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By now many of you are aware that Mikala Jones passed away after a tragic surfing accident on the weekend. Jones was surfing in the Mentawai islands when he severed a femoral artery and died from blood loss. He was 44 and amongst family, surfers, friends and fans there is a profound sense that a surfer with an air of immortality and an uncanny knack for handling heavy, on edge situations, has ridden his last wave far too soon.
Australian photographer Jason Childs was behind the lens to capture many of Mikala’s finest surfing moments. At a time when magazine coverage still came with meaningful sponsorship incentives and major bragging rights, Childs shot multiple mag’ covers of Mikala and filled the pages of surf publications around the world with his exploits. “He really pushed it. He really did,” insists Childs, who had also been a good friend and was obviously shaken by the news. “I don’t know that I can think of a more inspirational surfer.”
Jones grew up in Hawaii and was the the son of a dentist – his dad ‘Dr Jones’ was also an accomplished surfer and surf photographer who wanted his kids to have every opportunity to ride good waves. From the family home overlooking Rocky Point you could almost rope swing off a tree limb into the lineup. Proximity to the North Shore’s most intense wave zone ensured Mikala, along with his brother Daniel and sister Malia, were raised on a steady diet of heavy water and throaty barrels.
Jones was never the chest-beating boastful type, but in a highly competitive North Shore arena he rapidly claimed his space in the pecking order. Although Mikala dabbled with competition, from a young age he cultivated a passion for riding deep, heavy barrels and soon evolved into a free-surfing, tube riding specialist.
Once introduced to the hollow delights of Indonesia, Mikala’s focus shifted and by his mid-20s he was splitting his time between Hawaii and Bali. In the early 2000’s Jones was at the forefront of a push that put Bali back in vogue for pro surfers. The discovery of Keramas and a host of other east coast rights ushered in a new era and Mikala was right in the mix from the outset. Jason Childs was based in Bali in the same era and remembers that Mikala slotted right into an emerging local crew that included Rizal Tandjung, Made “Bol” Adi Putra, Betet Merta, Garut Widiarta and Marlon Gerber. “He had a real bond with the Balinese guys,” comments Childs. “There was such a mutual respect between them.”
During that era I was fortunate enough to share a few sessions with Mikala whilst on assignment in Bali. He was always friendly and not inclined to flex his ego amongst other surfers. He didn’t need to. Instead he would quietly take command of a lineup by methodically analysing a break, positioning himself deep and patiently waiting for a wave that would provide him with a worthy challenge.
“His one liners were pretty good too,” points out Childs.
As Bali became more crowded Jones used it as a base from which to launch strike missions to more remote parts of the Indo archipelago – the heavier, the hollower and the less crowded the better. He’d hop ferries and hire leaky boats to reach waves in totally isolated zones. Breaks like Apocalypse and Sobatu became favoured hunting grounds, but his lust for the barrel could take him anywhere in Indo. For kicks Jones would often take off on trips and post cryptic photos of his journey on social media, sometimes he was intentionally throwing people off the trail, while often he was just having fun, baiting his friends to guess where he was headed as they plotted their own strike missions on the same swell.
Jason Childs recalls another time when he arrived at an isolated Indo break and seeing a surfer pulling into a wave that broke like “Kirra across reef”. It was Mikala Jones all alone, doing what he loved. Childs had no idea Mikala was there and later learned he’d already spent a full day surfing it alone. “I’m pretty sure he’d even knocked himself out in the water the day before we showed up, ” indicates Childs.
Ultimately Mikala found liberation through the P.O.V cameras. He was an early up-taker of the self-documenting technology, and, perhaps borrowing from his dad’s photographic forays, always had a keen eye for the medium. “He was good at it,” comments Jason Childs who well knows that surf photography in any form is a fickle and challenging pursuit.
However tricky it was to get a clincher shot, the Go Pro meant Mikala could run solo on trips and return with rapturous imagery that sponsors loved and surfers could live vicariously through. His famous POV photo of an oily smooth Indo tube bending into a kaleidoscope of chrome-coated colours remains one of surfing’s most iconic and aspirational images – everyone wanted to be Mikala in that tube, even those who’d never picked up a surfboard before.
For all his Indo roaming, Mikala was at heart a family man who leaves behind his wife Emma and two daughters. Mikala will be remembered as a revered figure in Hawaii, a modern, Indo trailblazer and a universally respected surfer. “He had such a beautiful flow,” comments Jason Childs. “He really was the quintessential free surfer.”
