LOS ANGELES, California/USA  - Alejo Muniz (BRA), 20, defied the odds this year to achieve his dream of qualifying for the 2011 ASP World Tour. After the initiation of the ASP World Ranking and the crop from a 45 man field down to 32, Muniz’s introduction to the ASP Dream Tour marks him as the only first-timer to jump into the elite ranks for the beginning of next season aside from Julian Wilson (AUS), 22. The Argentinean-born natural-footer who was raised in Santa Catarina, Brazil recently sat down with ESPN to fill them in on his 2010 campaign and his thoughts on joining the Top 34. This… is their story…

20-year-old Alejo Muniz, from Bombinhas, Santa Caratina, Brazil, finished the 2010 ASP season ranked 31st in the world, which just puts him onto the elite world tour next season. Along with Julian Wilson he’ll be one of only two legitimate rookies to join the Top 32. We caught up with the kid for a quick minute recently and came to find that this is much more than just an accomplishment, it’s a dream come true.

How do you receive the good new about your qualification for 2011 ASP World Tour?
It was totally unexpected. This year, the new point system complicated things a little bit. I left Hawaii without knowing if I had qualified or not. After the Sunset contest, I was in good position, but still depending on Pipe Master results. I took a plane from Hawaii to Los Angeles, and meanwhile the contest started at Pipeline. Arriving at LAX I met Gabriel Pastori [a Brazilian surfer that was on the way to Hawaii]. He pushed me to check the contest results. I logged on to the Triple Crown website and the contest was right in the middle of a very important heat for me.