Ricardo Leopoldo is 35 years old. Together with his brother Leo he founded Peniche Surf Camp. Ricardo was born and grew up in Peniche. He began surfing at age 14, started to compete at 16 and his first surf lessons were given at the age of 19. He has always had a hunger for surfing and has dedicated himself to the sport. Ricardo knowsall the Peniche surf spots very well, has surfed countless Portuguese beaches from north to south and travelled to  France, Spain, the Azores, Madeira, Morocco, the Cape Verde islands, Brazil, Panama, Mexico, Canada, the  U.S.A. and Indonesia, always in search of the "perfect wave".

As a competitor he won some local championships, was a runner-up at the University Championship Tour and was among the 30 best national surfers for several years. In 1998 he saw his dedication rewarded when Surf Portugal Magazine, the most respected amongst Portugueses surfers, published a cover shot of Ricardo surfingone of the local Peniche beaches.

As a surf teacher, Ricardo received a surf teacher diploma from the Portuguese Surf Federation in 1994 and hasn´t stopped teaching since. In the same year at the age of 19 he opened and started to teach at his own surf school. , then later at other schools and finally at Peniche Surf Camp since it opened in April 2004. 

Ricardo is also one of the founders of the local Surf Club where he was nominated president for 5 years. His main sponsors are RIP CURL and Phynix Surfboards.

Apart from being a surfer Ricardo has a university degree in Languages and Modern Literature from the University Autónoma of Lisbon and a Master of Science in Education and is therefore a qualified high school teacher.