Catch up with Tedi Kurniadi

Tedi Kurniadi, one of Indonesia’s best longboards, has been part of the Ross Concept team for longer than we can remember now. We sat him down to answer a few questions in between travels from Bali to Batukaras.

Where are you from?

I was born in Batukaras -  a small village in West Java, Indonesia. The community has always been good there, with a slow paced vibe and simple way of living. The daily routine is perfect, morning surfs followed by coffee and long chats with friends. It’s a lot more peaceful than Bali - that’s for sure!

When did you start surfing?

Not many people know, but ⁠I actually started shortboarding way before longboarding, when I was seven years old. All the groms were on shortboards back then, and it's only since around seven years ago that I switched to longboarding. I still love surfing a twinny though!

Favorite surf spot in Indonesia?

It’s hard to choose one, how could you in Indonesia? There's so many amazing spots. My favorites are ⁠⁠The Mentawais, Nias , Kuta beach Bali, and of course my town Batukaras. It’s nice to be able to mix up between heavy waves, long pointbreaks and mellow beachies. It keeps things fun and interesting. 

Favorite board? Why?

⁠⁠I like the latest board in Ross’ range - the Fluid Drive. The original version had a pointed nose, which was great, but when the newer one came out with a round nose, I fell in love! It goes so well in pretty much anything, but I love that I can push the board in critical waves and do big turns, steep noserides etc. (Below in the left image, you can see the first ever Fluid Drive made, with the pointed nose).

Favorite maneuvers on the longboard?

⁠⁠It’s all pretty fun, even just trimming along a wave, but my favorites have to be hang heels and drop knee cutbacks, they just feel so good.

Any advice for people looking to improve their long boarding?

It seems obvious, but it’s simply about practicing more and more. It is easy to get into it but then get lazy and stop for a while. The more consistent you are with good focus, the faster you will improve. Go set up at decent wave for a few weeks and surf all day everyday, you’ll be surprised how much you improve!

Any big plans for 2025?⁠  

I love competing, and in 2025 I am hoping to compete abroad as much as possible, to push my limits and represent Indonesia.