Louis Robinson - Beco Board Bags

When did you first start surfing?
I first started surfing when I was about 8 years old and I did heaps of surfing lessons. Then when I was about 14 I switched to bodyboarding. I just found I had a lot more fun, it was more enjoyable bodyboarding.

What do you love most about surfing?
I think it’s the unpredictability and that the conditions can change in a second. Also the power of the ocean can make you feel pretty small.

What’s the biggest waves you’ve surfed?
Probably down in the Canggu stretch of coast it came up to a solid 6-7 foot. It didn’t seem that big at the start!

Is there a wave that stands out in your mind as your most memorable?
Probably just this last weekend. My friend and I go surfing pretty much everyday after school and on weekends sometimes go looking for waves up and down the Canguu coast. We found a nice wedge, he was paddling over a wave, he’s a stand-up surfer, and I pulled in and we were just looking at each other the whole wave. It was just crazy.

How long have you lived in Bali?
It’s been just on 4 months now. I’ve been here 5 or 6 times before. My dad works 2 weeks on 2 weeks off and my Mum lives here.

Can you tell me what the Green School is like?
I came from a posh private school in Australia, you might not think that when you’ve seen my hair! I enjoyed it, the education was amazing. But here the education is just as good and the I’m learning things that are more relevant, and how your hair looks isn’t a factor. Here you are judged on how you do your work and how you act, not how you look or how you dress.

I saw your video on your Beco Board Bags, can you tell us a bit about that project and how it came about?
Recently I got a new body board and I wanted a new bag so I didn’t damage it. Mum told be about a group that works with disadvantaged people who make things to get skills and earn some money, I thought it would be a good idea to get them to make them. I thought about it a while longer then at school we were given a project to do that we were passionate about and I decided my idea was perfect for this.

After thinking some more I felt that it probably wasn’t quite right for the original group and I thought of working with the Bali Street Kids organization, I didn’t want to use them. I can give them some of the profits and there’s kids there that love drawing and designing and we can work with them on the designs.

What sort of feedback have you been getting?
Surprising! Very surprising. The craziest story, a few days after the video went up I was eating at Echo Beach and this lady comes up and goes your Louis and I’ve thought “oh no what have I done!” She said, you put up that video - I thought she was talking about some skate videos I’d put up, I didn’t even know the Beco Board Bag video had been put up yet. Then she started talking about the board bags, so she put me onto Josh who has a factory and is going to produce them for me!

Do you see yourself working in the surf industry longterm?
I’ve been into surfing and skating since a really young age, we’ve got a beach house, we’ve always been out in the ocean, I’m comfortable out there. So I’d like to work in the industry.

Are you going to be in Bali a while?
I’m hoping to stay here as long as possible. We are from South Australia, the closest surf beach is about an hour away and it’s just an average beach. Here in Bali the surf is second to none. You’ve got Keramas, Padang Padang, Ulu’s then you’ve Mentawais, G-land etc.

Have you been to any of the more remote places yet?
I’ve only been here 4 months, my Mum is not a surfer and not so enthusiastic to go to some of those places. My brother is coming over in a month, he’s a photographer and I’ll be going with him!