GANTI’S GANG

It was one of those blistering hot days in Kuta. Dogs yapping, incense lingering in the air, motorbikes buzzing through the chaos sending offerings flying everywhere as shirtless Scandinavians attempt to wander off the haze of the night before. Casting an eye inside the busy Goku BBQ restaurant one might not notice anything out of the ordinary, but if you’ve spent any time surfing in Indonesia you’d quickly gather that the collection of laughing locals down the back, attacking plates of flame grilled chicken and ribs, are Balinese surfing’s very own royal family.

Wayan “Ganti” Gantiasa is the patriarch of the clan, who all live within a few blocks of each other off the notorious Jalan Benesari, the back alley that snakes from Kuta Beach and continues down to Poppies II, passing Ganti’s restaurant, Goku, along the way. Ganti was one of Bali’s first ever surfers and became fast