The Desert Point local might be the most barrelled person on the planet.
"My parents grew up in the village nearby. They didn’t surf. No one did. They couldn’t swim. But dad was a fisherman, and he knew the wave was dangerous,” Usman Trioko told Core Stories.
That wave, and that reef, was Desert Point. Usman “Uzy” Trioko would spend his early days playing in the white sand, watching intently as the emerald green tubes spun in mechanical perfection down the coral reef. The teenage Trioko didn't know he’d grown up with views of the best wave in the world. For him, it was the only wave in the world. As he watched travelling surfers disappear inside crystalline funnels for up to 30 seconds, all he knew was that he wanted to do what they were doing.
“It was perfect, but it wasn't easy to learn to surf there,” said Uzi. "Around 15 or so years ago when I started, there were no camps or accommodation. We couldn’t get any surfboards or leashes, even wax. I’d grab old boards given to me by visiting surfers. And when I’d break them I'd take them to Pablo, a Deserts’ legend who camped here every season, who’d fix them for me.”
There’s also a whole aspect to Deserts that isn’t shown in the iconic line-up shots or Instagram reels. The meta-data behind the images don’t show the lengthy flat spells or the Class VI rapid rip that can tear through the wave into the 300-metre-deep Lombok Straight. The reef is as sharp as the water is shallow. There’s also little mention of the wet season, when onshore breezes and a lack of swell turn the Bangko Bangko village into a remote, waveless, outpost.
Uzy, with his relentless upbeat attitude and tube riding ability, however soon overcame the barriers to entry. Over time, as land and sea access from Bali to Deserts improved, he could get access to better equipment, and soon became one of the better surfers in the line-up. No mean feat considering that every time the wave breaks there’s a mix of seasoned Indo travelers, Bali-based rippers and a clutch of international pros surfing the iconic lefthander.
“Man, it was also wild to surf and watch the best surfers in the world surf here,” says Uzy. “The CT guys are always the best. Be it Medina, or John John or Italo. There are so many great surfers I’ve seen. I just watch and learn. I want to know how to get deeper and how to get better vision. You can never stop learning at this wave.”
Yet one of the most memorable times of his life, was when the pandemic left Uzy and a few local surfers locked down, alone, at one of the best waves in the world.
“That was a pretty core surfing experience, just weeks and weeks of endless swell with no one here,” he recalled, his eyes going misty at the recollection. “Sometimes after surfing for six hours, we’d just watch empty perfect waves barrel down the reef, too tired to surf.”
When the restriction lifted the travellers returned, and in significant numbers. “Sure, the crowds have increased since I started surfing, and I know I’m lucky to sit out the back and pick my waves, but I try to respect everyone in the line-up,” said Uzy. “I know people have paid lots of money to come here, and that this might be the chance to get the wave of their life. I try and be warm, happy, and spread the good vibes.”
You could say he has carved out a career in surfing not just by being one of the most barrelled humans on the planet, but by spreading the good vibes. He’s also laid the foundations for the next generation of local surfers.
“I’ll be on the beach at Deserts, and someone will say, ‘There’s Uzi on a sick one,’ and I say, ‘I’m right here dude, that’s Rusti, my nephew,’” laughs Uzi. “The only difference is when he breaks his boards and he just comes in and grabs one of mine. He doesn’t need Pablo to fix them.”
And while Uzi now travels much more - tracking swells in Bali, or the Mentawai Islands, and hitting the waves of Kuta, Lombok in the offseason, it is Deserts that will always be his home. The place he always comes back to every time it breaks.
“Core surfing for me is really just about going with the flow," finishes Uzi. “I lost my father about ten years ago, but when I surf Deserts I always try to remember his advice; ‘Be careful. Be considerate. Respect the wave and the reef.’ And that’s what I’ve tried to do every surf.”
Words: Ben Mondy
Filmed: Milo Inglis | Budiman (@desertpoint85) | Sudir (@sudir_desertpoint96) | Pete Frieden
Edit: Ben Lang
Leave a comment