Surftime Magazine

“Everyone had their own addiction problem. Everyone was hiding it. We all just turned into these closet-case, drug-addict monsters.” For us humans, the truth is often really tough to accept. Especially when that honesty requires a higher level of self-examination: when families have been destroyed or people have died due to reckless lifestyles. Bruce Irons’ quote, above, from the 2018 documentary, Andy Irons: Kissed by God, drips with tragic honesty, as he weaves his family’s story without pretense or bullshit, while interview cuts from surfing royalty corroborate his sordid tale. Remembering that Bruce narrated the documentary with that level of honesty unnerved me. After watching it again I almost wanted to tap out in the middle of it. It’s like a Greek tragedy, supported by a cast of gifted players. Only these players weren’t acting. They lived it in the most painful of ways. There is no blaming others in Bruce Irons’ narrative, as he blatantly states. No asking why there wa...

“Under water, time takes the shape of waves. I listen to the clash and the silence mingling beneath the surface. I end up looking at what the eye cannot see: the states of matter; the hidden folds of the wave; the ever-changing schemes of the sea.” -Ben Thouard- You can purchase Ben Thouard’s fine art book, Aqua Obscura and others at http://benthouard.com Photographer Ben Thouard’s

The world of guiding visiting surfers in Sanur’s line-ups clearly defies surfing’s traditional etiquette, which gives the right of way to the surfer closest to the peak (a time honered system that allows the best surfers to get the best waves as lesser surfers pay their dues as they attempt to climb up the ladder). But on one of the happiest islands in the world, surf guiding, or rather, hiring a local to strong arm waves for you, usually leaves a bad aftertaste with visitors. Is it fair? To the locals, certainly. They are making a living using their local resources. But from the visitor’s point of view, is it exclusive of those with the financial means to pay for waves? Let’s call him Wayan. He was born in Sanur, and he runs his own guiding program now after working for foreign-owned surf camps and hotels his entire life. He and his apprentice, we’ll call him Ketut, met while surf guiding for a camp that catered mostly to German surfers. When Wayan was encouraged by his elders to ...

Kya Heuer got beat up. It happened while she was paddling out into a heavy set at a harrowing Eastside wave that rarely, if ever, sees women in its line-up. But Kya is no ordinary woman. Trained literally since birth in the pounding, below sea level barrels of the Mentawai, (Kandui Lefts is in her front yard), Kya is a fearless surfer with a fine tuned ability in gaping eight foot barrels. But accidents do happen. And when she found herself driven face first into the reef that day on the Eastside, she came up with what could have been a life-changing wound on the side of her face. But, staying calm amid all the blood and the pain and the rescue from her friends, Kya and her cohort made it to the hospital and into a special plastic surgery theatre that, quite frankly, saved her considerable beauty. Immediately following surgery, we found Kya Heuer sitting up in her hospital bed in her normal clothes, with over one hundred stitches on the side of her face, sitting up as if what hap...

Sanur’s east side turned it on for Magic Shootout 2026, with nearly 80 athletes representing Boardrider clubs from across Bali charging solid 4–6ft swell at Pantai Segara. Hosted by Sanur Middle Coast, the contest ran in clean conditions with hollow takeoffs and longcarving walls down the reef. Barrels were on offer through the inside bowl, while steep sections invited committed snaps and well-timed aerial attempts across all divisions. In the Open Men, Raul Bormann claimed victory with a combination of deep tube riding and critical pocket turns. I Nyoman Mega Artana secured second, followed by Kadek Murtika in third and Kalani Ryan in fourth after a tightly contested final. The Open Women saw Jasmine Studer take top honors with powerful rail work and smart wave selection. Kailani Johnson finished runner-up, with Georgie-May Hicks in third andLune van Dijk in fourth. The Pro Junior division highlighted Bali’s rising talent, with Muhammad Satrio earning the win through explo...

“My name is Manu Miguelez and I was born in Asturias, a small region on the North West Coast of Spain. Since I can remember the ocean has always been my passion. This passion has made me travel around the world in the search of the best waves. My dream has come true. I now guide surfers on their quest for the best waves on this planet in the Mentawai. And then I have the privilege of immortalizing those magical moments”. FOR PHOTOGRAPHER MANU MIGUELEZ, VISION IS THE ART OF SEEING INVISIBLE POSSIBILITIES