LIVING FOR THE NEXT WAVE
Bali Joe has been a mainstay on the North Shore since the late ‘70s. Anyone that has surfed Rockys or Pipeline is sure to have seen him. His real name is Joseph William Kupsenel. Bali Joe is a nickname he picked up back in the day when he was selling goods from Bali at hot spots along the North Shore’s coast.
“I used to bring back all kinds of rasta gear that I would pick up on my surf trips over there and sell it over here,” remembers Bali. “Things were so cheap in Bali.”
He shapes a bunch of surfboards—mostly single fins—following his own theories about surfboard design, being meticulous about every detail down to the lightning bolt logo on the top. Bali is a true surfer at heart. The pulse in the ocean is all that really matters to him. His passion and love for wave riding is something that every surfer, and every person can be inspired by.
Contrast: How long have you been living on the North Shore?
Bali Joe: I’ve been living out here since 1979. I was learning how to shape in Puerto Rico then came down here to live and never left. Actually I started surfing in Florida, went to Puerto Rico, then to Hawai‘i.
What keeps you here?
The weather is so nice; stays warm all year around. It’s the most consistent place in the world for waves. You can go somewhere on the island… find somewhere to surf. And everyone knows me here.
What’s an ideal day for Bali Joe?
Wake up; go get a cup of coffee, go check Pipe. Usually there’s bunch of bodyboarders out before dawn so I like to be the first real surfer out there. I would surf for like 3 hours then go get some breakfast. Then go back to Pipe and if it’s good, surf again. I would shape here and there too.
Is Pipeline your favorite wave?
Pretty much. I surf Pipe quite a bit. I like lefthanders so I try to concentrate on Pipe and Rocky lefts a lot. I also know of a few secret places to get some waves all by myself. I go to those places when the North Shore is way too crowded.
What’s the biggest change on the North Shore since you’ve been here?
The line up is a lot different. When there are too many people it sucks but I deal with it. The only thing I miss is the cheap rent. I used to rent a room for a couple hundred bucks a month. Now you’re lucky if you get one for under a thousand. I could have bought the Quiksilver house for $230,000 back then but I didn’t qualify for the loan. Haha, if I did I would have been Pipeline Joe.
All of the surfboards you shape are branded with a Lightning Bolt. What inspires your designs?
That logo to me is the symbol of The Pipeline. When you watch old videos of Pipe, you see the deepest barrels to this day, and everyone had that logo back then… all the best guys. When I got to spend some time with Gerry [Lopez] in G-Land, he gave me advice on my surfing and shaping. He told me to look at what the good people are riding and to surf as much as I can.
So you learned what works through observation and riding your shapes yourself. Do you have any future projects up your sleeve?
I’m just waiting for the next good swell a Pipe. We haven’t had one in a while. That’s what I live for.
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バリジョー
彼は70年代からのNorthShoreロコサーファー。ニックネームは昔バリの旅から持って帰ってきた洋服や小物を車のトランクから売っていた時についたものだ。 今でも毎日パイプラインかロッキーポイントで見かけることが出来る。波の事しか気にしない正真正銘のソウルサーファーだ。
