Brazil Upcycle Contest 2016

Last Saturday night, October 1st, Vissla hosted the 2016 Creators Contest Brazilian Finalist Exhibition. The event was held at Flutuar Concept Store in Sao Paulo, where its open doors were flooded with the finalists and surfing lovers.

This is the first time that Brazil has hosted its own gallery event, made up of only Brazilian finalists -- 10 in total, from 4 different states. 3 of these finalists were also selected as Global Finalists, and have been invited to attend an event in California at the in the end of this month.

The Creators Contest exhibition brought together the new creators with a large variety of ideas, materials and processes, as well as people who had never created anything before, and took this opportunity to do so.

Milk boxes, plastic bottles, skateboard decks, block remains, pvc pipes, street sign material remains, plastic bags, ironing boards, agave wood, were all used in creating new, upcycled creations that could be used in the ocean, ranging from handplanes to aipos, to asymmetric surfborads, to stand up paddle boards.

Though everyone had high expectations for the night, the main thing was the gathering of the new “Creators & Innovators,” who were able to exchange ideas and life’s histories, and create new friendships.

The judges, Henrique Perrone (Ogro Surfboards), Rodrigo Matsuda (Lasca Surfboards), Jair Bortoleto (photographer), and Andrew Serrano (surfer), rated the projects based on the following the criteria: Innovation, Functionality, Creativity, Design and Aesthetics.

Little did we know that there would be a tie for first place between two of the finalists, so to decide on a winner, the judges used Sustainability as the final criteria. Then, a winner emergered...

In first place was the dynamic duo Henrique Silva (@ricoisonfire) and Thales Costa (@dlthales), who created a hand-plane with a milk box (Tetrapack®) block and holler paper, old handle bag and epóxi. For their amazing creation, the two walked away with a brand new twin fin surfboard by Henrique Perrone (Ogro Surfboards).

Second place went to Filipe Blanco (@blancofilipe), who took an alaia from Rodrigo Matsuda (Lasca Surfboards) and created his "Project Ovni Asymmetric," a didactical board that showcased his production process, merging the new with the old, and finishing with a photo wall featuring all the people who have inspired him throughout his career.

In third place came Guilherme Drullis (@druliasurfcraft) with a mini kneel board made with a styrofoam block found in the street, plastic canvas, silver tape and acrylic paint.

It is safe to say that this local event may have been the first, but it definitely will not be the last in Brazil. We can't wait to see what creations emerge next year!