One island. Two teenagers. Too many waves. Simple as the formula may be, it still equates to a grand result. Our boys Len's Arancibia and Rio Waida recently teamed up and rampaged around Bali. Need proof? See below. And take it as a reminder to start planning your next surf trip.

Life ain’t too bad for a Young Gun. You surf pretty much all day long. And if you’re not surfing, you’re probably eating. And if you’re not eating, you’re probably mucking around and if you’re not mucking around, you’re probably sleeping so that you can wake up and do all of those three things over again the next day.

A simple life, for sure. But still, it requires a few essentials to run smoothly.

At the start of 2017, two of our Young Guns set out on a 3-month long journey of chasing comps and Radical Times. We caught up with Kehu Butler and Rio Waida in Torquay, Australia, where they filled us in on what they simply refuse to leave home without.

What? You weren’t going to skimp on the accessories, were you? Bring a portable charger. And a bluetooth speaker. And a waterproof case. And some headphones.

Drink water! This is not only a plug for our friends over at Drink Water, but also a plea for you to stay hydrated. Much like Saharan camels, our boys know the importance of a steady supply of H2O, and they carry these suckers with them all day long.

You don’t have to use it. You don’t even have to know how to use it. But if you travel with them, people will think that you train really hard and in turn won’t judge you when you order three desserts...at lunch. Rio said he was gonna swim, but it was “too cold.”

A key necessity for livin’. If you don’t pack a pair of boardshorts with you everywhere you go, then you’re doing it so very wrong. Hell, these kids came to the coldest part of Australia and they all brought boardies with them. Simple truth: you never know when you’re going to need a pair.

Unless you’re chronically obese. Or a polar bear. Or a giant chunk of neoprene that gained consciousness in a miraculous event that defied both science and theology, then developed an appetite for the finer things in life, like traveling, surfing and Stevie Winwood. Wait, Stevie Winwood? Huh?

“The only thing worse than being the person who always bums wax off of their friends is being the person who has to walk into a foreign surf shop and purchase a bar of wax at full price.” -Aristotle

Ever seen a big blank concrete wall and thought wow, that looks bland? So have we. And that’s why stickers exist - to make the world a better place.

If you had eight hands, you could carry a surfboard, a wetsuit, a towel, some wax, a surf mag, a slingshot, a portable speaker and a granola (fine, candy) bar all at once. You probably don’t have eight hands. Which means you definitely need a backpack.

It will hold your cash, your coins, your cards and a small but very noticeable amount of sand that spills out onto the counter or the table any time you go to pay for something. And it’ll look good doing it. These are a grom classic.

This year Young Guns Surf is planning to go bigger, higher and deeper to find the best under-18 surfer on the planet. The final nine Young Guns will be packed up, blindfolded, and shipped off to a secret location where they will experience three days of surfing, competing, professional coaching and nonstop selfie moments.

This is where the pressure cooker gets turned on; the final contestant have gotta show up and blow up. No slouching. The format remains the same. They need to push some big rail turns, stomp some mega airs and combo it to the beach. With $10,000 USD up for grabs these 9 surfers want to bring their best game.

Quiksilver welcoming The Waida brothers. Rio dan Ryuki saat ini adalah peselancar Indonesia yang sedang naik daun, dan baru saja menandatangani kontrak baru dengan Quiksilver. Rio, yang baru saga berumur 16 di bulan ini, kembali dari Carve QS1000 di Maroubra – Sydney, dan Jr Runner Up untuk Asian Surfing Championship 2015 mengatakan "I'm super happy to have Quiksilver backing me up, I've been with the Mountain and the waves since I was just a toddler and the support they provide is unbelievable".

Sementara adiknya; Ryuki mengatakan hal yang sama menanggapi kontrak pertamanya dengan Quiksilver "I witnessed how Quiksilver mentored and taking care of my older brother, so now having them supporting me as well, it will be an interesting ride for sure". Sementara Sammy Gosling, Marketing Executive Quiksilver untuk Asia Tenggara menambahkan "Good attitude on land, ferocious on water, These boys are killing it! It's great to have them in team roster".

Ryuki

Rio

When you’re a grommet and you find out you’re going to be sponsored, it’s pretty much a dream come true. When you’re a sponsored grommet and you’re flown to the Quik Pro for two weeks to sit in the Snapper lineup and be sprayed in the face by world champions, be given tips on what it’s like being a pro surfer by Jeremy Flores and Freddy P and have a professional photographer teach you how to get the sickest shot, that’s just next level. Kehu Butler from New Zealand, Lennox Shell from Avoca, Rio Waida from Indonesia, Kael Walsh from Western Australia and Marco Mignot from France have been living the dream and now they've got the taste of life on tour, there's no turning back.

Nearly every surfer who visits Bali falls in love with the place – the waves, the culture, the food, the people, the sunsets, the good times. What’s not to love?

