Meeting Tim from Magic Wave Magazine in Legian Bali

Magic Wave (MW) is the free local surfing magazine that can be found all over the south coast of Bali. I spoke to Tim the owner about how he came to Bali and how MW came into being.

Tim is originally from San Diego California and is aged 43.

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Nick: Tim what were you doing before you came to Bali?
Tim: I was director of product management for an automotive and insurance information company.

Nick: How many years did you do that?
Tim:I did that for 5 years, then I was in editorial for previous 5 years.

Nick: What made you come over to Bali?
Tim: Yearly trips over 5-6 years and a new boss that I didn’t care for.

I thought I wanted to take a year off and enjoy surfing, a new culture etc. My first trip to Bali was in 1997.

Nick: When did you move to Bali?
Tim: I moved to Bali in May 2001

Nick: How many years have you been surfing?
Tim: I started aged 21

Nick: How did you find the surfing in Bali?
Tim: I’d been to Costa Rice, Hawaii, Mexico. Here there’s such a variety and diversity of surf spots in one area here in Bali.

Nick: What about the actual surf?
Tim: I was back in San Diego a year ago and it was amazing how many days the surf wasn’t good. Here its 80% good, almost always surfable.

Every spot has its time when the conditions make it the best spot. Even though there are crowds here if you learn about the breaks, tides, winds you’ll always find good surf. The water is warm too which means you never need a wetsuit. I look back at my younger days surfing close to San Francisco and think ‘how did I do it?’

Nick: How would you describe the supporting surf industry here in Bali?
Tim: You can get almost everything here. It might not be the best in terms of quality but you can find 90% of what you need.

Nick: What about the supporting infrastucture, places to stay, eat, get your dings repaired?
Tim: That’s what makes Bali the place it is, It makes surfing here so easy. I’ve never travelled to any other 3rd world country where getting things done was so easy, there are warungs and losmen eveywhere.

Nick: Magic Wave, how did it start?
Tim: It all started with Piping who is a Balinese/Javanese former surf boy. He went to university, started studying photography and started SurfTime Magazine. SurfTime is Still running, but he’s not associated with it anymore. Piping also started Flip, a skateboard magazine that ran for several months. He then had the idea for MW and got a group of people to support him. The first edition was in Jan 2002.

Nick: How did you meet Piping?
Tim: I met him on beach in Feb 2002 and from then on would write an occassional story and edit other articles as a volunteer until there were some financial issues. Officially we joined forces together with Ebong ( the other owner).

We started that in March, then in May the first new edition came out. Originally there were no paid staff but I told the guys we had to do it right like a real business.

Nick: What is the mission of MW?
Tim: We have 2 perspectives. 1) For the new comers to Bali, to give them something different from the tourist culture that is already too much. To give them a look at the local commnunity, like ‘peeling back the onion’ little further.

2) For the local community it allows us to develop people, places and a feel good perspective. We notice what they’re doing to help community become stronger, more proud, resilient.

Also MW offers an opportunity, we’re very affordable. This gives small businesses a chance to advertise. We are a forum for the community, we take article submissions, nobody is exempt from participating.

Nick: What successes have you had so far?
Tim: It took about 3 months and we went from 16 pages to 24 and want to go to 32.

We had a nightsurfing party at Space on Jl. Dhyana Pura in Seminyak and got a mention in the Jakarta Post ‘Bali Rebound’ section May 1st-15th 2004. We also partner with a Swiss extreme sports magazine called ‘4 Riders’, which features skating, snowboarding surfing and skiing.

Nick: How has MW affected the local surf culture in Bali?
Tim: Most of the kids on the beach mostly know MW. Its not ubiquitous yet but a stepping stone for locals, first MW then SurfTime. Local kids need a surf sponser and we help expose the local talent.

After one of our recent editions wwe were contacted by an Aussie who wanted to sponser a local body board rider.

Nick: What kind of local feedback do you get?
Tim: I don’t get so much directly but Piping gets a lot as well as our marketing staff. Expats and tourists will send emails saying how they love the magazine and the profiles.

Nick: Where can a visitor get hold of a copy of MW.
Tim: MW can be found at Circle K, Bintang supermarket in Seminyak and Bali Deli.

Nick: Are you making a profit?
Tim: We’re a little better than breaking even and expect to keep going. We’re getting more and more support, paying our bills and feeling pretty solid ater 1 year.

MW is looking to grow its presence in Indonesia and one of the ways to do that is through surfing oriented events, getting sponsored contests, maybe t-shirts, posters too. We have 1,000’s of photographs. We want to increase our distribution and impact in Indonesia.

Nick: How do you think you can impact Indonesia?:
Tim: We’d like to place a couple more reporters in other areas. Develop relationships with other surf communities, we would like to have a Mentawai, W.Java, E.Java section etc.

Nick: Will MW always be Bali focused?
Tim: Because MW is based here in Bali I would expect it will always be a little bit Bali-centric. No matter it will always be a free publication.

Magic Wave is located on the 2nd floor of the Legian Arcade.