- WSL / Tony Heff

Leonardo Fioravanti's surf career came to an abrupt and tragic conclusion in Round 3 of the 2015 Volcom Pipe Pro. Suffering a horrendous wipeout, the Italian ended up getting hammered on the reef and breaking his back.

"It was one of those big, weird, kind of stormy days. Scary Pipeline, you know?" Leo told Surfer Magazine the following year. "This bomb came through in my Round 3 heat and I thought it looked pretty good, but I was in a bad spot. If I had been deeper, I could've rolled in and stalled for the barrel. Or if I had been wider, I could've gotten under it as it doubled up. But I was stuck in the middle. I took off under the lip, it pinched and then doubled up. It threw me straight into the reef."

Leo's had to contend with some other injury issues as well since then, but he's now fully healthy, surfing better than ever, and after a strong run in the WSL Countdown Series he just landed back in Hawaii.

Eager to get back down to the business of charging Pipe and winning heats, his new YouTube edit gives us a good glimpse at the excitement level he's carrying into this upcoming season. Based on the vibes, expect to see big things from him when things kick off at the Billabong Pipe Masters next month.

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