In the prestigious event’s 20-year history, 16-year-old Rio Waida defeated the world’s best groms, becoming the first Indonesian ever to win the Quiksilver Young Guns Surf. This is a historic moment for both Waida and his country, as his ascendency to first place was a long, arduous road.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Waida. “This is the best result of my life and I’d really like to thank everybody for helping me get here. Big thanks to Quiksilver for putting this event on and to Mikey Wright, Ezekiel Lau, and Jeremy Flores for judging.”
Waida’s surfing was undoubtedly on point during the entire event, but what he had to do to get there was perhaps just as impressive. Before defeating finalists Sammy Pupo, Barron Mamiya, Cody Young, Sandy Whittaker, Malakai Martinez, Marco Mignot, Rio Waida, Kyuss King, and Kael Walsh, Waida was put through a onerous gauntlet.
The Quiksilver Young Guns Surf began with 1,500 entries from 19 countries. 30 of those entries were then selected by Quiksilver professional surfers Ezekiel Lau, Mikey Wright, and Jeremy Flores. Those 30 entries went on to a public voting contest—which totaled over 35,000 votes—and the top nine surfers were flown to California for a three-day long event in Southern California. In the end, it was Waida who walked away with a $10,000 check and bragging rights to the winner of the 2016 Quiksilver Young Guns Surf.
