t 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.