Rio Waida is Iconic For a Reason

EDITOR’s NOTE: Rio just won the Challenger Series in Ballot and it’s all but a for sure thing that he’ll be on tour next year. We resurfaced this vid we made recently to make sure you know we knew Rio was going to be the guy to bring Indonesian surfing to the world stage..thanks to Nate Lawrence’s heads up.Check this vid.—Travis

Nate Lawrence has been telling me about Rio Waida for a few years now. And I don’t take that lightly. Nate sees every pro come through Indo and Bali and usually has his ear to ground way more than most people or any industry or media insider would with regards to who’s actually ripping. He’s shot photos and video of the best surfers in the best conditions and he just knows. He kept saying over and over: ”Dude! Rio is gnarly!” When Indo and the world locked down Nate doubled down:, “Dude, Rio! I’m locked in the country with him now and he’s going off at every spot!” We finally got the chance to listen. Consider this a very small glimpse at what he’s capable of.

This part probably looks like something put together over months and years, but the reality is that is was a very small window (probably 2 weeks max) in which we were able to get Rio in Quik’s new (and iconic) boardshorts and let him go off. Basically shot a part in a few weeks.

Since this vid was filmed, he’s appeared as a flag bearer in the Olympics for Indonesia, turned some tough heats at the Corona Open in Mex and became a media and surfing darling. He’s so damn likeable too! Humble, hard working, charismatic, stylish and funny. And I think you get a sense of that in this video. First Indonesian on tour is his next box to tick. Only a matter of time.

It’s easy to see what Nate has been talking about for so long now. But consider this a warning shot. This kid is gonna go off starting now.—Travis

Filmed by Nate Lawrence and Scotty Hammonds.

Directed and edited by Jack Boston.