Colapinto has been surfing in competition since the 2011 men's junior season at 13 years old.[2] In 2015, he won first place at the Junior Men's US Open of Surfing.
As a junior surfer, Colapinto went viral in 2016 with an air-reverse to win a Qualifying Series heat at the Hawaii Pro.[3]
In 2017, he made the final of the WSL's World Junior Championship. He finished the year winning the Triple Crown in Hawaii and claimed the top spot in the Qualifying Series rankings. He thus qualified for the following year's Championship Tour.
At the 2018 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast he completed a triple-barrel and scored a perfect 10, and obtained a third-place finish. He finished the 2018 season in 18th place, and later went on to finish the 2019 season in 16th place.
Colapinto finished in the Top 10 for the first time at the end of 2021, in 6th place.[4] He also won the 2021 US Open of Surfing in the WSL Challenger Series.[2]
For the 2022 season, he won the MEO Pro Portugal and Surf City El Salvador Pro, and finished the season in 7th place.[5]
In 2023, Colapinto qualified for the first time for the 2023 Rip Curl World Surf League Finals held at his hometown surf break at the Lower Trestles in San Clemente.[6] During the season, he won the Surf Ranch Pro, as well as finished as the runner-up at the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach, Margaret River Pro, and Surf City El Salvador Pro. He entered the final ranked 2nd in the world rankings and was highly touted locally, as a Californian male had not won a world title since Tom Curren in 1990.[7][8] The fanfare also included a personal motivational speech from actor Matthew McConaughey, which gained traction on social media.[9][10] He finished in 3rd place at the final, with the 2nd most overall season points.[11]
