CAUGHT INSIDE # 126



A difference of night and day. One moment Bali is a ghost town, the next the tourists are back. Its happened before and it will happen again. It’s almost a rhythm here. Bali has never had a problem surviving cataclysms. The Dutch, World Wars, bombings, pandemics, environmental disasters, Volcanic eruptions. Being a nice place doesn’t mean it’s not tough. Or clever. Or an expert survivor. And The Surftime Journal is damned proud to count itself within this Indonesian toughness.

We survived, just like the island did, just like you did, and with this, the second issue of our comeback year, we have created one of the best issues in our history. And it’s filled with plenty of tough characters. Our lead feature is a strong look at our future through the recent performances of our next generation. A generation that is taking competitive surfing more seriously than ever before. We all have Rio Waida to thank for that, proving that with a tough approach, we can do it.

We also visit the Mentawai with an exclusive story and photos from Pete Matthews. He witnessed one of the greatest, most dangerous sessions to ever come down with superstars Griffin and Crosby Colapinto, Kolohe Andino, Ian Crane and Luke Davis leading the charge. If the photos don’t leave you breathless, his story sure will. Then we head to Sumbawa and crawl inside the mind of the Dedi Gun struggling with the challenge of good intentions and his great dream of changing the Lakey Peak surf culture for good.

And that’s the toughest job on earth. And thanks to Pete Frieden we also have super exclusive photos of Kelly Slater absolutely ripping micro surf at Padma. It was an intimate, private encounter with the greatest of all time and Sports Illustrated writer Gary Smith puts it all in perspective for you. Then we strike north to Medewi, a place of massive changes as it hurtles from a quiet left turn off the highway toward being a major energy center for Bali tourism.

A new superhighway project is plowing right through the place and Southeast Asia’s largest amusement park has already broken ground within hearing distance of the line-up (no word yet on the rumored wavepool). Also, as most of you know, this year’s STAB HIGH contest was held in Sumbawa. We had writer Holden Trnka on the ground and he brought back a story on the meaning of aerials set to the backdrop of exclusive images from the competition (All shot on 35mm film no less).

We then asked 13 year old hotshot Kalani Ryan to give us the lowdown on Keramas. His take is a joy to behold. We have the latest photos from pumping Desert Point in Pete Frieden’s intense portfolio, guaranteed to get you to clean the wax off your board and put on a fresh coat. And we have a thoughtful essay by writer/director Sam George on the current state of female surfing. And of course we finish with an all local gallery of the greatest action of this past season. Remember, nothing happens to you, it happens for you. And tough times never last, but tough people do. So let’s hang tough, together. After all, we’ve already proven we can.

-Matt George, Editor-in-Chief

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