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Studs, Spikes, and... Massage Oil? Meet Bogor's 'Pijat Punks'

These best friends are breaking into a field usually dominated by the relaxing sounds of nature with a Blitzkrieg Bop of fast and raw punk rock.
All photos by author

Punk's DIY ethos are pretty strong, but even the most-hardcore punk would admit that a massage is better when you get a hand from someone else.

Out in Bogor, West Java, two enterprising punks figured this out and started their own mobile massage service called Pijat Punk, or "punk massage," in English. It's the brain child of Adipati, a local musician, and his best friend Bizen, who learned some special massage skills from his parents.

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But who really wants to get massaged while listening to “Diktator,” by Tjukimay or "Radio," by Rancid? Apparently a lot of people, if you know where to look. Pijat Punk sets up at punk, hardcore, and metal shows, where there are plenty of sore muscles and sprains from stage dives, circle pits, and moshing.

“Spraining your muscles after performing/stage diving is nothing unusual, you see this at a lot at punk gigs,” Adipati told VICE.

VICE's Marcel Thee spoke to Adipati and Bizen about Bizen's magic fingers and why, no matter how many times someone asks, the massage is never going to climax with a happy ending.

VICE: Hi guys. So, what exactly is Pijat Punk?
Adipati: The concept is literally "street punk massages." You can just lie down anywhere on a mattress and get a massage while listening to punk anthems. After the service, we give the customers Pijat Punk stickers, just like how punk bands do it. Bizen is the one doing the massaging while I take care of the playlists, the documentation, and the promotion. You’ve seen a sales person trying to sell you a motorbike that can be paid for with credit? That’s basically me.

You massage people at shows? Is that the right kind of environment for a massage? I thought it was supposed to be relaxing.
Adipati: This one time, we were doing Pijat Punk at a gig and there were thousands of people there. Most of them were just school kids. During a session, out of nowhere, a bunch of kids got into a fight and they almost stepped on our "punksien." Bizen and I had to use our bodies to cover him and push away everyone else. But instead of getting angry or upset, we actually enjoyed that sort of environment [laughs].

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How did you come up with the idea for Pijat Punk?
Adipati: In early December 2017, I got sick with Chikungunya (a mosquito-borne disease like malaria). I was really suffering for two months. I couldn’t move my body, even a little movement would cause me to scream. It would bring me to tears—that’s how painful it was.

During the second week of my illness, I had to perform with my band at a campus in Bogor. I already committed myself to the gig even though it was physically impossible for me. I just convinced myself that I wasn’t weak at the time [laughs].

In the afternoon, I was going to hang out at Bizen’s workplace. When I got there, the pain got really bad. Bizen pulled out some sort of oil from his bag, he said it was a massage oil from Cimande, West Java. Only thirty minutes after getting massaged by Bizen, miraculously, I could start to move my body without much pain.

Does the music actually contribute to the massage experience somehow?
Adipati: Well, since I also play in a band, every time we play a gig, I try to get permission from the organizer to set up Pijat Punk at the venue. It's the perfect punk strategy. We have free access to the event, and when there's no customers we get to watch other bands perform and even mosh a little.

Bizen: The punk soundtracks have a huge impact on me. The music gets me hyped-up as I do my job. Just imagine, in one night, I have to massage eight people for half an hour each, and some of them are pretty buff. The music is a topic of conversation, so it’s not boring like your usual massage when nobody says anything. I just geek out about music with the clients.

What are your favorite punk massage tunes?
Adipati: The Secret Prostitutes, a band from Houston, Texas, with a Bogor-native as the drummer drummer. Almost all their songs are in Indonesian and they cover cool topics. It’s the perfect soundtrack for Pijat Punk, and Bizen and I sing along to it during the service. Most punksiens request The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and Rancid. Those are the big three, since most people know some of their lyrics [Laughs].

There’s this stigma that punks aren’t really all that clean. How do you fight that idea and convince people to let you massage them?
Adipati: There's no need to worry. We always cut our nails and wash our hands before the service. We always bring water and soap everywhere we go. We also clean the customer’s body beforehand with wet tissues we bought from the mini market.

Is there a difference between massaging a punk and a non-punk?
Adipati: Absolutely. A lot punks' bodies are covered in tattoos, so during a session, Bizen would just stare at them. Sometimes, the tattoos become a source of conversation. We ask them where they got tattooed and how much they paid for it. Bizen also said that the punks tend be more unclean and dirty [Laughs].