Indonesia is a hard place to surf alone. Most waves have been discovered. Plastic litters the shoreline. It’s changed a lot over the last few years, that’s for certain, but if you look hard enough, you can still find an empty wave. Like Mason Ho and Sheldon Paishon did.
Back in the mid-1970s, Indonesia hadn’t really been discovered by the surf world. The tourism industry had yet to sink its teeth in. It was pristine — a paradise untouched by the grasping fingers of Western society. “We discovered the biggest candy store for surf there could ever be,” Gerry Lopez said about that time. “We were completely and utterly just blown away by not only the quality but the consistency of the surf and the lack of people.”
In 1975, Lopez was joined by Rory Russell to make a film. The surfing world was just beginning to sit up and take notice of Indonesia, but it had yet to turn into the zoo it can sometimes be now. Together, they made Chasing The Lotus, a film that every surfer on Earth needs to watch. “The surf was there every day,” Lopez remembered. “It was perfect. There was no one around… it was like a dream.”
Although it has changed drastically since that time, the surf is still there. While Mason and Sheldon were looking for more uncrowded spots somewhere in Indonesia, they came across the one you see above — and it’s reminiscent of those Lopez days.
