# Giulia Manfrini
**Giulia Manfrini** (11 August 1988 – 18 October 2024) was an Italian surfer, former snowboarder, and co-founder of the surf travel agency AWAVE Travel, who died after being struck in the chest by an imperial needlefish while surfing in the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia.[1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/italian-surfer-giulia-manfrini-dies-speared-needlefish-4834396) • [2](https://torino.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_ottobre_20/torino-giulia-manfrini-trafitta-da-un-aguglia-reale-in-indonesia-la-famiglia-e-l-allenatore-viveva-per-i-viaggi-e-lo-sport-e391b34d-31ae-4bcb-a775-e1bd4bbe2xlk.shtml) She was 36 and was well known among Italian surfers and on social media, where she documented her travels under the motto "No rain, no flowers".[3](https://www.corriere.it/sport/24_ottobre_19/giulia-manfrini-chi-era-surfista-morta-indonesia-a1dafc10-fa2b-458f-910e-1d136ee88xlk.shtml?pwcmp=vetrinaamp)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988, Venaria Reale (Turin), Italy[2](https://torino.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_ottobre_20/torino-giulia-manfrini-trafitta-da-un-aguglia-reale-in-indonesia-la-famiglia-e-l-allenatore-viveva-per-i-viaggi-e-lo-sport-e391b34d-31ae-4bcb-a775-e1bd4bbe2xlk.shtml) |
| Died | 18 October 2024, while surfing at Beng Bengs, Masokut island, Mentawai Islands, Indonesia[4](https://as.com/deportes_accion/surf/salen-a-la-luz-mas-detalles-de-la-muerte-de-giulia-manfrini-n/) |
| Cause of death | Chest wound from an imperial needlefish that leapt from the water; initially reported as a swordfish[1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/italian-surfer-giulia-manfrini-dies-speared-needlefish-4834396) |
| Snowboard results | Youth women's Coppa Italia snowboardcross and regional slalom champion 2006/07; Italian Big Air champion; 22nd at the 2008 junior world championships[3](https://www.corriere.it/sport/24_ottobre_19/giulia-manfrini-chi-era-surfista-morta-indonesia-a1dafc10-fa2b-458f-910e-1d136ee88xlk.shtml?pwcmp=vetrinaamp) • [5](https://www.affaritaliani.it/cronache/dalla-laurea-in-giurisprudenza-ai-successi-sulla-tavola-da-surf-e-snowboard-chi-era-giulia-manfrini-la-campionessa-italiana-trafitta-da-un-pesce-spada-in-indonesia-941053.html) |
| Education | Law degree (Giurisprudenza), University of Turin, 2013[3](https://www.corriere.it/sport/24_ottobre_19/giulia-manfrini-chi-era-surfista-morta-indonesia-a1dafc10-fa2b-458f-910e-1d136ee88xlk.shtml?pwcmp=vetrinaamp) |
| Business | Co-founder and co-director of AWAVE Travel, a London-based surf travel agency founded in 2020[6](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/awave-travel) • [7](https://it.linkedin.com/in/giulia-manfrini57445aab) |
| Other roles | Snowboard instructor, surf instructor in Bali, and freediving (apnea) instructor[3](https://www.corriere.it/sport/24_ottobre_19/giulia-manfrini-chi-era-surfista-morta-indonesia-a1dafc10-fa2b-458f-910e-1d136ee88xlk.shtml?pwcmp=vetrinaamp) • [1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/italian-surfer-giulia-manfrini-dies-speared-needlefish-4834396) • [2](https://torino.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_ottobre_20/torino-giulia-manfrini-trafitta-da-un-aguglia-reale-in-indonesia-la-famiglia-e-l-allenatore-viveva-per-i-viaggi-e-lo-sport-e391b34d-31ae-4bcb-a775-e1bd4bbe2xlk.shtml) |
## Snowboard career
Manfrini was born in Venaria Reale, near Turin, the only child of a civil lawyer, Giorgio Manfrini, and a physician, Chiara Pittarello.[2](https://torino.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_ottobre_20/torino-giulia-manfrini-trafitta-da-un-aguglia-reale-in-indonesia-la-famiglia-e-l-allenatore-viveva-per-i-viaggi-e-lo-sport-e391b34d-31ae-4bcb-a775-e1bd4bbe2xlk.shtml) She began skiing at four and took up snowboard at about 15, committing to the sport in 2003 under her first coach, Alessio Vivanet, at San Sicario.[2](https://torino.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_ottobre_20/torino-giulia-manfrini-trafitta-da-un-aguglia-reale-in-indonesia-la-famiglia-e-l-allenatore-viveva-per-i-viaggi-e-lo-sport-e391b34d-31ae-4bcb-a775-e1bd4bbe2xlk.shtml)