But over the years Bali has started to deal with a trash problem – and it’s not going away. For four months of every year during the wet season Bali’s beaches are full of rubbish. It sucks. So Quiksilver partnered with Coca-Cola Amatil and Garuda Indonesia and decided to do something about it. Since 2008, 75 local workers have been cleaning six miles of beach from Kuta to Jimbaran every single day – that’s 13,000 dump trucks of rubbish and counting.

Each year to raise awareness – and surf – we host Bali’s Big Eco Weekend. Last Saturday, our legends and team riders headed to Legian for a beach clean-up, release 1,000 freshly hatched sea turtles back into the ocean and to share the stoke with the local groms and tourists. To wrap up the day – and prepare for the Uluwatu Challenge – a Balinese Hindu priest welcomed the good spirits with a blessing on the beach of the team riders and legends at sunset.

Photos: Jason Childs.
The gods were smiling on Sunday as glassy sets rolled into Uluwatu. Surfing six person heats, our team riders sat in the line-up with frothing surfers whose entry fee pays to keep the clean-up project going. Everyone was stoked. Among the crew was a 16 year old from Barbados, expats, Uluwatu locals, and the Quiksilver work experience kid from the Bali office. They took turns to get barreled (or go over the falls trying) with team riders and legends. Freddy P, Matt Hoy, Craig Anderson, Jake Paterson, Mark Richards, Rosy Hodge, Bruna Schmitz and Kelia Moniz were in the water. Plus the local crew Dede Suryana, Tipi Jabrik, Rio Waida. Not a bad line-up.


Balinese Hindu offerings / Photo: Tim Hain

As the clean five foot sets rolled in, Kelia Moniz nose rode on one wave as Jake Paterson threw buckets on the wave behind. The guys hooted the girls, the girls hooted the guys. Everyone was super stoked. Freddy P scored a perfect 10, winning the comp.

At sunset, Bintangs were clinked, the music was cranked and Hoyo jumped up on stage to bang out some AC/DC at Single Fin. Epic. Make sure you’re there next year.


Photos: Jason Childs.
Mark Richards / Photo: Ryan Heywood
Craig Anderson & Kelia Moniz / Photo: Ryan Heywood

Rio Waida / Photo: Jason Childs


Jake Paterson / Photo: Jason Childs

Kelia Moniz / Photo: Jason Childs
Craig Anderson / Photo: Jason Childs
Photo: Tim Hain
Rosy Hodge & frothing local Billy Hangan / Photo: Jason Childs
Matt Hoy / Photo: Jason Childs
Mark Richards / Photo: Jason Childs
Jake Paterson / Photo: Tim Hain
Kelia Moniz and Bruna Schmitz / Photo: Jason Childs
Freddy P / Photo: Jason Childs
Rosy Hodge / Photo: Tim Hain

Have you ever wanted to surf Uluwatu uncrowded? Yep, so have we.

Have you ever wanted to surf with legends like Mark Richards, Matt Hoy or Jake Paterson? Or how about Craig Anderson or Freddy P? Or local Bali legends Made Kasim, Ketut Menda, and Made Lana and Quiksilver team riders Tipi Jabrik and Dede Suryana? Yep, so have we.

This Sunday 22 June, 32 lucky surfers will paddle out and compete with these legends and team riders to raise money for environmental and beach clean-up programs in Bali.

Our clean-up program employs a crew of 74 who collect rubbish every day from the Kuta, Kedonganan, Jimbaran, Seminyak, and Legian beaches. Since 2008, over 24 million tons of rubbish has been collected. Yep, that's truckloads.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE ULUWATU CHALLENGE:
Email nadia.masrunon@asiansurfingtour.com with your contact details. All entries are on a first come, first served basis. The entry fee is Rp. 2 million (about $180 USD) entry fee - and proceeds go to beach clean-up programs in Bali.

Successful applicants will be notified and expected to attend the opening party at the Boardriders Café on Jalan Legian in Kuta starting at 7:00pm on June 20, where they will pay an entry fee and view heat draws.

The event will run in an Eddie Aikau six-person heat format, where each surfer competes in two heats and the two highest scores from their four best waves will be scored and totaled. The surfer with the highest two-wave score total (out of a possible 20 points, maximum of 10 points per wave) will be declared the winner of the event.

“I travel all over the world and still rate Indo as my favorite…looking forward to getting on to some long lefts at Ulus!” says Craig Anderson.

After the competition the Single Fin bar will open up for a sunset party and host the awards presentation. Good times.

If you want to get more involved with Bali's Big Eco Weekend come down to Legian Beach all day Saturday for a community event - there's a beach clean-up and locals ripping in the Padma Challenge Surf Comp. Our legends and team riders crew will be sharing the stoke too. Come and get amongst it.

The Quiksilver Uluwatu Challenge is presented by Quiksilver, Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia, Boardriders Café, Single Fin, Jim Beam, and San Miguel, with support by the Uluwatu Boardriders Club and the Asian Surfing Championships.

Photos by Jason Childs.