How champion surfer went from ‘inoperable' brain tumour to Olympic glory leading France
Within months of stepping away from competition, Flores, the most successful male European in surfing history, was diagnosed with a brain tumour that turned his life upside down.
He survived to tell the tale, after years of silence, in a new documentary, Dos au Mur ('Backs to the Wall'), which premiered in Paris on June 4.
'I told myself it was time to talk about it,' he says. 'I needed to get it off my chest, to send a message to my children and others who might need it. This was clearly the hardest ordeal of my life.'
Flores rides a monster wave during the first round of The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau invitational at Waimea Bay in Waimea, Hawaii on February 25, 2016. Photo: AFP
Flores was born in Reunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean that is a paradise for surfers – in spite of the large number of sharks.
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