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. Now 17, Thariq is spearheading a new push from surfers raised in the Mentawai Islands.

“I’m very, very lucky living here,” he says with a wry smile as we stand and talk beneath the mid-afternoon beat of the Mentawai sun. Although his dad is Colombian, and his mother is from the Mentawai, Thariq is unequivocal about where his destiny lies. “I want this to be my home forever,” he insists. While most of us venture to the Ments seeking waves of unparalleled quality, Thariq’s fortuitous upbringing means he can flip the script. He sounds like the gourmet diner who is accustomed to eye fillet, but pines for the occasional sausage sandwich. “It’s good to leave once in  a while, because you’ll get bored with all the perfect waves.” 

According to an early 2000s Tracks article by Stu Nettle, surfers first ventured to the Mentawai as far back as 1980 when a trio of intrepid, Sydney friends scoured library books and naval maps for any info they could find on the mysterious island chain off West Sumatra. They made it to Pasongan ( Macaronis), surfed themselves dizzy over a few weeks and then, for various reasons, kept it to themselves. By the early 90s swarthy captain, Martin Daly, had made it his life’s mission to discover, surf and name the region’s best waves. A host of skippers were soon eager to join surfing’s gold rush and by the mid 90s we were venturing to the ‘Ments’ aboard rickety charters. The boats got better and eventually the surf resorts laid claim to land in front of the best waves, or in zones surrounded by a cluster of world-class breaks. Propelled ...