**Competitive record.** In the 2006/07 season she won the youth women's [Coppa Italia](https://www.edgepedia.org/coppa-italia) in snowboardcross and the regional slalom championship, and the following season she competed in the Coppa Europa.[3](https://www.corriere.it/sport/24_ottobre_19/giulia-manfrini-chi-era-surfista-morta-indonesia-a1dafc10-fa2b-458f-910e-1d136ee88xlk.shtml?pwcmp=vetrinaamp) She also became Italian champion in Big Air snowboard.[5](https://www.affaritaliani.it/cronache/dalla-laurea-in-giurisprudenza-ai-successi-sulla-tavola-da-surf-e-snowboard-chi-era-giulia-manfrini-la-campionessa-italiana-trafitta-da-un-pesce-spada-in-indonesia-941053.html) At the 2008 junior world championships she placed 22nd, and in 2009 she competed at her first [Universiade](https://www.edgepedia.org/universiade) in Harbin, China, in halfpipe, snowboardcross, and giant slalom, later appearing at Universiades in Turkey and Trento.[2](https://torino.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_ottobre_20/torino-giulia-manfrini-trafitta-da-un-aguglia-reale-in-indonesia-la-famiglia-e-l-allenatore-viveva-per-i-viaggi-e-lo-sport-e391b34d-31ae-4bcb-a775-e1bd4bbe2xlk.shtml) She then moved into teaching, qualifying as a second-level snowboard instructor.[2](https://torino.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_ottobre_20/torino-giulia-manfrini-trafitta-da-un-aguglia-reale-in-indonesia-la-famiglia-e-l-allenatore-viveva-per-i-viaggi-e-lo-sport-e391b34d-31ae-4bcb-a775-e1bd4bbe2xlk.shtml)
## Surfing and AWAVE Travel
Manfrini graduated in law in 2013, following her father's field of study, but a week after finishing her degree she flew to Portugal and built her life around surfing instead.[3](https://www.corriere.it/sport/24_ottobre_19/giulia-manfrini-chi-era-surfista-morta-indonesia-a1dafc10-fa2b-458f-910e-1d136ee88xlk.shtml?pwcmp=vetrinaamp) She used Portugal's Algarve coast as a training base and traveled between [Cantabria](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantabria), the Maldives, and Southeast Asia in search of waves, also working as a surf instructor in Bali.[2](https://torino.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_ottobre_20/torino-giulia-manfrini-trafitta-da-un-aguglia-reale-in-indonesia-la-famiglia-e-l-allenatore-viveva-per-i-viaggi-e-lo-sport-e391b34d-31ae-4bcb-a775-e1bd4bbe2xlk.shtml) • [1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/italian-surfer-giulia-manfrini-dies-speared-needlefish-4834396)
A surfing injury redirected her career: hitting a coral reef cut her quadriceps tendon and led her to slow down from pure performance, after which she founded AWAVE Travel, an agency arranging surf and snow trips.[3](https://www.corriere.it/sport/24_ottobre_19/giulia-manfrini-chi-era-surfista-morta-indonesia-a1dafc10-fa2b-458f-910e-1d136ee88xlk.shtml?pwcmp=vetrinaamp) The company, founded in 2020 and headquartered in London, describes itself as a surf travel agency offering luxury surf resorts and charters, with a team of surf travel advisors and a best-price promise on bookings.[6](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/awave-travel) Manfrini was its co-founder and co-director.[7](https://it.linkedin.com/in/giulia-manfrini57445aab) She found a second home in Indonesia, particularly the Mentawai Islands, which she described as the place where she could be herself.[3](https://www.corriere.it/sport/24_ottobre_19/giulia-manfrini-chi-era-surfista-morta-indonesia-a1dafc10-fa2b-458f-910e-1d136ee88xlk.shtml?pwcmp=vetrinaamp)
