I'm João Batata, from Portugal, and I've been chasing waves like a maniac for over 30 years.

Early on, I realised that if I wanted to stay in the water doing what I love, I needed a solid foundation to support it. That curiosity eventually led me into the health sciences, where I specialised in exercise physiology, sleep medicine, pain science, and strength & conditioning. Today, that background shapes the way I think about health, performance, and longevity in the water.

Like many surfers, I used to believe surfing alone was enough. I didn't train, didn't pay much attention to recovery, and never really thought about it. Until I had to.

A shoulder injury turned into recurring pain, and later, severe episodes of low back pain kept me out of the water for months. Looking for answers, I found what most people find: plenty of noise, quick fixes, and very little that actually works.

Working as a health professional, helping people understand and manage pain, reinforced something I'd already begun to realise: if we want to keep doing what we love, we need to look after our bodies.

That led me deeper into both surfing and the science behind it, trying to better understand the physical demands of the sport and how to prepare the body to meet them.

That's how The Surfer's Health was born. A place where surf meets science, built around one simple idea: turning research into practical, evidence-based guidance that surfers can actually use.

My goal isn't to make things more complicated. It's to help surfers better understand their body, make informed decisions, and keep surfing for life.

JB