MY FIRST RUSSIAN

Posted in: News

I had my first Russian and I liked it. This all unfolded recently when I was in Bali on a work stint, and I mean work, because after experiencing the place in the early seventies the magic in the waves has dried up for me- unwilling and unable to compete with masses of roaming hordes looking for their own nirvana.

Every few years there is another nationality having a love affair with Bali and its unique culture. The last few years it has been the Russians…yes they are not only coming they are bloody well here. There are already 4 Russian surf schools working the beaches of Kuta up to Padmar.

If you would have to compare life in Russia with life on the beaches of Bali; its a chalk and cheese! Nevertheless there is a growing band of Russian crew that have decided to live and work here because they do not ever want to suffer another Siberian winter ever again! Jesus how could you ever go back after you had a taste of this climate.
 And this is where I met up with Penza who is a young Russian Lawyer who now lives and works in Kuta at one of the surf schools as a coach. He has only been surfing for about 5 years and is one of the hottest of the Ruskies.

He lives the life of Riley quite often pulling gigs up the Mentawai or Gland or elsewhere around the archipelago. When he makes some coin he is off to explore and basically lives for the day. Penza is not really his name, it is actually the name of the town he comes from back home but it seems everyone just calls him Penza anyway, and so he has adopted it.

Growing up in a landlocked environment in central Russia Penza did not even know surfing existed until his old man spotted some windsurfers in the Mediterranean when holidaying after the wall came down. He told his son about this pastime but made sure he finished his legal studies before allowing him to travel and discover it himself. I think he spent some time in the UK getting his law degree but did not even know there were waves in France. I spent some time listening to his journey over some bintangs, so I cannot completely remember why and how he ended up here in Bali.

So here he is- a 30 year old lawyer who loves just being a modern day Indo beach bum. And so he has been my FIRST RUSSIAN…..guy at least. In fact I have made a few boards for some Russian women of late who have completely embraced the lifestyle as well. Penza’s Russian girlfriend has a business in Moscow and St Petersburg and she flies out periodically to enjoy the lifestyle and go surfing with her boyfriend. It’s amazing to spend time with this young generation from Russia and besides their accent they do not live up to our stereotype Russian, but are all fully switched on.

Most that I met spoke really good English and certainly were on a mission to enjoy life in Bali. Just before I flew out I knocked Penza up a 6.3 pintail for G land which he has just told me went sick but unfortunately he got fully clipped by one of those bunny killer Gland lips and did his neck in, but he will live to surf another day and may be partly responsible in the future for spawning hordes of Russian surfers wandering the globe looking for “our” pot of gold. But if they all behave like Penza I do not think we have anything to worry about.

Muzz