## Death
On the morning of 18 October 2024, Manfrini was surfing at Beng Bengs, a left-hand wave on Masokut island in the Mentawai archipelago off Sumatra, when a fish leapt from the water and pierced her chest while she waited at the peak.[4](https://as.com/deportes_accion/surf/salen-a-la-luz-mas-detalles-de-la-muerte-de-giulia-manfrini-n/) • [8](https://as.com/deportes_accion/surf/el-resort-donde-murio-giulia-manfrini-le-dedica-un-homenaje-n/) Early reports described the fish as a swordfish; the marine biologist Franco Andaloro later clarified that it was an imperial needlefish, a related but considerably smaller species.[1](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/italian-surfer-giulia-manfrini-dies-speared-needlefish-4834396) The wound was first reported as about 5 cm long, with later accounts saying it reached up to 14 cm and possibly the heart.[9](https://as.com/deportes_accion/surf/muere-giulia-manfrini-n/)
Fellow surfers pulled her from the water and took her to the nearest health center, the Pei Pei Pasakiat Taileleu facility, but she did not survive.[2](https://torino.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_ottobre_20/torino-giulia-manfrini-trafitta-da-un-aguglia-reale-in-indonesia-la-famiglia-e-l-allenatore-viveva-per-i-viaggi-e-lo-sport-e391b34d-31ae-4bcb-a775-e1bd4bbe2xlk.shtml) • [8](https://as.com/deportes_accion/surf/el-resort-donde-murio-giulia-manfrini-le-dedica-un-homenaje-n/) Lahmudin Siregar, the disaster management official for the Mentawai Islands, confirmed that the fish had struck her in the chest and that nothing could be done.[2](https://torino.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_ottobre_20/torino-giulia-manfrini-trafitta-da-un-aguglia-reale-in-indonesia-la-famiglia-e-l-allenatore-viveva-per-i-viaggi-e-lo-sport-e391b34d-31ae-4bcb-a775-e1bd4bbe2xlk.shtml) The Hidden Bay Resort, where she had been staying, held a memorial ceremony led by a sikerei, a Mentawai shaman, using traditional rituals of the region.[8](https://as.com/deportes_accion/surf/el-resort-donde-murio-giulia-manfrini-le-dedica-un-homenaje-n/)
## References
1. [Surfer Giulia Manfrini dies after being speared by needlefish, Nationalworld](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/italian-surfer-giulia-manfrini-dies-speared-needlefish-4834396)
2. [Torino, Giulia Manfrini trafitta dall'aguglia imperiale in Indonesia, Corriere della Sera Torino](https://torino.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/24_ottobre_20/torino-giulia-manfrini-trafitta-da-un-aguglia-reale-in-indonesia-la-famiglia-e-l-allenatore-viveva-per-i-viaggi-e-lo-sport-e391b34d-31ae-4bcb-a775-e1bd4bbe2xlk.shtml)
3. [Giulia Manfrini, chi era la surfista morta in Indonesia, Corriere della Sera](https://www.corriere.it/sport/24_ottobre_19/giulia-manfrini-chi-era-surfista-morta-indonesia-a1dafc10-fa2b-458f-910e-1d136ee88xlk.shtml?pwcmp=vetrinaamp)
4. [Salen a la luz más detalles de la muerte de Giulia Manfrini, Diario AS](https://as.com/deportes_accion/surf/salen-a-la-luz-mas-detalles-de-la-muerte-de-giulia-manfrini-n/)
5. [Dalla laurea in Giurisprudenza alla tavola da surf: chi era Giulia Manfrini, Affaritaliani.it](https://www.affaritaliani.it/cronache/dalla-laurea-in-giurisprudenza-ai-successi-sulla-tavola-da-surf-e-snowboard-chi-era-giulia-manfrini-la-campionessa-italiana-trafitta-da-un-pesce-spada-in-indonesia-941053.html)
6. [AWAVE Travel, LinkedIn company page](https://uk.linkedin.com/company/awave-travel)
7. [Giulia Manfrini, LinkedIn profile](https://it.linkedin.com/in/giulia-manfrini57445aab)
8. [El Resort donde murió Giulia Manfrini le dedica un homenaje, Diario AS](https://as.com/deportes_accion/surf/el-resort-donde-murio-giulia-manfrini-le-dedica-un-homenaje-n/)
9. [Muere Giulia Manfrini, Diario AS](https://as.com/deportes_accion/surf/muere-giulia-manfrini-n/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Water sports › Surfing, windsurfing, and board sports*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license