Long before surfing was introduced to Bali, many kids in Kuta fishing village were already surfing. Similar to body-boarding, “meserupan” was a fun thing to do after school or after completing chores. They would ride on broken waves using driftwood planks they found at the beach. One such boy was Pande Nyoman Radiasa.
John Michael Boyum, a young adventurous man who was born in Florida in 1946, landed in Bali in 1968.
Pande Nyoman Radiasa was thirteen years old when he crossed paths with John Michael Boyum at Kuta Beach in 1969.
In 1974 at a rural village in East Java, Mike Boyum met nine-year-old Sunar, who from that time on he treated like his own son.
The friendship of this trio led to the creation of the world’s first surf camp, which has spawned innumerable friendships over the decades.
The camp in the protected jungle of Alas Purwo began when an Australian surfer searched intently for surf breaks on the south east coast of Java during mid 1971. Prior to that, whilst surfing in Western Australia, he had witnessed the huge rolling swells travelling north through the Indian Ocean. He had a theory there was great surfing potential in Indonesia.
His discovery was noted by Bob Laverty, and so the legendary tales began.