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Tour for three years, taking first place
in 2008, then second place in 2009
at the Nike Pro in San Clemente,
California. Bourgeois set the gold
standard at the World Surfing Games
in Costa Rica and has graced six covers
of international surfing magazines,
including Surfer, Stab, Transworld
SKATEboarding, Surfing Magazine and
more.
Today, consistently accurate worldwide
surf predictions are available
online, which drives professional surfers
to contests, video productions,
photo shoots and special events.
“My career as a professional surfer
is nonstop,” Bourgeois says. “A lot
of opportunities in the surfing world
come up last minute. A certain swell
will pop up on the map. Then you
have two days to get to the place to
catch the swells. Surfers are driven to
chase and ride good swells, that’s why
a lot of the time it’s last minute.”
Bourgeois was born to surf. A
New Jersey native, he laid his foundation
for surfing on Wrightsville
Beach when his family relocated to
Wilmington. He brought with him
a fresh excitement to the area’s surfing
crowd. His ripping maneuvers
have become dependable judge and
crowd pleasers. A cut above the rest,
Bourgeois is a leading representative of
a group of young professional surfers
who rely on a new approach to speed,
quickness and innovation. This new
era of globetrotting professional surfers
charge the surf with exploding air
shows, tail slides and innovative radical
maneuvers of their own creation. A
role model to many, gaggles of young
and mature surfers are inspired by our
hometown hero.
“I enjoy all the different aspects
of surfing,” Bourgeois says. “One
of the most important things to me
is all of the friends I’ve met all over
the world. Some of those people are
like family to me now. Having the
opportunity to travel to all those
places and make a lot of really great
friends along the way, that’s one of
the most important things to me.
It’s awesome.”