The Red Bull Mentawais trip is ON...

The Red Bull Mentawais trip is ON...
Defying the laws of physics
“Epic”, “all-time”, and “classic” is often heard around the island chain, the Mentawais... You’ll be standing on the deck of a surf-charter boat sipping a cold one and the words might drift across the water to you...”awesome”, “best session ever”, “off-the-scale”.


Andy Walshe, Red Bull coaching sup takes some of the best surfers on the planet to one of the best spots on planet Earth for a surf trip – the Mentawais, Indonesia. To allow the surfers to take advantage of his experience coaching in other sports and to see if they can develop as surfers and athletes from the sports science and techniques he can supply. He’s backed up with two of the best surf coaches in the business – Dan Ross and Andy King.
I can truly say that it was one of the most memorable sessions of free-surfing I have witnessed. This was a barrel-fest pretty much impossible to surpass around here.

Some highlights:
Mick Fanning impossibly deep in the tube, playing cat and mouse with the foam-ball and somehow coming out of an 8 second barrel.
Cristobal de Col 14-year-old of Peru back-dooring a grunter of a wave and with some style riding the barrel, making the tough mid-section and kicking out with a huge smile on his goofy, brace-clad grin.
Sofia Mulanovich taking off deeper than any of the crew and pulling into some gruesome closeouts.

Michel Bourez of Tahiti finding out that it’s not only on his own island where big cavernous tubes are to be found.
Conner Coffin... the ‘man-boy’ finding some grace under pressure as he slotted into one of the biggest tubes of the day.

Spectacular results:
I watched open-mouthed as Jordy Smith dug into one barrel, came out and gouged a carve so solid and deep that he over-extended his body to the extent that most of him was under water in the face of the wave with the exception of one foot still delicately balanced on the board. Surely he would fall, he must go down. Impending doom and an immediate appointment with the reef loomed up. Somehow though, defying the laws of physics and within milliseconds of being smashed into the reef, he was once more upright, riding out the last section on the inside. Big smile on his face. This was a moment of pure sporting brilliance…Show me a sport that combines power, grace, athleticism and style in such measures... does one exist to match surfing at this level?

After this session Jordy would tell me that his experience in the water that day was simply “unbelievable and breathtaking”.
There were others, many others with similar tales to tell. This was a day for heroics.

Michel Bourez spending so much time deep in the tube that afterward he laughed about it saying “We all spent so much time in the tube today that we didn’t need sun-screen!”. These are moments that even the highest level of surfers don’t come across too often. Mick Fanning seemed to agree when after the session he said:
“That was the pinnacle for my sort of surfing... going super-fast in the barrel over shallow reef with only a few friends out... it was a pretty amazing day.”
Back on land I’m standing barefoot on sugar-white sand and chatting to Michel Bourez. He sums up the trip: “I realize now that this trip was exactly what I need to progress my surfing and to help achieve my goals… and the chance to surf with the best was what I needed to push my level up. It was definitely the best trip I’ve ever done and it will stay in my mind for the rest of my life.”

The mission in Andy’s words:
“Quite simply to give the surfers the opportunity to be the very best surfers they can be... to help the athletes realize their dreams and their goals.”

Home Deporte6am