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Rio Waida is days away in kicking off his debut WSL season as Indonesia’s first-ever CT surfer. Tracks caught up with Rio for a wide-ranging interview in our recent mag shortly after he qualified. Here are 10 of the numerous things we learned from talking to the 23-year-old prodigy who’s currently got his focus on Pipeline.
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1. On the Olympic experience:
I never imagined such a thing could happen to me. I never visualised that I would be the flag bearer for my country on the biggest athletic stage in the world. To be surrounded by all those incredible people, all those athletes, the best, from all over the world. Walking around the track of the stadium felt like walking around the planet. I was half proud and half not believing it. I still don’t, ha! I was lucky that they wanted the flag bearers to be representatives of the new sports, like skateboarding. But I definitely felt the weight of Indonesia on my shoulders. It was like being a military hero or something. Carrying your country’s flag into a stadium in front of the world? That was huge.
2. On government support:
They are finally looking at surfing and what it brings to Indonesia. Finally. I mean we do have the best waves in the world and more of them than anywhere in the world.And I am getting some financial help from the government. I get a small salary and money for boards, equipment, and travel and best of all money for training. I hope it grows for the future for me and whoever is next up the line.
3. On professional management:
With my International Quiksilver sponsorship, I am getting offers from a lot of managers. But I am not quite ready. I do not want to jump the gun. The more I climb up the better the timing will be. Pro-surfing is a complicated business and I need more experience and better results to become a businessman about it.
4. On training:
My trainer believes in a lot of Pilates. Core, core, core. She is very strict, my trainer. She pushes me to the point of crying sometimes.But that makes me stronger in my head, which is the most important muscle, you know? Your body listens to your mind, so big muscles are the easy part, the hard part is inside your mind. And that is the difference today between a good surfer and a great surfer. Hard mind work.
But I work on my weaknesses a lot. I need a lot of shoulder and leg work. And of course you need the core strength to hold it all together. But you do not want to get too big muscles or your surfing is not fluid anymore. It gets too heavy. And I really love to flow and look graceful and powerful. To really look like you know what you are doing better than the other guy in the heat. I am much stronger than I was before and it makes me feel free, like it sets you free and give you confidence. You want to achieve a surfing body. Not a gym body. Every sport needs the specific body. I guess the best body for a surfer these days is an Olympic swimmers body. Except they do not have todo airs. Ha! But I don’t know, some of them might be strong enough. Ha!
5. On his body:
My height and my weight and my body is now similar to Kelly’s, so I think that is a good thing. The closer I can get to that look, that connected body from head to toe, surfing with my whole body like he does, combined with that incredible flexibility of his, that’s the goal.To balance making good surfing look easy but having the spray going into the sky on every move. That is how my body and I will qualify for the CT.
6. On Tipi Jabrik and Tim Hain, Directors of Asian pro-surfing:
I give huge credit to Tipi and Tim. The ASC has always been there from the beginning. They always believed Indonesians had it in them. Indonesia needs to learn how to compete, and they have always pushed this.We have always been good surfers, but terrible competitors outside our world. The world out there is pure adrenaline competition.No excuses. Everybody is hungry out there and they will eat you. You must want it and train hard and be smart. This is the first era where we have a chance to take our surfing seriously on an international level, to make a living doing it, to bring pride to our country.I will make the CT and I will do this. ButI still thank Tipi and Tim for supporting me since I could first paddle a surfboard. I have big respect for Tipi and Tim and I hope they know this, and I hope other surfers coming up feel this way. Think of all the hours Tipi and Tim have spent in those judging towers believing in Indonesia. Just trying to get us to believe in ourselves. I have big respect for that.
7. On the pressure of fame:
Bali is a small island, so everywhere I go I meet people that know about me. And they expect things. But you have to stay focused.This is part of my mind training. When I am out on the QS I watch how other people handle fame. When I can, I watch Kelly, he is really good at it. He knows when to share and when to focus. I am going for that balance. Also there is the pressure of being out there and everybody knows you come from the best waves in the world and you better be good.
We need to break that barrier of not having Indonesians on tour permanently. We need to become permanent. Like the Aussies or the Brazilians. I think it is our time to join up. Indonesians have a reputation for being lazy or not wanting to leave our perfect waves. The next generation and I are going to stop that reputation.
8. On happiness:
Where is the happiness? Going from being a little kid watching Kelly and Gabriel and all these guys out on CT and dreaming of being like them. And now, I have got the chance.And it is not a dream anymore. It’s work. And I am happy in my work. I remember I was 18 when I fully committed myself to this life as a pro. The thing about surfing internationally is that it is not just about heats. It’s about different oceans that feel and surf differently than each other. You need to communicate with these different waters and wear wetsuits sometimes and you need to be a professor about surfboard designs, fins, and equipment. Like you need to educate yourself and become a professor of surfing and of how to surf in different worlds. And most of all you need to learn how to enjoy it and have some of it be about having fun. You can actually take surfing too seriously I think. If you are unhappy in it if it is just work, work, work, you will not last. Smiles and friendships are a big part of it. The mind training is about being curious about new cultures and experiences and being what they call well-rounded and to love all the travel. And also it is about having respect for the world out there. Not just yours in here. Do it right and it’s the best job in the world. Do it wrong and you will run home and fail your family and your country and, most of all, your dreams.
9. On the North Shore:
Hawaii has beyond heavy waves. They are like giants. But you need to handle it or forget a pro-career. But once you can handle it every thing else on the CT is easy. At first it seems impossible. And I consider myself weak on big waves right now and I am facing that challenge and I will change it. Indonesians are not afraid of any reef, but we can be afraid of big power water. And the North Shore has got all of it. But you have to paddle out and be a part of it. Feel the energy, even if you do not get a wave for hours. The crowds of super good surfers and the energy is crazy. Even my 6’8” seemed too small. I have to change that.Not the board, but me. The North Shore will always be a big part of any pro-surfer’s life.
10. On the future:
The whole idea is to be become part of the international conversation. In many ways it’s a big gamble, but for my family and my country and for me, I’m all in.
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