Unlike many Indonesian girls, she's right at home on the beach.
"I think my soul is
already in the water. The ocean just calls me, 'Come, come, come.' When I
go to the beach, I feel like it's my home," she tells CNN's Human to Hero series.
The 20-year-old is Bali's only native female pro surfer.
The Indonesian island is a
mecca for wave-seekers and beach-loving tourists, but of the locals
it's mainly men who mix it up with the visitors.
"A lot of my friends say,
'Why do you like surfing? Surfing is dangerous.' It's not dangerous for
me. It's very fun," Rahayu says.
"Indonesian girls are scared of getting dark skin and don't want to go surfing. And I'm the luckiest one, I love the beach."
Born in Seminyak, a
coastal town in southern Bali that has been absorbed by the major
tourist resort of Kuta, Rahayu has lived by the sea all her life.
"So many Australians come and act like bad tourists and make everything dirty," she told Surfing Life website last month.
"But no matter what I would never leave Bali, because I can surf
amazing waves all-year-round and you can't do that anywhere else."
How water 'energizes' historic surfer
Gilmore: Surfing can be feminine
Kitesurfer overcomes near-death moments
Her dad was a renowned local surfer, but he wasn't so keen when she said she wanted to follow in his footsteps.
So the 12-year-old went
behind his back and learned from her uncle instead. Two years later, she
made a name for herself at a local talent contest and earned a
sponsorship deal.
The middle of three sisters, Rahayu says surfing has given her an identity.
Unlike her father, who
had to give up the sport to support the family, she has been able to
combine competing with her university studies thanks to funding from Rip
Curl -- one of surfing's major brands.
"I feel so lucky. No-one
from Bali can surf. I don't want to be like any other girls," she says.
"I feel great because I can do something different. Everything in my
life now is about surfing."
Rahayu's major
breakthrough came when she won a bronze medal for Indonesia at the 2008
Asian Beach Games, which were held in Bali.
"I met the president, had an interview with him and we talked a lot," she recalls.
"It was really cool. And my mom and my dad were proud of me, and my name was in every newspaper."
The silver medal winner
that year was Yasniar Gea. From the island of Nias, off the coast of
Sumatra, she has gone on to become the most successful female Indonesian
surfer.
Rahayu competes against
Gea on the Asian Surfing Tour, but says her biggest inspiration comes
from women riding on the world stage -- such as leading Australians
Stephanie Gilmore and Sally Fitzgibbons, and Hawaii's Carissa Moore.
Joining them is still a pipe dream; she acknowledges she has yet to pay her dues on the Asian circuit.
Cliff diver masters amazing twists
Brazilian beach tennis pro makes history
"I want to win this tour. I want to focus on that -- it's my dream," Rahayu says.
"I'm not going to Europe yet, but I will. And I want to go to Australia, maybe next year."
But wherever she ends up, there's no place like home -- where already she's inspiring young girls to take up surfing.
"It feels so amazing,
because now young girls are surfing and then taking pictures with a
hashtag, and then just following me," she says.
"It's really good to get
more girls surfing in Indonesia. I'm just trying to keep encouraging
everyone to get in the water and enjoy life."
CNN
No comments:
Post a Comment