Putra ‘Pulu’ Hermawan Signs With Rip Curl

“Surfing is my dream!” exclaims 15 year old Putra Hermawan when asked about his general take on his surfing career. Putra started his surfing career on when he was ten years old. Ever since that day his personal surfdream has been fueled with perfect Indian Ocean waves hitting the reefs in front of his parents house on Nusa Lembongan, a small island off the coast of Bali.

In 2008 Putra moved to Bali and joined Indonesia’s up and coming generation of professional surfers. After showcasing his talent through the Rip Curl GromSearch competitions, Putra now follows in the footsteps of fellow Rip Curl team riders Oney Anwar, Garut Widiartha and Mega Semadhi who have all turned their passion for the sport into a professional sporting career. In 2009 Putra will focus on competing on the Indonesian Surfing Championship series where he hopes to make it into the top ten by the end of the year.

“Rip Curl would like to welcome Putra on the surf team and we are looking forward to working with him in building his future career. Putra’s past competition results are a clear indicator that he has the necessary focus and talent which is necessary to make a difference on the Indonesian Surfing Tour”, says Rip Curl Asia Marketing Manager, Clemens Berger. “It is always great to meet someone as motivated and excited about the sport as Putra. Thanks to the structure of Rip Curl as a surfing company we have the opportunity to support kids like him and help them to develop their future surfing careers even in times of so called “economic slowdown”. Our dream is to get an Indonesian surfer onto the CT and if that is the way that Putra or any of the kids in the Rip Curl Grommet Development program are headed then we at Rip Curl will do our best to give them the necessary support to achieve that dream.”

As a member of Rip Curl’s Grommet development program, Putra Hermawan will have full access to Rip Curls training camps and facilities. In addition Rip Curl will cover his school fees and provide him with a monthly allowance to cover his living costs.