Behind The Scenes With Skaters, Surfers, And Nathan Fletcher At The Keris Cup
Being very good at surfing? Hard.
Being very good at skating? Also hard. Being very good at both, like, you know, doing actual turns, not check turns, but big, fanning turns and getting barreled on world-class waves and then getting out of the water just to start flipping around a tiny piece of wood with just your feet before launching yourself off a concrete lip with it too? That is, frankly: fucking impossible.
That’s why everyone picks one of those two angles at around thirteen, fourteen years old and runs with it, like I did. Sometimes you just decide you like surfing more than skating. Other times you cry so hard after taking a slam that your mom thinks you have anaphylaxis and you settle with never wanting to go through all that again. Nurses, another overweight tween didn’t put their full weight into their front foot when dropping into their cousin’s backyard bowl, no, do not resuscitate, yes, get the screens.
This is all a very roundabout way of saying that I have a lot of respect for people who go both ways. When a surfer who skates or skater who surfs can do either or with some actual flair? Incredible, and I can only be jealous. Which is why I love events like the Keris Cup.
A quick refresher, the inaugural Keris Cup was held last year by and at Uluwatu Surf Villas. The format’s straightforward. Contestants submit their best surf clips captured during the contest window. The clips are judged, and there’s a big skate jam with everyone. Then at the end of the skate portion, it's champagne, a trophy, and flash photography of a smiling winner. Last year, a very deserving Shane Borland got the prize and the praise, and it was genuinely awesome.
And it’s back on this year. The field’s expanding, the original team is returning, and the Uluwatu Surf Villas setting is looking perfect, as always. To get some more details on the upcoming Keris Cup, setup, and what and who else to expect, we talked to Keris Cup judge and definitive legend, Nathan Fletcher.
In your words, how would you describe the Keris Cup? How did it come about and how did you get involved with it?
Well, it started with the Uluwatu Surf Villas guys. Tim Russo and Curtis Lowe, plus Chris Murphy and his family. They started with the bowl that they built at The Villas, the skate bowl. And there was talk about having some sort of surf and skate contest. I was there with the Murphys as it was being finished, and that's kind of how it started. There were different talks about it, and it just took a while to take form, and then Stew Brown was there. I believe he got involved with Sky and they had the same vision and alignment. He more or less brought it to life with everyone at the Surf Villas and then with myself. That's how it formed, and that's my correlation with it. I was stoked.
I think it's a necessary part of the culture. Originally there were surf and snow contests, then it turned to surf-skate-snow contests in the late 90s and 2000s, which was the Quik Cup. And the people who were there thought of that as like the best event ever. But it didn't keep going. But when we did that, it started with like boardercross with snowboarding, and then it went to slopestyle, and then skating got involved, and it kind of transformed right at the same time as the world was changing. And then there’s even Surfercross, that surf and motocross event that's just coming up. Anytime you go to these events, this is in my belief, but usually these crossover events have really high-level athletes.
And it's really cool to see them have to do something that isn't their discipline. Like, say a guy's a really good surfer. But then you have to see him skate. Or, vice versa with a really good skater. It lets everybody's competitive guard down, which you don't ever really see in contests. And I feel that that makes it much more camaraderie-based and people enjoy it because everybody's a kook at one point and super good at another.
So, like, for instance, you’re seeing one of your heroes, whoever it is, like, could be Danny Way or even a Shaun White and whoever. You’re used to seeing them be so good at their thing, and then you see them be average or pretty good at something else, and it brings everybody to the same level. It’s truly great because it takes out the competitive hierarchy, so everybody's in it together. I believe that that's a great part of competition, seeing people have their guard down and be vulnerable, you know? And then to see people be really good at other things you wouldn’t expect. The vibe and the camaraderie is really what I think is the important part about the event. And then with the Keris Cup, the surfing... being in Indonesia, being in Bali, those waves are all pretty good.
So, like, we’re having really good sessions at Padang with all the skaters like Keegan Palmer and Omar, my brother, Greyson, Alex Sorgente, and Alex Midler. There’s a whole group of us out there that were all for the contest, and the locals knew what we were doing and seeing them get just crazy waves even while they’re all basically recognised as high-level skateboarders. There's just something about that that's pretty magical.
And Shane Borland won last year, right?
Yeah, Shane Borland won, and rightfully so. Shane's really dedicated his life to being a crossover athlete. I did that a lot too, and there's really no gratification for that. So nobody's like, "Oh, he's the best," because you're not the best at surfing and you're not the best at skating. But it is the most fun, and it takes so much work to be proficient or be at a high level at both of them because you have to practice so much more than somebody who's just doing one thing. And so, to see Shane Borland win was really, really cool, and I was really stoked for him.
I think all the other riders were so stoked too because obviously he wasn't the gnarliest skater that night, and that was kind of the highlight, was the skating. But he definitely skated really well, just at a much higher level than anybody who surfed at a good level too. So, there was kind of like a glorifying of, you know, Shane's ability. Normally he wouldn't get that glory. Winning amongst his skateboarding heroes and peers, I think that really felt good for Shane, and it was so rad to see it.
What's the meaning behind the name, Keris?
The Keris is the Balinese sword that has the wiggle in the blade. That's why it's their logo. It’s spiritually symbolic to the region and Bali.
Oh nice, good fun fact. Aside from yourself, who else were the judges last year?
It was Marlon Gerber, my brother, Christian Hosoi, Omar Hassan, and Dave Duncan was the announcer and kind of helped judge as well. So, I think there were four of us. There could have been five if I remember correctly. It was supposed to be Rizal (Tanjung) too but I know Marlon stepped in because Rizal was out of town.
But to be honest, everyone involved in the contest was in the room watching the surf clips and going over it. So, everybody was there and chiming in and going on, you know? There were definitely those people who were the judges, but everybody was involved in it.
I’m sure it takes a village. Is that going to be sort of the rundown again this year in November? All the same crew and everything?
I think it's the same crew. They're adding maybe two or three more athletes, Zion Wright and Curren Caples. I don't know who else exactly is coming this year because it's a little ways out, but, yeah, it's going to be the same deal.
Nice! Those are insanely great additions. How does the selection process work?
Those guys are in charge of that. I’m just fortunate enough to be invited.
What are you most looking forward to for the contest this year?
I'm excited to be part of it and see a bunch of friends that are old and new. And, you know, I'll just go and say that there's nothing like being able to stay at the Uluwatu Surf Villas and be a part of a surf and skate competition. The whole lifestyle and the vibe that's around the contest is great, so I'm excited. It’s great to be included and to be of help.
The 2025 Keris Cup Riders
Pedros Barros, Keegan Palmer, Kieran Woolley, Alex Midler, Shane Borland (Winner), Heimana Reynolds, Greyson Fletcher, Yuro Nagahara, Finn Murphy, Alex Sergente, Sky Brown (Jay Adams Award), Jason Lijnzaat, Taylor Nye, Koldo Illumbe, Zeke, Chris Russel and Dede Bayu Satia.
The Keris Cup is returning in 2026 and will run 3rd to 8th of November at the Uluwatu Surf Villas.
Follow USV and The Keris Cup for updates.
