Salvadoran surfer Bryan Pérez, trained by Key Biscayne coach Iggy Larrea, won an ALAS Pro Tour event at Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica.
Pérez, known as "La Pantera Rosa," landed a last-second aerial maneuver in his semifinal heat to clinch a spot in the final. He reached the podium. The surfer represented both El Salvador and Key Biscayne's Team Key Aquatics program, Larrea wrote in a column published Sept. 10 in the Islander News and Key Biscayne Portal.
The Latin American Professional Surfers Association, known as ALAS, runs a competitive circuit across Latin America and the Caribbean. The Playa Hermosa stop was part of the 2026 tour.
Coach Has Deep Roots on the Island
Larrea, a lifelong Key Biscayne resident who calls himself a "Key Rat," has coached aquatic athletes on the island for nearly three decades. He and his brother Gaby run Team Key Aquatics, a swimming and aquatic sports academy based at the Key Biscayne Community Center. The academy's SwimFit program mixes swimming, running, push-ups, sit-ups, squats and elements of surfing.
Coaching Extends from the Pool to El Salvador
For nearly a decade, Larrea's coaching work has extended beyond the Key Biscayne pool to El Salvador's surf community. He has helped surfers including Pérez with the physical side of their preparation, building strength and conditioning their bodies for competition.
Pérez Looks to Refocus on Having Fun
After the win, Pérez told Larrea he wanted to get back to having fun, to laughing, staying relaxed and enjoying himself in the water, Larrea wrote. That message resonated with the coach's own philosophy at the academy, which he describes as "putting the FUN in the FUN-damentals."
Larrea wrote that the aerial was spectacular but that everything leading to it mattered, too: the years of surfing, the physical preparation, the repetition, the mistakes, the experience.
Next Stop on the Tour Is in Puerto Rico
The next event on the ALAS 2026 calendar is the La Marginal Surfing Pro, scheduled for Oct. 9-12 at La Marginal in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
