Davide Ionico: the present and future of Italian SUP

Davide Ionico is only 17 but the kid is fast.  This year, the young italian SUP surfer and racer from Fanatic has stepped up his game and has pushed his career internationally ranking in the top 10 of every European race he has taken part in. He even ranked 7th at Lost Mills! Let’s ask him a few questions…

Hello Davide Ionico, could you please introduce yourself?
Hi, I’m Davide Ionico, I’m 17 and I’m from Gonars, but I spend most of my time in Lignano, a seaside area facing the Adriatic sea where I train either in the water at Gimmi Windsurf School or at Alcatraz gym.

What brands are currently sponsoring you? 
My main sponsors are Fanatic and Ion.

What are your best SUP achievements?
I reached my best result this year in Germany at the Lost Mills race, where I placed 7th overall between the big names of the international sup scene. 

How has your season been so far?
My season is going well this year since I competed and obtained good results in several races, concentrating especially on 4 of the Eurotour races, where I sticked to the first 10 positions. I’m currently 13th on the overall ranking of the Eurotour. Even if I am still tied to the italian national races, I’d like to concentrate on World Tour and World Series on the years to come.

Which paddlers inspire you the most?
The most inspiring paddlers to me are Airton, Zane and Connor for sure, but also all the italian athletes such as Paolo Marconi, the Nika brothers, Giordano Bruno Capparella and especially Davide Codotto, my training and travelling buddy always pushing me to get better and of course the only person that can stand me for more than 3 hours.

What is your favourite destination?
The best surf trip I went on so far was in Cape Verde over the winter with Airton Cozzolino. The place is beautiful and there is a good choice of surf spots with different types of peaks and awesome wave conditions, but I wouldn’t have had so much fun without the crazy group of people surrounding me. Among the destinations I would love to hit as soon as possible are Bali, Costa Rica and Brazil.

What is your objective at Italia Surf Expo this week-end?
My goal for the Stand Up World Series at the Rome Surf Expo is to be in the top 10 and of course have fun in such a big event where all the best paddlers meet up to compete and party.
Yeew!!