MEET THE BURLEIGH BROTHERS MAKING WAVES IN SURFING
BORN in Brazil and now based at Burleigh, Max Lucas and his younger brother Lucas are the Gold Coast’s latest super groms.
Initially they joined the MNM Boardriders – Mermaid, Nobbys, Miami – but made the switch to Burleigh to be closer to their friends.
“MNMs taught me so much from competition skills and helping the community,” said Max, 14.
“Transitioning to Burleigh Boardriders has been great as many of my friends are part of Burleigh and they have a very competitive mindset.”
Max, who won the under-18s at 14 years, rates Burleigh Point as his favourite break especially Sharky’s and says Burleigh’s Liam O’Brien is his favourite surfer.
Being Brazilian-born, nine-year-old Lucas’s favourite surfer is world champion Italo Ferreira.
“His surfing he said. is very radical,”
His other favourite is Julian Wilson because “he’s Australian”.
“Burleigh has taught me how to compete in a heat and stay calm if I need a score,” said Lucas, who was third in the under-16s at the age of 8.
To say the Deffenti brothers are highly competitive among themselves is an understatement.
“It is always a competition,” Max said. “We may be surfing on foamies when it’s flat or surfing barrelling reef breaks, I think that surfing with each other pushes us to surf better.”
Lucas’s reply to surfing sibling rivalry is cheeky and belies their closeness.
“Having an older brother is kind of bad because he is annoying and he always beats Dad and me in the DCT (Deffenti Championship Tour).
“Our surfing is different because he throws more spray and he does more radical turns.”
Lucas’s contest record for a young grom is impressive – first in the Oz Grom Cup, first in four different Wahu Woolworths Groms – but his equal fifth in the Queensland under-12 titles at the age of seven was outstanding.
Max won the Volcom event last year, scoring a new board and being awarded star performer of the day.
Lucas was sidelined in 2019 when a surfer at Dbah without a nose guard ran straight into him, penetrating his cheekbones. It could have blinded him for life.
For a couple of youngsters, they are well travelled having surfed in Brazil, Barbados, California, Maldives, Mentawais and Bali where they scored perfect waves last year.
Both attend Somerset College. Max likes physics and Lucas enjoys English and PE.
Both ride super tiny DMS boards.