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

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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...

MAGIC SHOOTOUT 2026 - Sanur Goes Live as Solid Swell Hits the Middle Coast

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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...

THE MANU MIGUELEZ EXPERIENCE

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“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

CLOSE OUT

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“Larry Bertlemann’s obsession with image and commercialism put him on the wrong side of surfing purists in 1978. Always fashion conscious, instantly recognizable by his neatly tended Afro hairstyle, Bertlemann frequently surfed and skateboarded in color-coordinated outfits, and at one point took to the waves at Pipeline wearing a customized blue-and-red bell-bottom wetsuit. A pioneer in surf world corporate sponsorship, Bertlemann by the late ‘70s was plastering his boards with oversize stickers from Pepsi, United Airlines, and Toyota, and even adopted the Pepsi swirl emblem for his board’s design motif. “I get off on promoting things,” the easy-smiling eighth-grade dropout once said. “I keep my sponsors happy, and they keep me in business.”

SURFTIME INSPIRATION # 138

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Nostalgia is not a simple recall of facts but an emotional state tied to an idealized past, where emotion, not memory, is the key. It is a mix of positive and negative emotions. Joy from the memory, but sadness because it can’t be relived. The positive effect often prevails, but the yearning is always present. Nostalgia can act as an existential intervention, helping us find meaning in our lives by connecting our past, present, and future and inspiring a sense of self-continuity. Nostalgia can be a source of hope for change, strengthening us during difficult times and propelling us toward the future. While personal, nostalgia is also deeply social, fostering a sense of belonging and connection to others through shared experiences and cultural touchstones. This nostalgic emotion is frequently exploited by marketers to sell products, music, and other goods by tapping into a desire for a past era. But nostalgia can also be a force for positive change. But then again it can also be ...

Bingin

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Bingin 1985-2025 Rest In Peace In remembrance from when its people allowed her to became a surfer’s place.

SEKEN BALI JAZZ & COCKTAILS SEKEN IS MORE THAN A BAR

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It’s a meeting point of music, craft, and community. The name reflects a double meaning: from the English “second” and from the Balinese “seken” (meaning wholehearted). True to its name, Seken is built on second chances, genuine effort, and real hospitality. Behind Seken is a collective of creatives, bartenders, and music lovers who saw the need for a jazz-driven venue in Seminyak. At the helm of the bar program is Charles Richard, Founding Bartender and winner of Diageo World Class Indonesia 2025, who brings 20 years of experience to cocktails that are bold, soulful, and full of story. At Seken, cocktails move with a jazz rhythm, layered, unexpected, and built on rare spirits, local botanicals, and minimalist precision. Among the Signature Cocktails, highlights include the Salak Serenade (white rum, fermented salak purée, calamansi, mace, egg white), a tropical sour that spotlights Bali’s unique snake fruit; and the Late Night Riff (dark rum, Kintamani cold brew, dark crème de c...