Nias is a gnarly wave.
You’ve seen the clips of Lagundri Bay, the perfect yet treacherous righthander on the Sumatran Island of Nias. Like the one time the boat got absolutely wrecked.
Around the corner, there’s another wave. Not many surfers even give that one a go. But Matt Bromley is not like most surfers. And a handful of years ago, the South African charger caught what many called the biggest wave ever paddled in Indonesia.
In a new video, Bromley brings it back to that wave. He scraped into it no problem, made the drop look easy, then tucked in for the tube. That’s where things went wrong. The wave was roping far down the line, and Bromley had no chance of coming out.
With episode one of his worst wipeouts series, Bromley explained what happened next:
“The foamball lifted me up, and exploded me so hard. Instantly, I was put hands and knees, facedown on the coral reef. The wave was pressing me down. I remember being stuck in this stance, just flattened on the coral reef.”
Heavy stuff.
In the meantime, Bromley’s still been charging – like near home at a shark-infested, seaweed-loaded slab in Cape Town. But that wave in Indo, it keeps calling him back.
“It was an incredible experience, but man, that was scary,” he said. “That wave just keeps calling me back. Every time I’ve been there, something amazing has happened. It’s so mysto; every time I surf it, I’m pretty much by myself. It keeps calling my name, because I know the best wave of my life is waiting to be ridden out there.”
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