It was Aritz Aranburu's 5th place finish at the ASP WQS 6-Star Prime Reef Hawaiian Pro that secured his spot on the Dream Tour for 2008. However, his hometown victory at the 2007 Zarautz Pro Surf ASP WQS event, with the whole crowd behind him, was an amazing bonus to his impressive year. Aranburu grew up surfing the Basque coast of Spain, picking up his first surfboard when he was 7 and joining the Quiksilver team by the time he was 14. A serious competitor and professional athlete, Aranburu has had numerous successes in his surfing career with a victory at the Hang Loose Pro ASP WQS in Brazil, 2nd at the Sooruz Lancanau Pro ASP WQS in France, and a 3rd at the 2006 O'Neill Highland Pro in Scotland. He has a passion for big wave surfing and was the first European invited to the big wave competition in memory of Eddie Aikau at Waimea Bay, Hawaii.

As the first Basque in history to join the Tour, and with a fierce drive to get to the top, unfailing support from his family and friends and training that seems to be paying off, Aranburu's exceptional level of surfing should see some excellent results this year on the Tour.

weight: 157 lbs (71 kilos)

height: 5'8" (172 cm)

stance: Regular (natural) foot

sponsors: Quiksilver wetsuits and clothing, Pukas surfboards, DC Shoes and Fiat Freestyle

shapers: Cristian (Al Merrick), Peter Daniels, Tokoro and Rawson

quiver: From 5'11" x 18 1/4" x 2 5/6"

favorite wave: Mundaka

favorite maneuver: Barrel

favorite surfers: Tom Curren, Kelly Slater and Dane Reynolds

2008 Rating: 44

2008 Points: 2170

2008 earnings: $35,000.00

Career earnings: $172,815.00

highest ASP World Tour rating: Rookie on ASP World Tour in 2007

years on ASP World Tour: 2008 will be Aritz's 1st year on tour

elite inception: 2008

hard yards: Started competing on the ASP WQS in 2005

filmography: Young Guns III (Bonus)

elite tour victories: (0)