On the surface Rio Waida is a smiley faced Balinese surfing assassin. He possesses a friendly nature on land, but in the water he’s a fierce competitor. However, there’s much more to Indonesia’s first ever WSL CT surfer than originally meets the eye. A new film by Matt George and Fabian Von Holzen takes a look behind the curtain at the life of the 25-year-old who was born in Japan before relocating to Bali at the age of four. ‘Pertama’ is more of a documentary than a simple surf edit and sees Rio open up on his family life, being bullied in school, the importance of the Olympics and undergoing growth hormone therapy during adolescence.
Here’s what Matt and Fabian wrote about the film:
“Nusa Cana, a legacy rum brand from Indonesia, had a unique idea when it came to making a short film on their brand ambassador Rio Waida. With Rio currently ranked 20th in the world and a household name in Indonesia, Nusa Cana wanted to dive deeper into the origin story of Rio and his against-all-odds rise into the top ranks of the pro surfing. Not just your standard clips and chaos edit, the company, who remained the sole funder of the project, wanted to take a far more personal approach in order to feature the spirit of Indonesia as much as the incredible surfing of Rio Waida. Reaching out to Filmmakers Matt George and Fabian Von Holzen, the resulting collaboration was a very different vision for today’s surf media. Here is a film that slows things down and allows a very unique surfer to share his life, the challenges he has faced and his inner spiritual thoughts as he moves into the future on his hero’s journey.”
Hit the link above to watch the full thing.
Nusa Caña is a rum brand rooted in the tropical spirit of Indonesia, blending heritage distilling methods with contemporary creativity. With a mission to share Indonesian rum culture with the world, Nusa Caña champions music, art, surf, and island adventure. Collaborations such as PERTAMA highlight the brand’s commitment to telling authentic Indonesian stories and celebrating the people who inspire them. https://www.nusacana.com/
