I’m usually the last guy to gripe about anybody blowing up the so-called “secret spot” — photographers, filmmakers, “the surf media,” or just your typical loudmouth in the lineup eager to name drop and spill the beans. It’s not because I think everything is fair game, I just don’t see how anybody expects secrets to be kept anymore. The internet, social media, and the fact that everybody moves through the world with a super computer and camera in their pocket, all make it tough to pin any one person with the blame for your local spot being crowded.
Keramas, though. That’s one place that amazes me when it comes to the power of letting the cat out of the bag, in part because it’s “blown up” right in front of us.
It wasn’t all that long ago that the right-hander was still a well-kept secret. Then a photo and a few murmurs set the surf world on fire wanting a piece of the pie. Sure, Skeleton Bay has a similar story. The beans were intentionally spilled on Nazaré to transform the fishing village into the center of the big wave surfing universe. But watching the buzz on the beach at Keramas is….interesting.
The lineup is jam-packed when the waves are firing, sure. And the crowd has more than its fair share of tourists. But just the presence of a world-class right-hander on this island with no shortage of world-class lefts led directly to building a new resort for all those traveling surfers. By now the local hospitality sector is also hosting plenty of everyday globetrotters who wanted to cross “yoga on the beach in Bali” off their IG-feed bucket list. You can surf all day, get out of the water, and walk straight into a massage. An area that was once a well-kept secret is now responsible for injecting a lot of life into the local economy and a lot of action on the beach.
Keramas isn’t the only place in the world where surfing has done this, not by a long shot, but it’s one place where it feels like we’re all watching it in real-time. Then again, a heaving right with thick barrels and an open face can attract a little attention. Surfers, after all, aren’t that great at keeping secrets.
Rizal Tanjung, Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing know all about that. They scored an all-time day at Keramas and it was a sight to behold.
