Some back story, in case you’re not as familiar with this young pup as you are with guys like Owen Wright or John John Florence. Matt Banting is 17 years old. He is a Monster Energy team rider. He is a regularfoot. He is from Port Macquarie, Australia. And he is a winner.

This past Saturday at the first-ever Australian Open of Surfing, Matty won the Junior title against fellow Aussie Tim Macdonald. Victory! Success! But instead of going out and celebrating his win like a normal teen would, Matty rested. He would do battle again on Sunday. And while the conditions didn’t really show up (the waves were about thigh-high the entire contest), Matty did, and surfed his way through the Men’s division all the way to the finals, beating international heavyweights like Jordy Smith, Granger Larson and Matt Wilkinson along the way. (He even smoked Glenn Hall with a 19.33 wave total in the Round of 16.) He faced Floridian goofyfoot Evan Geiselman in the final. The two went blow for blow, wave for wave, air-reverse for air-reverse throughout the heat. But it was Banting’s polished and aggressive surfing that gave him the bump, and he edged out Evan 16.83 to 15.53. “This is the best week of my life,” Matty told a mob of reporters that surrounded him as he came up the beach. He would graciously receive his $25,000 dollar check. Hoist the trophy above his head and then — and only then — would he go out and celebrate like a normal teen.