“Indonesia is a beast of a country for everything.”
Far beyond Bali
Mike Boisvert spent two months in Indonesia in 2023. Everybody knows the country for Bali, he says, but he went all over: he crossed Java by train in a month, lived ten days with the skaters of Malang, and skated Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Lombok. He also spent a month there during Ramadan, without having known beforehand that Indonesia was a Muslim country. It was his last trip as a backpacker, and the country where his channel started to take off.
His verdict: “I would say Indonesia definitely has the most mature scene.” Jakarta alone has dozens of skateparks, and the biggest scene, but Bali is where everyone dreams of skating. “It's a bit like Americans want to move to California to skate.”
Where to skate
Kuta Beach skatepark was Mike's local park in Bali and is his number one place to skate: right on the beach, at sunset, with a good bowl, a street section, and free to skate. It hosts King of Kuta, a big contest in Bali. Amplitude Skatepark (@amplitude.skatepark) is huge, with a concrete vert ramp, a crazy bowl, two street sections and a mini ramp, but at around 8 US dollars for a four-hour session, it's expensive for locals. The Uluwatu Surf Villa bowl is, for Mike, the best bowl on the island, and bigger than it looks.
Behind many of these parks is Motion, an Indonesian park builder. “They create the best skate park in Asia, in my opinion.” Motion built the Uluwatu Surf Villa bowl and Amplitude, and Mike compares its concrete to California's.
Skaters to know
Basral Graito (@basralgraito) is Mike's number one pick: “the biggest prodigy of Indonesia,” super stylish, from a small town, and now invited to Street League events. Erlangga Putra (@erlangga__putra) is a prodigy from Jakarta and a super good contest skater, the first Indonesian skater Mike met. “He came out of nowhere.” Harley Bintang (@harley.bintang) is from Lombok, a different island with a lot of surfing and a mini skatepark. Mike ate with his family. “I love him.”
The names to know: Indra, the boss of Televisistar (@televisistar), a well-respected skater who did a lot for skateboarding in Bali and Indonesia; Paradise Skate Mag (@paradiseskatemag), Bali's skate video magazine; Pretty Poison; Malang Skateclub; and Vans Indonesia.
If you go
Surf at Kuta Beach and skate the same day. Eat nasi goreng, “best food ever.” Hike Mount Batur: “Climbing volcano is sick.” Bali has waterfalls and temples everywhere, but give it at least a week: the island is big and the traffic is heavy. Street spots are the weak point, says Mike.
The barrier is money: there is not much of it in Indonesian skateboarding, few sponsored skaters and few big events, and overtourism makes life hard for locals in Bali. Of the six countries in this round, Indonesia is the one Mike thinks deserves the most international attention. What would help is a full-on festival. The most underrated thing about the country, for Mike: “The skate scene there is huge.”
Photos and videos: Mike Boisvert / The Skate Nomad. Part of the JACKALOPE Skate Atlas, one country at a time, with the skaters who live there. See every country on the map.
