Interview with Mattia

With the Indonesian Surf Championships kicking off at the end of April, we hit the beach to see where the surfing spirit is at... 

Introducing...
MATTIA: Hello, I am Mattia, Italian surfer, born in Milan 9 November 1990.

How long have you been living in Bali? 
M: I have been living in Bali for the past 8 years, it doesn’t seem like that long because it’s such a great place.

Can you speak Bahasa Indonesian?
M: Bisa! harus bisa! (I can! I must be able to!)

What is your surfing background?
M: well, I surf mostly for fun, nothing serious, but I do a couple of contests every now and then, it helps to keep my sponsors happy. 

What got you into surfing?
M: Well, the first time I came to Bali was in the year 2000, I saw people surfing in Legian and I said to myself “I wanna do that one day”. The next day I rented myself a body-board and I was trying to stand up on it, because I was so little I could! After a few days i got a surfing instructor from Legian and they taught me well.

How did you feel when you got your first wave?
M: well I didnt really get to stand up on my first wave but i felt great.

What are the benefits of surfing?
M: Well there are many benefits if you are a surfer; chicks love surfers, you get this amazing feeling when you’re riding waves, your body gets fitter and healthier and once you start you can’t stop, i dont know if that’s a benefit though!

What is your favorite moment when surfing?
M: My favorite moment when i surf is when i score good waves and ride great barrels with no one around. 

What kind of surfing do you like the best?
M: I love free surfing; going on trips just for fun is the best for me. 

Have you ever been close to drowning or injured?
M: No luckily I haven’t drowned yet! But yeah I got injured once before, last time I was at the mentawais for an 8 day trip, I cut my back up pretty bad.

What is your favorite beach?
MATTIA: Well I like surfing everywhere but my favorite beaches are Bingin and Canggu.  

What surfboard do you use? 
MATTIA: I mainly use short-boards because I can do airs and stuff, cant do those on a long-board can you? 

Any unforgettable moments?
MATTIA: I’ll never forget the 18th of July 2008, best Padang-Padang EVER! 
Tell us about the contests you’ve been involved in...

MATTIA: Well I do the ISC tour (Indonesian surfing championship) and I hope this year I get to go into the top 10, its been really hard because now that I’m not a grommet anymore I have to compete with the opens which is really hard to win. But hopefully this year I can do better. 

If you’ve signed up for the ISC the waiting period begins on the 26th of April so when the good waves hit you better be ready for that call...