BUILT TOUGH - Despite a broken wing, a hard charging Kya Heuer continues to fly

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 happened to her was, as she put it, “No big deal”. Such is the spirit of this young woman who is sure to become an international competitive powerhouse in the years to come. The following are some of her random thoughts. On her Hard Charging ways:

On Beginnings:
As a kid, when the waves were pumping at Kandui, the only time my Dad would go out is when the waves were 8 foot plus. So, yeah, I don’t know, I kind of just followed him into the line-up and realized the only way to survive was to go after it. It’s actually the safest way to be.

On Pro Influences:
I reckon growing up at the Kandui Villas definitely had a big role in how I surf, of course. Just growing up around a lot of charging pro surfers that were always giving me tips. Guys like Shane Dorian, Josh Kerr. Those guys surf like MMA fighters when it get’s heavy. Total commitment.

On Dylan Wilcoxen
If it wasn’t for Dylan being my next island neighbor…I probably would have been a different surfer too. I feel like just watching Dylan, looking up to him, wanting to surf like him, yeah, that was, like, one of my main inspirations. He never treated me like a girl in the line-up. He treated me like another surfer. That makes a big difference when it comes to courage in the line-up.

On her beginnings:
Growing up in the Mentawai you learn to swim before you can walk. A lot of people say that, but with us kids out there, we are swimming at one years old. Surfing can come pretty easy after that.



On her recent injury:
The ocean has taught me to be patient and not rush things. And especially after my face got smashed into a reef. I feel like just acting on impulse can be a big mistake I’ve made in the past. And, like, I’ve regretted a bunch of things because of that. So yeah, I would say one of the biggest things I’ve learned from being surrounded by the ocean for all my life is to be patient. And just let things turn out how they’re gonna turn out. Unless your actually on a wave. Then you just have to be impulsive and go as hard as you can.

On The local surfers of her generation:
I think my generation of surfers in Indonesia... I’d say there’s a lot of rising stars. There’s a lot of dark horses too coming out of nowhere. It’s exciting and I’m very grateful and glad to be able to say I’m a part of this new Indonesian community of ambitious surfers. We are the new wave.

On The future
I know I’ve come a long way and I definitely know I have what it takes to be a pro. I know I have the right mentality. I just need to really set aside the dumb, stupid teenage things and focus on building my pro career. I need to set my mind and set my goals. And to do it, I have to sacrifice a lot of things. And that just comes with this surfing life. Sacrifices. But I’m willing to do it and I know I can do it.

Photography by Liquid Barrel