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Photos: Welcome To Vans Stab High Indonesia, Presented By Monster Energy
Welcome to Lakey Peak. Now do airs.
premium // Sep 22, 2022
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 5minutes
Welcome to Vans Stab High Indonesia (Round 2), presented by Monster Energy.
Anything you might want to do on a surfboard, you can do at Lakey Peak. Cupped-out rights with perfect air wind, drawn out, steep lefts, with tubes going both ways. Want to lean into a big ol’ turn? Go right ahead. Want to get a vision? Slam the brakes.
And, of course, the air section will let you do whatever it is you please.
The last part is important — because after all, it is an air comp.
This is the fifth edition of Vans Stab High, presented by Monster Energy. We’ve been to Waco twice, then to the Mentawaiis, then Costa Rica, and now here. This year’s surfers are:
Men:
Luke Swanson, Chippa Wilson, (Past Stab High Winner), Dion Agius, Eric Geiselman, Mikey February, Eli Beukes, Koldo Ilumbe, Micky Clarke, Shane Sykes, Masato Yukawa, Shaun Manners, Noa Deane (Past Stab HIgh Winner), Matt Meola (Past Stab High Winner), Robbie McCormick, Ian Crane (Past Stab High Winner), Erwin Bliss, Dakoda Walters, Noah Beschen, Mateus Herdy, Bronson Meydi, Baja Koala, Letty Mortenson, Rajo Barrel, Reef Heazlewood, Hughie Vaughan, Brad Flora, Noah Hill, Ompu Anwar (local wildcard).
Ladybirds:
Bella Kenworthy, Caity Simmers, Sierra Kerr, Quincy Symonds, Maddie Stanton, Isi Campbell, Bella Nalu, Eden Walla.
You’ll be able to watch it in four episodes, dropping weekly starting October 24 on Stab Premium and October 27th on YouTube.
Below is a photo gallery from the first few days. Keep an eye on the Stab High Instagram for a drip feed of what’s cooking.
Why? Because a proper swell has arrived. The ramps could fairly be described as mega.
How big?
You’ll just have to wait and see.
Q: How do you get approximately 300 surfboards to a remote part of the Indonesian Island of Sumbawa when the only airline that flies there will only accept a few board bags per flight? A: You hire a truck driver from Bali to take the journey via road and ferry. It’s about a 350 km journey as the crow flies, but it takes 30 – 40 hours. Needless to say, a collective breath was breathed when the boards arrived intact.
The event started with a few moments in honor of former Stab High finalist Kalani David, who recently passed away after having a seizure while surfing in Costa Rica. Kalani’s close friend, Noah Beschen, delivered a speech that moistened all the eyeballs. The gist of it? Kalani died doing what made him feel most alive.
The paddle out for Kalani. A prayer was spoken, flowers were tossed, and everyone felt Kalani’s energy. Everyone agreed Kalani would expect everyone to go big or go home.
Noah Beschen, after the paddle out and straight into a ramp. You’d be foolish to consider him a dark horse.
A conversation about waves, beers, urchins, wounds, motorbikes, rice dishes, homestays, surf edits, surfboards, noodles, spicy food, the digestive consequences of spicy food, spins, grabs, sponsorship, and life.
Yes, his name is actually Rajo Barrel, and yes, he’ll sit 20 feet deeper than you and get properly kegged — sometimes switch — on the next set. The son of local legend Joey Barrel, Rajo is Lakey Peak’s latest gift to surfing. At thirteen years old, he already has the tube-prowess of most guys twice his age, and he never goes anywhere without a smile on his face. He’s a perpetual mischief maker, with a gracious demeanor, and an endless froth tank. He also does big alley-oops. We love Rajo, and we can’t wait to see him make his mark on surfing.
Rajo, already making a mark on surfing.
And now, the opening ceremony. It’s estimated that anywhere from 300 – 800 languages are spoken in Indonesia. Every region has its own words, its own customs, its own ways. Here, the local culture is Bimanese. Bimanese dancers showed up for the opening ceremony and gave us a once-in-a-lifetime performance, a blessing which translates in english to “The Yellow Dance.”
Our Stab High astronauts, temporarily grounded.
The Lady Birds do not speak Bimanese, nor could they keep up with the Bimanese dancers, but they can do sick airs and are generally wonderful, and that was enough to earn a blessing from the local crew.
Interaction and deliberation is a key component of the Stab High judging system — and we started strong. Holly Wawn suggested that Mikey should wear a t-shirt out of respect. Nate Fletcher said, “Or at least have some back hair or something.”
Oney Anwar was born right here and spent many of his formative years in Australia. He was not only exposed to two very different cultures, but deeply embedded in them. Noncoincidentally, he is one of the most lovely and non-judgemental people you could hope to meet. However, he is a judge for this event because, well, have you seen how he surfs?
We employed the highest technology on the planet in order to build our heat draw. Here, we see Caity Simmers making someone silently damn their BINGO board.
Bronson Meydi. Another Lakey-raised talent. He’s quiet on land — sometimes found listening to modern hip-hop at a volume that can cause long term damage to one’s ears — and quiet in the water, but his surfing speaks so loudly. Here, we see him penning his name in the heat — aka signing the funeral certificate for everyone else in his heat.
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