Bali Surfing Wipeouts: Beginner Beatdown (Video)
- Weeknights, after dinner, the family would gather on the couch, dad with a tallboy of Bud heavy in hand, mom with a glass of Pinot, my pre-teen brother...
- With regards to surfing, Kookslams is carrying the torch in the epic fail department.
- It shows a surfer in Bali, threading the tube, as two beginners on soft-tops attempt to paddle over the lip, only to get caught, and sucked over the...
I have fond memories of America’s Funniest Home Videos.
Weeknights, after dinner, the family would gather on the couch, dad with a tallboy of Bud heavy in hand, mom with a glass of Pinot, my pre-teen brother and I cackling uncontrollably at the compilation of VHS-era clips. How many soccer balls to the crotch does it take until the gag gets old? Turns out, it never gets old. Simpler times.
Today, instead of Pardonwe have Instagram. With regards to surfing, Kookslams is carrying the torch in the epic fail department. And one clip is perhaps more iconic than all the rest:
It shows a surfer in Bali, threading the tube, as two beginners on soft-tops attempt to paddle over the lip, only to get caught, and sucked over the falls. Somehow, the surfer cruises beneath unscathed. It’s pure gold. And Kookslams has brought it back, this time with the backstory.
“Yep, I remember that one,” said French surfer Eneko Elosegui. “I was in the one in the barrel. [Laughs.]”
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When he’s not dodging beginners at Bingin, Elosegui works for Wavegarden, the wave pool magnate, as a product designer. As for the clip, which has to be a couple years old by now, he explained:
“Every single time I watch it, I’m still surprised myself. I somehow make it. Right there [when he comes out of the tube]I’m like, ‘Fuck…I’m alive. How did that happen?’ Everyone was so excited. I was thinking, that must’ve been some good footage.
“There were so many funny comments. Some people even thought that the whole thing was set up. I can easily say nobody set that up. Not a Bingin. Nobody wants to end up on the reef. I’ve the reef there way too many times, and that would’ve been a total disaster.”
And with Bali being bedlam when it comes to tourism, overcrowded surf spots, inexperienced surfers in the water, etc., Elosegui used his viral clip as a cautionary tale:
“It’s a good one to show people that you gotta be careful out there, and assess the situation before getting yourself into a dangerous spot like this.”
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