BALI’S NEXT GENERATION CLAIM THE CROWN

Westen Hirst and Jasmine Studer Triumph at the Queen of the Bukit
Photography by Nate Lawrence and Joey Griffiths • Words by Trent Cohune

“It’s on when it’s on,” as the saying goes here in Bali. Surf competitions, as we know, can be a long and gruelling process, dragging on for days waiting for Mother Nature to produce adequate conditions. That agonizing wait is exactly what the locals endured through the month of July, which was meant to host the local trials for the Rip Curl Cup at Padang Padang. The Indian Ocean lay dormant as Indonesia’s best young surfers from across the archipelago waited on the cliffs of the Bukit for a chance to prove themselves on the global stage. The trial window was their shot, a moment to showcase a lifetime of love for one of the planet’s most iconic and technical tuberiding waves.

But Mother Nature didn’t deliver. It was in fact, not on, and the fate of these young hopefuls hung in the balance as the opening ceremony kicked off on August 3rd. That is until local legend and two-time Padang Cup champion Mega Semadhi stepped up. In a move that could only come from a spiritual man like him, he relinquished his top seed to give the younger generation their shot. A selfless act to nurture Indonesia’s surfing future. It’s moments like these, small and quiet, that bring meaning to surfing in Bali. These moments reveal a generosity, a selflessness, that makes this Island and the Rip Curl Cup unlike anything else on earth.



The recipe for an international surf competition is intricate. But when it all comes together it’s magic. The forecast was a gift from the Gods. Eight foot sets, offshore winds and a tide that played nice all day. The Rip Curl judges tower on top of the cliff buzzed with a different kind of energy. Not the cutthroat, elbows-out intensity you’d expect from a world-class event, but something lighter, more joyful. Surfers milled about the tower, cups of Java in hand, mingling with a loose, easy vibe as photographers draped sarongs over their cameras to shield them from the fierce Bali heat.

Far more vibrant than any corporate boardroom’s staged diversity could ever muster, the field was a living mosaic of surfers who’d come from all corners of the earth to answer Padang’s call. Mason Ho, like a kid in a candy store, weighing a board in each arm like a swordsman choosing his blade, that trademark glimmer in his eye. He’d screamed when he’d found the one. Balaram Stack from New York, staggering in after a twenty nine hour flight ordeal, suitcases still in tow, paddled straight into his heat without seeing the ocean. Others from California, Hawaii, Australia, Indonesia and Bali’s own Bukit Peninsula. It seemed a lineup handpicked by the ocean itself.



And oh, did the ocean deliver. A monster set closed out the line-up to start the day, sending a jet ski and its driver tumbling like a toy in a washing machine. A raw reminder of who’s boss. Hectic? Sure. But it was a foreshadowing of what mere mortals we were about to witness. One hell of a day of surfing. From sun-up to sundown the Indian Ocean churned out waves that were equal parts beautiful and brutal. Ivan Florence rode the wave of the day, buried so deep that the film crew gave up, only for him to thread a seemingly impossible foamball section and get spit out to a chorus of gasps and cheers. Jim Banks, at 56, surfing like he was half his age, proving time’s just a number when your soul’s tethered to the ocean. It was that kind of day, every heat raising the bar, every set adding to the tension.

As the sun dipped low the story of the day came into focus. And the Bukit’s own began to shine. 16 year old’s Jasmine Tudor and Westen Hirst, carried a fire that hinted at a new generation ready to claim Padang Padang’s crown. They didn’t just compete, they dominated. The crowd felt it, the judges knew it and the ocean seemed to nod in approval. These weren’t just wins, they were a statement. Padang Padang is their home and they were here to pay their respects.



Watching them hoist their first place trophies, you couldn’t help but feel the torch being passed. Not just from Mega Semadhi’s selfless act, but from a whole lineage of Balinese surfers who’ve paved the way before them. Indonesia’s next generation isn’t on the way, they’ve arrived. Just like those quiet acts of generosity that define this island, the 2025 Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang showed the world what Bali’s always known. The heart of surfing beats strongest where kindness is practiced daily.