yeeeeeeeeeeewwww!!!!

Darmaputra Tonyo, home break.

Tonyo is all over surf news right now. Nice write up here: "In the surprise upset of the event so far..."

They refer to him as "...a small and wiry bundle of energy that never stopped smiling..."

He's even on Surfline: "making history as the first Indo surfer to make it to Round Three at this event..."

Surf media has taken to calling him Darmaputra Tonjo usually, with a j, and it looks like it's going to stick. In that Surfline feature, he's called Tonyo, Tonjo, and Tonya. Tonyo is his nickname, it's pronounced Tonyo, that's how he writes it, it's what he paints on his boards, and that's what his brother and all his friends call him. When asked about people now calling him Tonjo, he just smiles big and says, "It's OK..." He doesn't really care.

this film project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

duncan and mom

After a fun day surfing a right point we stopped to visit Duncan's mom in her home village. It was a surprise visit and she was really surprised and excited to see Duncan. I remember when she saw him she put her hand to her mouth and kept saying, "my son". In the first frame of the sequence Duncan is combing his hair with his hand as we walk down the path. Duncan's mom and aunt were really hospitable, their place felt peaceful. It was a wonderful visit.

From the moment I met Duncan on the beach 5 years ago, he took me in like a brother. He's like that with just about anyone. I met all the other local guys I've filmed with through Duncan.