Indonesia’s Lovable Teenage Tube Savant Just Keeps Getting Better

Over two years ago, I met Rajo Barrel in the lineup at Lakey Pipe.

13 years old at the time, he was sitting 30 feet deeper than the pack, repeatedly picking off well-angled runners and squeezing his tiny frame through all-but unmakeable sections. 

He was grinning, shouting people into waves, and surfing switch the entire session. 

Through the following weeks, our 80-person Stab High circus troupe filtered into Rajo’s small hometown. By the end of our stint at Lakey’s, there wasn’t a single person in town who hadn’t become enamoured by Rajo’s cocktail of stylish surfing and gregarious persona. 

“That kid is a fucking legend,” Ian Crane told me. “He’s gonna be so gnarly when he grows up.”

Now 15 years old, Rajo has been picked up by Channel Islands, and his surfing continues to evolve. 

The above edit shows his elfish nature at play with a handful of other CI surfers during a jaunt to the Mentawaiis, with a blistering bottom turn beginning to show under his feet.

Another standout in the clip (and on the other end of the age spectrum) is original Japanese Young Gun Masatoshi Ohno, demonstrating excellence at 43 years old atop a G Skate, a Mid Twin and a Twin Pin. 

Tap in for a reminder that not all Indo trips require pintails and big-boy pants.