Ian Picano Gentil, was born in Palm Beach, Florida on Feb. 12, 1996. Ian is a true water baby, meaning he was literally born underwater in a bathtub at home. When he was around 1 week old, he started to go to the ocean with his parents almost every single day. He grew up in Hawaii on the island of Maui. As soon as he could walk, his favorite past time was to push for hours, a big plastic wagon on any sandy beach so he could see the track the wagon left behind in the sand. At 6 years old, Ian had his first surf sessions. At 7 years old he spent one year in Brazil, where he began to play soccer twice a week after school, and it soon became his favorite thing to do. He quickly became the fastest and one of the best players on the team. At 8 years old he returned to Maui and got back into surfing on a regular basis. He quickly progressed and caught the eye of big wave charger Yuri Soledade, who was a close friend of Ian's father, and noticed Ian's natural talents in the water. Yuri began taking Ian surfing everyday and over time became his coach/mentor. At 9 years old Ian started doing local contests on Maui and also participating in some HASA events. At 10 years old, he started taking his surfing more seriously, doing all the NSSA events, and at 11 years old he competed in his first nationals where he finished runner-up in the mini grom division. At 12 years old he competed in his second NSSA Nationals where he came in 3rd place in the Explorer Menehune Division. At age 13, on his third participation in the 2009 NSSA Nationals, Ian won two national titles. He put on an outstanding performance in the open boys final, where he surfed a flawless heat, posting two perfect 10's, a performance only achieved two other times in the 31 years of the NSSA Nationals!

Besides his NSSA competition successes, Ian has begun to travel more internationally to free surf on photo/video trips. His list of favorite places he has traveled are the Mentawais, Gold Coast of Australia, Nicaragua, Tahiti and Brazil. Ian also recently was granted a wildcard slot into the coveted US Open of Surfing held at Huntington Beach in July 2009. Ian's current sponsors include Nike 6.0, Lost Surfboards/Clothing, Oneill Wetsuits and Da Kine.

Ian has his heart centered on surfing, his family, friends, his dog. His other passions include drawing and painting (especially on his boards.) This year, 2009, Ian is starting home schooling to allow him more time in the water as well as to allow him to travel on surf trips. His passion for surfing is likely to take his skills to a whole new level in the near future.