Local Panama Rippers

Panama has a hand full of hardcore rippers.  These include:

Peter Novey : Peter has been ranked in the top 3 in the Panamanian surfing circuit for the last 2 years and has won several contests throughout the circuit. He has also competed internationally. He is a radical, exhuberant surfer with a nack for speed and has a bag so full of tricks that you would think he is a magician. You will generally find Peter out at Malibu, Punta Teta, Cerena, Rocky Point, Catalina, or Isla Grande ripping so hard he will make your head spin. He is currently sponsored by Lost, Reef, Volcom, Super Deportes, Freestyle, and Boa Surfboards. Aside from surfing, Peter is a professional graphic design artist and owns a radical new magazine called "El Revolver". Check out the photo album for some killer pics of Peter.

Cholito (Monkey Man):  You will definitely see Cholito in action if you go to Santa Catalina.  Cholito is probably one of the best surfers in Panama.  He has the arms of a motorboat, and he catches about 10 times the number of waves of any normal surfer.  He grew up in the small town of Santa Catalina, and is a hometown hero there.  He wins just about every contest he enters, so if you know of any good sponsors, please recommend him for the team.  He is very poor and needs all the help he can get from sponsors.  Photos

Garbo: You will definitely see Garbo in action if you go to Santa Catalina.  Garbo grew up in the small town of Santa Catalina, and is also a hometown hero there.  He has a super smooth style and takes off on the deepest, sickest waves with no fear whatsoever. Garbo has done very well in the local surfing circuit, and has won a few contests. He is also very poor and needs all the help he can get from sponsors, so if you know of any good surf company who is looking for good talent in Central America, we highly recommend him.  Photos

Patrick Castagnet (Moscon):  Patrick is a hardcore surfer and photographer from Panama City, and has made a name for himself in the surfing world internationally.  He has won several national championships in the Panama surfing circuit, and continues to be a major player.   He is currently sponsored by Quicksilver.   Many of the photos on this site are Patrick.   Photos

Gary Savedra:  Gary is from the town of Chitre, near the beach called Venado.  He is also one of the top surfers in Panama, and has managed to promote himself well and obtain several international sponsors such as Billabong, Byrne, Reef, and several others.  Gary has won several national championships in recent years, and has traveled and competed in countries all over the globe.  Gary also recently opened a new surf shop in the town of Chitre.  You can generally find  Photos

Pimplin:  Pimplin is from the town of Chitre, near the beach called Venado.  He is currently ranked in the top 5 of the Panama surfing circuit.  Pimplin is a hardcore ripper and has won several contests in recent years.  There are several photos of Pimplin on this site.  You can generally find Pimplin surfing Cambutal, his favorite spot in Panama.  Photos

Vampiro (“Jorgi”):   Vampiro is one of the most radical surfers in Panama.  You can compare him with the Christian Fletchers and Matt Archibalds of the USA – covered in tatoos and poping arials and 360’s on just about every wave.  He has made a good name for himself in the surfing world internationally, with sponsors such as Element7.com and several others.  He is also one of our surf guides, so you will most likely see him when you come to Panama on one of our surf tours.  Photos

Jon Hanna (“Jonny”):  He is a local surfer from the once American Canal Zone of Panama, and has won several contests in Panama, and won a national championship a few years back.  Jon has lived in and traveled to Hawaii, California, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, and several other hot surfing locations.  Jon competes in the local surfing circuit, but he is more focused on soul surfing, and business in general.  Jon is currently an Offshore Financial Consultant, and owner/president of PanamaSurfTours.com .  Photos

Adrian Cedeno:  Adrian is a local from the town of Las Bovedas, in Panama City.  He is one of the most stylish surfers in Panama, and has won several contests and national championships in Panama.  He pops airs all the time, and has one of the nicest snaps ever seen.  However, he has had some bad luck in recent years due to a knee injury while playing soccer.  He is now recovering, and will be competing again soon.  He needs sponsors, so if you know of anyone who wants to pick up some good talent, this guy is highly recommended.  Photos

Diego:  Diego is the son of Italo, who is a Brazilian who runs a surf camp at Santa Catalina.  Diego has grown up in a surfing family, his dad being one of Brazils top surfers during the 70’s.  Diego is super stylish, yet powerful in his surfing.  He is rated in the top 5 of the Panama surfing circuit.  Photos