Grom of the Week: Ricky Fodor

Grom of the Week: Ricky Fodor

Age: 13, Marco Forster Middle School

By Andrea Swayne

Ricky Fodor discovered his passion for surfing in fifth grade after being inspired to try it while watching a friend. Now an eighth-grader and two-year member of the Marco Forster Middle School surf team, he knows riding waves is something he wants to continue for the rest of his life.

“I tried it and it just clicked,” he said. “I like how every wave is different. That makes it really challenging. I really like the whole lifestyle of it too.”

Ricky shortboards but competes mostly on a longboard. His contest schedule includes Western Surfing Association, Doheny Longboard Surfing Association, Christian Surfing Federation and Scholastic Surf Series events. This month he earned a second-place finish in middle school boys longboarding at the National Scholastic Surf Series Interscholastic State Championships.

In the WSA he is ranked No. 5 in boys U14 longboard and in SSS he is the No. 2-ranked surfer. Ricky is focused on training to become a professional surfer, but he makes sure his school work doesn’t suffer. An ‘A’ and ‘B’ student, he is considering studying marine biology in college.

Ricky recently became a certified scuba diver.  It is a favorite pastime as well as a skill he hopes to use in his future career. Ricky is continuing to work hard on improving his wave riding and looking for additional sponsorship opportunities.

“I would really like to thank my very first sponsor, A’s Burgers, for feeding me after surf practice in the cold mornings,” Ricky said. “Their food is really good. I usually get the bean and cheese burrito combo. You should try it.”