Rio Waida Is A Legitimate Contender For Olympic Hardware

Rio Waida’s dream has always been to qualify for the CT. 

It’s a strange dream, considering he grew encompassed by the well-heeled peaks of Indonesia, which we met face-to-face during out first iteration of a saltwater Vans Stab High presented by Monster Energy. The waves were so good that, half the time, the surfers couldn’t even find a section to do an air. It was all unperturbed lines and mirror glass.

I can understand Rio’s desire to compete, but the idea of leaving the enchanted, neoprene-free land of overhead barrels to dodge tumbleweeds in a robotic torture ranch sounds ludicrous.

While Rio hasn’t exactly hit his CT target yet, he still is grateful for the chance to hunt down a Gold medal in surfing’s first Olympic showing. Rio will represent Indonesia at the Tokyo Games, and if his most recent edit tells us anything, we should be cognizant of all possibilities. This kid on a hot streak could be a real issue for an over-confident CT pack.

Click here to check out Rio’s warm up laps at home. Filmed and edited by Ryan Williams @RYZPHOTO.