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Associated Press

Rio de Janeiro’s main beaches are usually bustling on sunny weekends, but activity ground to a near standstill on one stretch of sand on September 8.
People hold up their phones to record athletic feats they have never before witnessed, or even imagined.
The game? Footvolley, a combination of football and beach volleyball. The athlete? A three-year-old border collie named Floki.
Floki sparks wonder among bystanders as he competes in a game even humans struggle to get a handle on.

Footvolley rules are essentially the same as beach volleyball, but with a slightly lower net and, like in football, players are forbidden from using their hands and arms. Floki springs up from the sand to drive the ball with his mouth.
He has become something of an internet sensation in Brazil, with hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok.
Floki’s owner, Gustavo Rodrigues, is a footvolley coach, but swears he did not plan this. He had wanted an American Bully, a decidedly less sprightly breed.
Floki came into Rodrigues’ life instead and revealed his potential when, at just two months old, he started jumping after balloons.
He does things that even some professionals don’t
Gustavo Rodrigues, Floki’s owner
Rodrigues started Floki out on what is called altinha, where a group standing in a circle juggles a soccer ball for as long as possible.
In 2023, Floki made his debut in the much more complex, competitive game of footvolley – a hobby enjoyed by some Brazilian football stars after they retire, including World Cup winners Ronaldinho and Romário.
Footvolley players need poise, agility, coordination, timing and finesse. With just two players covering one side of the court, quick sprints back and forth on soft sand under the baking sun are required. It is no mean feat, but Floki was a natural. A star was born.
“He does things that even some professionals don’t – like positioning on the court,” says Rodrigues, 26. “Sometimes the ball goes from one side [of the court] to the other, and he doesn’t keep his back turned to it. He turns towards the ball to always hit it straight on.”

It is clear this high-energy dog lives for the game. Even while resting in the shade of the beach’s caipirinha bar, he is laser-focused on the match on the adjacent court.
When playing, he barks at Rodrigues to pass him the ball and seems to understand at least the basic rules.
At times, rather than passing back to Rodrigues for the third and final touch their opponents expect, he sneaks the ball over the net himself to score a point. Then he jumps into Rodrigues’ arms to celebrate.

One of the awestruck onlookers on Sunday, Luiza Chioli, 21, came to Rio from Sao Paulo. She already knew the famous Floki from TikTok but did not expect front-row seats to watch him while sipping her gin and tonic.
“Seeing social media, we thought it was just cuts, that they used the best takes,” she says. “But we saw that he played and performed the whole time. He did really well. It is really cool.”
As Floki’s follower count has grown, partnerships and endorsement deals have come rolling in.
Rodrigues and Floki live in Brasilia, Brazil’s inland capital, but often travel to Rio – the mecca of footvolley – and other places to show off Floki’s skills, make marketing appearances and create monetised social media content.
No one likes to lose a point to him, so people play their hearts out against us.
Gustavo Rodrigues
Floki’s Sunday began with almost an hour playing beside former footvolley champion Natalia Guitler, who has been called Brazil’s Queen of the Beach.
He scampered for drinks of water and dips in the ocean as the two were filmed playing together. By the end, both Guitler and Floki were scrambling for shade.
“We’re dead,” Guitler said as she collapsed onto the sand next to a panting Floki. Someone passed her a phone to check out the best clips for Instagram, where she has almost 3 million followers.
“Me and my bestie @dog_altinha playing footvolley,” she wrote in a later post showing their long rally..












View this post on Instagram























A post shared by 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗿 (@nataliaguitler)



After a rest and another footvolley session, Floki heads to a more remote beach to do a marketing shoot for Farm, a fashion designer that has become the paragon of Rio’s breezy tropical style, both in Brazil and abroad.
Then Floki promotes a brand of dog ice pops on Instagram, gnawing a banana-flavoured one himself, and gives an altinha demonstration at a shopping centre.
With their weekend marketing blitz in Rio over, Rodrigues and Floki head back to Brasilia, where their influencer hustle takes a back seat to the hustle of playing competitive matches.
They win about one in every three, Rodrigues says, and their opponents are always desperate to avoid being beaten by a dog.
“It generates talk, and people make fun,” he says. “No one likes to lose a point to him, so people play their hearts out against us.”


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Brazilian Border Collie Floki plays footvolley. Photo: AP

Border collie Floki and Brazilian former footvolley champion Natalia Guitler play the sport on a Rio de Janeiro beach. The dog’s unusual skills have made him an internet sensation, and a representative for fashion brands, canine ice pops and more. Photo: AP

Floki plays footvolley on Leblon Beach in Rio de Janeiro, on Sunday, September 8, 2024. Photo: AP

Floki high-fives his coach and owner Gustavo Rodrigues as they prepare to play footvolley. Photo: AP

Floki and Rodrigues celebrate winning a point during a game of footvolley. Photo: AP

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Footvolley-playing dog Floki has charmed social media and Rio de Janeiro beachgoers with his skills. Now brand partnerships are rolling in


Footvolley-playing dog Floki has charmed social media and Rio de Janeiro beachgoers with his skills. Now brand partnerships are rolling in.


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