00:00A surfer from San Juan, La Union won a medal in international competitions.
00:06He is the next gold medalist in the Summer Olympics.
00:15In the northern coastline of the Philippines,
00:16La Union is one of the most popular surfing destinations in the country.
00:23Local and foreign tourists visit the world-class waves in the town of San Juan,
00:28also known as the Surfing Capital of the North.
00:32In the town of San Juan, in Urbis, Tondo,
00:35he grew up and learned how to surf.
00:39The two-time Philippine Surfing Champion and one of the top surfers in the country today,
00:43is Rogelio Esquivel Jr., better known as JR.
00:49Hi amazing people, I'm JR Esquivel and welcome to my playground.
00:54No matter how popular San Juan, La Union is to tourists,
00:57the 27-year-old JR is just as popular, especially to surfing enthusiasts.
01:04He was the first and only Filipino athlete to qualify and compete
01:09in the competition of the best surfers in the world,
01:13the World Surf League in Malibu, California last year.
01:18He proved that Filipinos can compete in world-class waves.
01:23First of all, Ben qualified in Asia, which means I won.
01:27We were so happy because it was the first time I entered the World Duffer Tour.
01:35When I arrived at the World Duffer Tour in Huntington Beach, Urbis,
01:41I was so starstruck because I was just watching my opponents on TV, on YouTube.
01:48At that time, I saw them in person.
01:53Since JR was one of the top 10 longboard surfers in the world last year,
01:58he also qualified for the Longboard Tour this year.
02:03This past June, JR participated in the Mexi Longfest 2024 held in Mazatlan, Mexico.
02:11We were so happy because there were so many great and professional longboarders.
02:20There were many of them who wanted to go to the Philippines because they know us.
02:27But JR's goal is not only to promote the fame and reputation of the country in the international stage.
02:34He is also the virtual ambassador in promoting the Philippines as a surfing destination in the world.
02:41There are so many beautiful surf spots here in the Philippines,
02:44but there are still many spots that are not yet discovered because there are so many islands here in the Philippines.
02:52For sure, there are so many beautiful waves.
02:55But did you know that JR became an international athlete before he was known?
02:59There is a surfer in San Juan, La Union who became the poster boy of Philippine Surf League.
03:05This is his brother, Pox, the one-legged surfer of La Union who became JR's inspiration.
03:11But where is the other one-legged surfer?
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