrity status overlapped his athlete DNA.
Pedro Vianna shines in the barrel, getting into the air and attacking walls of water of any size.
His fearless go-for-it attitude in giant surf makes him an unsurprisingly strong contender for a potential Guinness World Record.
“Scooby” was married to model and TV personality Luana Piovani from 2013 to 2019. The couple had three children: Dom, Bem, and Liz.
In 2020, the surfer married Brazilian model Cíntia Dicker. Two years later, they welcomed the birth of their first child, Aurora.
A Surfer Turned Businessman
The high-profile big wave surfer lived in Cascais, Portugal, for a few years before returning to his hometown, Rio.
Pedro “Scooby” Vianna has been building a fortune estimated at around $4 million thanks to several diversified investments in real estate, canned water, crypto, NFT, cosmetics, social media influencing, and modeling.
The Brazilian was also already an inspiration for samba.
Rogê and Arlindo Cruz composed “O Surfista e o Sambista” (“The Surfer and the Sambista”) in honor of the athlete.
In the song, Arlindo shares the vocals with Vianna himself.
At 5’9”, he boasts multiple tattoos that mirror the goofy-footer’s irreverent and non-conformist personality.
Don’t ask “Scooby” to change. He won’t.
Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com
