My Story: From Chasing Waves to Surf Photography on YouTube
The ocean has always been my biggest passion. It’s what drives me to explore, chase waves, and capture moments through photography and film.
I picked up my first camera back in 2003 and started shooting at my local beach. That’s where my love for both stills and video began. After studying Graphic Design and Multimedia for three years, I teamed up with my best mate Rian and we set off on an epic adventure: riding bicycles through Indonesia in search of perfect waves.
For three and a half months we island-hopped across the archipelago, filming and surfing wherever we could. That journey became our first major project — a four-part 50-minute TV series called Eat.Sleep.Surf. We sold the show to The Nautical Channel and several other broadcasters, which funded our next adventure in Taiwan.
Before heading to Taiwan, I did a five-week solo bicycle trip called Sendiri, continuing the Eat.Sleep.Surf spirit. Starting from Bali, I rode to Nusa Lembongan, crossed to the Gili Islands, then onto Lombok. After surfing Desert Point for four days, I continued through Sumbawa and finished the journey at Scar Reef. You can watch Sendiri on Garage Entertainment or download a copy from my store.
Taiwan was another unforgettable experience. We spent a month riding bikes, camping, surfing, and filming. The result was four 25-minute episodes — our best-produced show to date — which we also sold to broadcasters.
In 2014, I decided to take my surf photography more seriously. I bought a cheap water housing for my Canon 5D Mark III and started shooting local surfers. I quickly fell in love with the challenge of positioning myself in the lineup to capture the perfect shot. Every session felt unique — whether it was dolphins joining the lineup or a stunning sunrise painting the sky. I realised every surf session had its own story.
After a year with the entry-level housing, I upgraded to a second-hand Aquatech housing, which I still use today.
Around 2016, filmmaker Casey Neistat was blowing up on YouTube with his daily vlogs. After searching, I noticed there were almost no dedicated surf photography channels on the platform. That’s when I decided to start my own.
Drawing on my video editing experience, I committed to posting one video per week, taking viewers behind the scenes of each photograph — the stories, the challenges, and the magic behind every image. It took about 20 videos to find my rhythm and develop a format that worked for both me and the audience.
And that’s how my YouTube channel was born.
My goal with this channel is simple: to share my work, tell the stories behind the images, and most importantly — inspire you to grab a camera, get in the water, and start shooting.
If you enjoy the content, I’d love for you to subscribe, watch one of my films, or support me by buying a print. Any of these means the world to me and helps keep the channel alive.
Thanks for watching, and I hope to see you out in the water soon.