Has Gabriel Medina become the most influential surfer in history?

Gabriel Medina has reached a new milestone in his already illustrious career (which includes three World Surf League championships, for example), consolidating himself as the most influential surfer in history. His participation in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games gave him sporting recognition with a bronze medal and catapulted him to the top of social media, surpassing all previous growth records for an athlete in this field.

The image that captured Medina triumphantly emerging from a giant wave at the surfing event in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, went viral worldwide. The photograph, taken by renowned sports photographer Jérôme Brouillet, has been shared millions of times on platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, symbolizing excellence and strength in this sport.

The impact of this image has been so significant that Medina has experienced an unprecedented increase in his number of followers. In just a few days, the Brazilian has added 2.4 million new followers on Instagram, surpassing 13.8 million in total. This figure positions him as the surfer with the most followers in history. It places him above internationally renowned figures, such as actor Matthew McConaughey and comedian Chris Rock. The 11-time world surfing champion, Kelly Slater, has just over 3 million.

How does he compare to other surfers on social media?

To put this growth into perspective, other Olympic surfers have also seen significant increases in their following, though none come close to Medina’s numbers. Tatiana Weston-Webb, who won the silver medal in the women’s competition, added 457,000 followers, representing a 58% increase, reaching 1.1 million in total. This increase makes her the most followed female surfer and the second most followed in terms of growth during the Olympics.

Most astonishingly, however, with his 2.4 million new followers, Medina has single-handedly surpassed the total growth of all other male Olympic surfers, who added nearly 748,000 followers together. This means that Medina has been responsible for over 76% of the total new followers gained by male surfers, an unprecedented achievement in surfing history.

This meteoric rise on social media has made sports marketing experts consider him one of the most valuable figures in the digital world. It is estimated that each sponsored post by Medina on Instagram could generate an income of up to $50,000...