The power and the potential: young Brazilian surfers embrace an alternative.

ROBSON AND HIS COUSINS live about fifty feet from the ocean. For most surfers this would be a dream come true, but for the boys from Serviluz it is little more than a nightmare. Serviluz, their beachside bairro, is a typical Brazilian favela, or shantytown, located on the outskirts of Fortaleza in northeast Brazil. The boys here face the same challenges as adolescents all over the world, except that they also deal with the misery and perils of growing up in extreme poverty, facing daily challenges like working to keep their family fed, being hunted by gang members of the neighboring shantytown, and trying to avoid being senselessly beaten by the military police just because of the neighborhood they live in. Many in this situation turn to a life of crime. They join a gang, make money in the drug trade, or rob people on the streets at gunpoint. One of the cousins, Alexandre, did join a gang and is now serving jail time for the murder of a rival gang member. Seeking vengeance, members of the rival gang murdered his brother and continue to hunt anyone related to him. "He's a great disappointment to the family," says Robson's mother. "We didn't raise our children like that" When asked if they have ever considered living such a lifestyle, the boys all agree there is no future in it. Says Ze, "criminals have only two trophies: the jail and the cemetery--I'll stick with surf." They all seem to feel the same way; surfing gives them a sense of hope they get nowhere else. Although none of them surf solely to become professional surfers, they all dream about it and hope that someday it will bring a better life.