All images courtesy Ricky Virgana
Don't Quit Your Day Job is VICE's column on musicians who—you guessed it—still work a full-time job.The ocean has become something of an obsession for Ricky Virgana, the bassist of the breakout Indonesian indie band White Shoes and the Couples Company. He told VICE that it was really his first dive, out in Komodo Island, that opened his eyes to the wonders of the sea. But subsequent dives also showed him the dark side of the ocean as he saw first-hand the ecological destruction caused by dynamite fishing and fishermen who turn to shark finning for money.He now writes about diving and the ocean's environment for a number of local publications. VICE's Marcel Thee reached out to Ricky to learn where his true love was, the sea or the studio.VICE: How did get into diving?
Ricky Virgana: In 2012, I went to Komodo Island with some friends. Among us, only one friend and myself didn't dive. Initially, I saw diving as something complicated because you have to go through all this briefing before each dive and you need to pay attention to the instructions. There are a lot of rules involved in diving and it's not exactly a cheap hobby as one needs to acquire dive gear and all sorts of camera equipment before committing to the experience.But when I finally dived for the first time (usually called a 'discover dive') at Komodo Island, I fell in love with the underwater and anything related to the ocean immediately.What is it about diving you enjoy the most?
I like diving because it connects me to another world and provides an insight to ocean lives and the most absurd-looking creatures you'd ever see. Diving, in a way, is also a chance to contemplate yourself while being surrounded by all the beauty underwater. It's a very personal experience since it's hard to describe how you feel when you're down there. It's almost like a psychedelic experience while being completely sober, looking at all these colorful life forms.Has diving affected your daily rhythms in any way?
I'm the kind of person who finds it difficult to go to bed early, and this often interferes with my diving sessions because during a dive you're supposed to be in good health, well-rested, and all that. So on the first day of each dive trip, I struggle to adapt a bit. Do you treat diving as a 'job'?
It sort of became a side job for me. How?
I became a contributor for a few print and digital media companies. I write about more obscure diving destinations that many people probably haven't checked out yet, places like Bolsel, Dua Luwuk Island, Togean Islands, and more. I also do pieces about the ecosystem of a spot, as well as how local people be involved with diving tourism in their own territory. I also take a lot of underwater pictures. You have a real passion for nature conservation, especially the sea. Why is this important for you and how does your diving hobby relate to it?
Honestly, it might be too early for me to start talking about nature conservation. I don't have the academical background to talk about the issue and initially I went diving just for the pure experience. However, as soon as I got into that world, and saw what was happening, I had to get involved. An example would be when you go for a dive and you notice how the ecosystem has been ruined by the bombs, fishing nets, or shark fin hunts. This affects the ocean's ecosystem in a massive way, which affects the livelihood of local fishermen as well. When coral and the coral reefs are damaged, then fish move somewhere else, causing fishermen having to go a great distance to find them. Some of the fishermen try to take a shortcut by catching sharks since there's a huge demand for shark fins and you can sell it at a high price. However, just telling them to not go for the sharks isn't the solution. We need to help them understand that a healthy ocean ecosystem means a sustainable fishing industry and sustainable marine tourism. Nature and the sea have given us a lot and now it's time for us to take care of them.Has diving inspired you musically? Or perhaps it's the other way around?
Everything I do comes back to music, and lately ocean and marine life has inspired me when writing songs. There's a song that I wrote with White Shoes that has a little ocean vibe.Have you ever met fans on a dive trip?
Not really. One time when I went diving at Gorontalo, I met Gorontalo's governor's son, Alham Habibie, who apparently listens to our music and has seen us perform in Berlin when he was attending university there. He found out about my hobby through my Instagram. One time, he treated my friends and I to dinner. After that, we went diving together a couple of times at Bolsel and Togean Islands.Diving and music, which one?
Music.
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Ricky Virgana: In 2012, I went to Komodo Island with some friends. Among us, only one friend and myself didn't dive. Initially, I saw diving as something complicated because you have to go through all this briefing before each dive and you need to pay attention to the instructions. There are a lot of rules involved in diving and it's not exactly a cheap hobby as one needs to acquire dive gear and all sorts of camera equipment before committing to the experience.But when I finally dived for the first time (usually called a 'discover dive') at Komodo Island, I fell in love with the underwater and anything related to the ocean immediately.What is it about diving you enjoy the most?
I like diving because it connects me to another world and provides an insight to ocean lives and the most absurd-looking creatures you'd ever see. Diving, in a way, is also a chance to contemplate yourself while being surrounded by all the beauty underwater. It's a very personal experience since it's hard to describe how you feel when you're down there. It's almost like a psychedelic experience while being completely sober, looking at all these colorful life forms.Has diving affected your daily rhythms in any way?
I'm the kind of person who finds it difficult to go to bed early, and this often interferes with my diving sessions because during a dive you're supposed to be in good health, well-rested, and all that. So on the first day of each dive trip, I struggle to adapt a bit. Do you treat diving as a 'job'?
It sort of became a side job for me. How?
I became a contributor for a few print and digital media companies. I write about more obscure diving destinations that many people probably haven't checked out yet, places like Bolsel, Dua Luwuk Island, Togean Islands, and more. I also do pieces about the ecosystem of a spot, as well as how local people be involved with diving tourism in their own territory. I also take a lot of underwater pictures. You have a real passion for nature conservation, especially the sea. Why is this important for you and how does your diving hobby relate to it?
Honestly, it might be too early for me to start talking about nature conservation. I don't have the academical background to talk about the issue and initially I went diving just for the pure experience. However, as soon as I got into that world, and saw what was happening, I had to get involved. An example would be when you go for a dive and you notice how the ecosystem has been ruined by the bombs, fishing nets, or shark fin hunts. This affects the ocean's ecosystem in a massive way, which affects the livelihood of local fishermen as well. When coral and the coral reefs are damaged, then fish move somewhere else, causing fishermen having to go a great distance to find them. Some of the fishermen try to take a shortcut by catching sharks since there's a huge demand for shark fins and you can sell it at a high price. However, just telling them to not go for the sharks isn't the solution. We need to help them understand that a healthy ocean ecosystem means a sustainable fishing industry and sustainable marine tourism. Nature and the sea have given us a lot and now it's time for us to take care of them.Has diving inspired you musically? Or perhaps it's the other way around?
Everything I do comes back to music, and lately ocean and marine life has inspired me when writing songs. There's a song that I wrote with White Shoes that has a little ocean vibe.Have you ever met fans on a dive trip?
Not really. One time when I went diving at Gorontalo, I met Gorontalo's governor's son, Alham Habibie, who apparently listens to our music and has seen us perform in Berlin when he was attending university there. He found out about my hobby through my Instagram. One time, he treated my friends and I to dinner. After that, we went diving together a couple of times at Bolsel and Togean Islands.Diving and music, which one?
Music.