Chatting to the Hindu Priest Who Just Won The Rip Curl Padang Cup In Bali

Hometown heroes don't come more adored than Balinese pro surfer and Hindu priest, Mega Semahdi. Born into the Pecatu community on the southern tip of the island, he is part of a bloodline that serves as the spiritual and environmental guardians of Bali's iconic Bukit Peninsula, home to arguably the best and most consistent string of reef breaks in the world.

Earlier this week it hosted the Rip Curl Cup international surfing competition at the jewel: Padang Padang. A hollow, ultra-shallow left-hand reef break, it's often described as the 'Pipeline of Indonesia,' due to its likeness to the deadly Hawaiian reef of the same name. Barely a spare piece of cliff remained as Mega took to the water against some of the world's best tube riders. The local villages emptied onto the rocks to watch their leader and he did not disappoint. Padang is his local and he was near untouchable in the flawless conditions racking up a near perfect 19.00 out of 20 on his way to his second Padang Cup win. We spoke to him about what it feels like to surf in Bali's spirit world, the responsibilities of a Hindu Priest in the environmental pressure cooker that is his home land, and what his win means for the people of Bali.

VICE Sports: That must have been emotional day, Mega.
Yeah I was pretty happy eh, pretty stoked. I been waiting for two years and it finally happened. I surf a couple heats and everyone is ripping, so it's really great and a lot of good surfers too. I surf with (former World Tour surfer) Damien (Hobgood) in the final and Clay (Marzo) and they all surf really good. It's pretty sick.

How was the support from your people lining the cliffs?
It's been huge since the opening (ceremony) everyone wish me luck and pray for that. I told them I'm gonna do all my best and yeah all of them, all the family, friends and village come out on the cliff and cheer for me and it give me goose bumps. That's why the first heat make me nervous because I don't want to let them down but then, you know, can't be too much like that, and I just learn. They are the most supporters for me and they make it happen.

What was your single most memorable moment?
It was actually the first heat. I was really nervous, I keep picking the wrong wave so at the end (Brazilian) Paulo (Moura) had priority and he didn't take the first set (wave). I ask him, are you going? No, no, you can go. I was like, 'what?' I got the score and win the heat. Luckily I start from there, I just learn from my mistake and then you know just surf with more passion.

Tell me about your relationship with the waves and the cliffs of the Bukit peninsula, where you preside as a spiritual leader?
Yeah, you know Padang has such a strong spirit. Every time I go in the water there it's not like other beaches, like Uluwatu or Bingin, because it's a sacred place. So yeah, after that first heat I know that the ocean has got my back so I just do what I do and yeah the ocean and the cliffs support me mentally.

What is your role as a spiritual leader?
Now, I'm still learning. My whole family is one of the caretakers for Uluwatu temple. It follows the bloodline, so you are marked with it when you are born and they hand it to me. I just learn about life and respect to mother nature, and people, so hopefully in the future I will be a better person for myself and family, friends, everyone. I think that's the most important now to keep learning.

Where do these waves fit into your beliefs?
Every village in Bali have this one sacred beach where they go to do Melasti, which comes every six months. It's a ceremony to say thanks and give gratitude for what we've had—rain, livestock, swell, when all the societies are doing really good every six months we have that ceremony. We have ours at Padang, so that's why Padang is really sacred. Back in the day when I was young my mum told me don't mess with Padang it's a really strong spirit there. That's why every time I surf there I always respect Padang. The wave is called Padang but the beach is called Labuamsait, the original name.

What did it mean perform for your people like that and win the contest?
It means the world. It's (the Rip Curl Cup) is the highlight of surfing in Indonesia and to be up there in front of my family and the whole crowd, it was amazing, and to get the trophy for the second time…

You're also an activist locked in a battle to prevent the exploitation of your island. Where are you at with that?
Yeah, I am involved in a few environmental actions because Bali blew up so fast because of the tourism industry. And there are few things that go wrong and I don't want my home disappearing into rubbish so I want to make the change and educate the youngsters, because people know Bali as a land of culture and nature, not concrete jungle. The mass tourism is just going wild so we have to watch that and control it because if not us, no one will do it.

You are currently trying to stop a luxury resort destroying one of Bali's best waves. How is that going?
We are going for a boardriders meeting soon, we will get all the board riders in Bali together and hopefully we can do something about it. It's always hard when you're dealing with the big government with big money but if we have the people's voice we can do anything, so we need to gather everyone. One mission, one vision.

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