Surftime Magazine

STOKEHOUSE GILI Air is more than just a retail store — it is a true surf lifestyle destination that brings together the spirit of the ocean, adventure, and tropical living in the heart of Gili Air. As the official flagship store for internationally recognized surf and lifestyle brands Vissla, Amuse Society, and sisstrevolution, STOKEHOUSE GILI Air has become a must-visit spot for surfers, travelers, and beach culture enthusiasts from around the world. What makes this store even more special is that it proudly represents the 8th STOKEHOUSE location, marking another exciting milestone in the growth of the STOKEHOUSE family. Built with passion for surfing, creativity, and coastal culture, the store reflects the energy and freedom that define life by the ocean. Every detail of the space is designed to create a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere inspired by island living and modern surf culture. Inside the store, visitors can discover a curated selection of premium apparel, swimwear, board...

Eighteen-year-old founder Daan van Rooijen set out to change safety standards in surfing forever. The result is Mamuli-Surf, a next-generation surf helmet engineered specifically for the water, without sacrificing comfort, performance or style. The story behind the brand is personal. On July 10, 2024, Daan’s sister Guusje was hit by another surfer at their home break in Bali. She suffered life-threatening skull and brain damage. It changed everything. “I realized that in snowboarding, skating, biking and every other extreme sport, wearing helmets is the norm — but in surfing it isn’t. I set out to create a helmet surfers actually want to wear: one that feels comfortable, performs, and looks good in the water.” Sixteen months later, that idea became reality. Mamuli-Surf launched on Kickstarter on April 7, 2026, with a goal of funding 300 helmets for mold production — and hit that goal. The Mamuli-Surf helmet is confirmed for market launch in early 2027. Key Features: The helme...

What might at first appear to be simply an evocative photo of a pack of surfers strolling along a Hawaiian beach in the late-1960s is, in fact, a remarkable portrait of the greatest single heat in competitive surfing history. Snapped at the 1969 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational at Sunset Beach, Hawaii, this semi-final matchup featured (back-to-front) Californian super-stylist and celebrated proto-free surfer Billy Hamilton, big wave legend and future Duke winner Eddie Aikau, 1965 World Champion Felipe Pomar, four-time Peruvian national champion Sergio Barreda, 1963 Peru International and ’69 Makaha men’s champion Paul Strauch, 1968 World Champion Fred Hemmings, number-one WSA 4-A men’s and 1970’s world champion, Rolf Aurness, 1968 Duke and Peru International champion Mike “Ironman” Doyle, and multiple Makaha International men’s champion Joey Cabell. Fierce competitors all, no doubt, yet judging by the collective casual demeanor of this phalanx of uber-talented surfers, take a guess who w...

“A Departure, the last professional sight of land, is always good, or at least good enough. For, even if the weather be thick, and the waves imposing, it does not matter much to a ship having all the open sea before her bows.” ― Joseph Conrad, The Mirror of the Sea

“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 ...