George Pittar has welcomed the feedback from passionate Brazilian surf fans after the Australian beat four of the country's world champions on his way to a maiden title.
The charismatic 23-year-old from Manly was still coming to terms with his Margaret River Pro victory as he paddled out for practice ahead of the World Surf League's third stop at Gold Coast's Snapper Rocks from Friday.
An emotional, drawn out run to the final in Western Australia featured wins over Filipe Toledo, Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira, before he out-hustled Gabriel Medina in the decider.
The final swung in the Australian's favour when judges ruled Medina had lost priority when he baulked on the crest of a wave.
Pittar scored a nine-point ride on his next wave to set up victory and has arrived on the Gold Coast ranked second, behind Medina, with his head still spinning.
"I was like, 'I'm not going to have enough time, this is hectic, I'm still coming down'," he told AAP ahead of a potential Friday second-round heat with another Brazilian, Alejo Muniz.
"But you just do what you know and when that 30 minutes comes around, you get back into it."
Pittar fielded many messages of congratulations, but also saw the feedback from those who felt Medina was hard done by.
Backlash after a judging decision is nothing new in the WSL, but it got to a point where former Brazilian professional Jadson Andre called out his countrymen for the latest example of toxic social media behaviour.
"Loving Brazil doesn’t mean agreeing with everything. Maturity is being fair, even when it doesn’t go your way," he wrote on Instagram.
Pittar is a tour rookie but is leaning into the drama after amicably sharing a stage with Medina at Thursday's pre-tournament press conference.
"I've definitely had a few messages that aren't too nice, but that's what it's all about and I love that stuff," he told AAP.
"There's so much passion involved in Brazilian culture and whether it's negative or positive, it's good for the sport.
"If the Aussies can get behind us too, it's sick.
"That's what we want to do in the sport; have that controversy and crazy moments, it's fun."
Pittar has plenty of time for Medina, but it's clear the gloves are off once they're in the water.
"You'd be surprised; these guys are the most lovely people," he said of the swathe of Brazilians on tour.
"Always so kind; their morals, their family ... they just have passionate supporters.
"But it's dog eat dog out here ... so individual and all about winning."
Three-time world champion Medina, on top of the standings after two events, won the Gold Coast Pro in 2014 on the way to his first title.
That year, in similar fashion to Pittar, he beat Australian greats Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, and Joel Parkinson.
He's happy to be back at Snapper Rocks, a break that hasn't hosted a Championship Tour event since 2019.
"That year was magical; on the tour with all my idols - Mick, Parko and Taj - and I beat all of them and I was just a kid," he said of 2014.
"Snapper is such a good place, I always have a good time here, the waves are so good.
"As Mick says, this is God's country."
