INSIDE THE ISSUE
ISSUE: NO. 601
Perfect waves in croc-infested waters, Indo trailblazers, an odyssey across Ecuador, surf punks, Jaleesa Vincent’s eclectic tastes, timeless cut-backs and more….
SURFING IN BARU COUNTRY
Dodging crocodiles, stingers and sharks to ride the waves of your life in Northern Australia
…We motored slowly across the lineup, hollow lefts broke off the reef and spun 300 metres across the channel into deep water. We put the drone up to get some footage and to check for any nasties lurking in the water. No crocs in the lineup from what we could see. We originally had a theory that crocs disliked turbulent water and therefore wouldn’t be seen anywhere around waves. But this theory was shattered one day when Tim put up the drone over a frequented spot only to find a three-metre croc passing straight across the reef…
Written by Anthony Ireson. Photos by Tim Blake.
THARIQ OF THE MENTAWAI
In surfing terms, Joaquin At-Thariq Riveros Rizki was the kid born with Disneyland over the back-fence and a free-pass to every ride.
“I rode my first barrel when I was eight or nine. I started pulling in, and just felt it had to be an everyday thing.”
Written by Luke Kennedy
BUDDHA'S PATH
Tai ‘Buddha’ Graham’s winding road to success and surfing freedom.
“After having a couple kids, I started going on surf trips, which gave me a lot of thinking time. And I realised it was sitting right there in front of me all this time. It’s surf. I’m a surfer. I can do surf better than any of the Beach Clubs or Hotel guys in Bali. I started to really accept and celebrate the fact that I was a surfer, first and foremost, and that was always going to dictate what I do.”
Written by Tom De Souza
STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS- PART III
Surfing goes pro, ‘Puberty Blues’ and punk rock rippers.
… By the mid-80s, the punk rock mentality that had infused fashion and popular culture also infiltrated surfing. Punks wearing all black also wore Dr. Marten work boots and dyed their hair a rainbow of fluorescent colours. Some surfers copied them. The punks pinned badges to their lapels, declaring: No Future, I’m a mess and Anarchy. Surfers scrawled surf-punk phrases on their tee-shirts: Hellman, Minutes to Midnight! and Surf til death! Surfers drunkenly shaved one another’s heads, sculpting botched, bloody Mohawks. Surfwear labels climbed aboard the hell bound train with advertisements featuring Mohican team riders wearing blood-spattered T-shirts while holding graffitied surfboards…
Written by Monty Webber
'SAMUDRA' - INDONESIAN SURFERS TELLING THEIR OWN STORIES
A new documentary by Indonesian director, Gibran Putra Wirjawan, explores the role of surfing in the world’s largest archipelago.
“I think people underestimate how much Australia has helped Indonesia. But at the same time, I think there’s so much to say about how much happiness that Indonesia has provided to a lot of the Australians that come here as well. And it’s like there’s this synergy between the two. Gibs chuckles as he mentions the linguistic quirk which serves as a constant reminder of the links between Australia and Bali. “If you listen to most of the Indonesians in Bali, if they speak English, it’s with an Australian accent.”
Written by Luke Kennedy
ONE OF PERRY'S KIDS
…As a shaper, writer, surfer and forecasting pioneer, Mike Perry had a major impact on surf culture.
…Long before I met Mike Perry, I had heard of him. If nothing else, the surfing world is ruled by philosopher and phenomenologist Alfred Schutz’s concept of umwelt, “A world of relationships that are based not on concrete knowledge but on reputation…” Growing up in Malibu, Santa Monica Canyon, and Pacific Palisades during the 1970s, my surf idols – ay Riddle, Davey Hilton, and George Trafton – were rockstars to me, and our region’s surfer shapers – Robbie Dick, Dean Edwards, and Mike Perry – were their lead guitarists…
Written by Peter Maguire
'CEIBO' - ECUADOR IN FOCUS
In this new film project Pacha Light and Lucy Small explore the wonders of the Galapagos, the soaring Andes, and the mystique of the Amazon.
…It was incredible to see just how beautiful these islands are. With sealions lazing on park benches and iguanas watching from the rocks as we trooped by, life felt slow and relaxing as the blue, blue pacific lapped the harbour. We surfed some beautiful left-handers down the way and snorkelled and dived with Galapagos and white-tipped sharks at a rock that rears up out of the middle of the sea…
Written by Lucy Small. Photography by Maddie Meddings.
GRAB RAILS, SNAKES AND MUSICALS
Jaleesa Vincent shows us how to be more than just surfers.
“When I quit doing competitions, I feel like that was a big milestone, I guess because then I just started surfing completely for fun, and not trying to surf like everyone else. And then I put more time into like art… I just completely became myself, that self that I needed to be… Art and music is just as important to me as surfing, and so I need to do all of that to feel whole.”
Written by Luke Kennedy
THE INDO MOTORCYCLE DIARIES: EPILOGUE
When the journeyman reaches a fork in the road.
Every surfer must make the choice at some point. That decision between comfortable middle-class responsibility or the razor’s edge path of a life dedicated to surfing. And, yeah, you kinda do have to choose, because there are few who possess the surfing talent and luck and business acumen to wrangle them both…
Written by Tom de Souza
A LOVE LETTER TO THE CUTBACK
Knifing a rail will always be at the core of good surfing.
Written by Luke Kennedy
