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Surfers’ Dharma: new impact driven surf documentary series from our Bali longboarder, Melisa
Melisa Olgun is a curious and adventurous soul from Huntington Beach, California who has always had a passion for the ocean, exploring new places, and capturing moments on film.
She came to Bali just before the pandemic for her 200hr yoga teacher training and has been living and surfing in the Bukit ever since. Through her worldly travels to remote destinations seeking adventure, culture, and untouched nature, her eyes were further opened to some of the world's most dire environmental and societal challenges.
She spent most of last year in Bali slowing down, practicing yoga, looking inward, surfing, and questioning how she can make a difference amongst what can often feel like a hopeless world. It was a life changing year to say the least.
photos by @sashamuria
What is Surfer´s Dhrama?
Surfers’ Dharma is a series created to share the stories of surfers who are committed to making a positive impact within their community whose voices deserve to be heard.
The intention is to empower people to step into their unique gifts, shed light on conversations too little shared in the surf media, and support organizations who are already making an impact.
Melisa believes in the ripple effect and its power to create lasting change, the impact of storytelling, and the creation of a new world driven by love and togetherness over fear, ego, and greed. Surf has become her biggest teacher and she couldn’t be more honored to be a part of the creation of this series.
Surfer´s Dharma logo and motto
Source: Instagram Surfer´s Dharma
@surfersdharma
Surfer´s Dharma project is A New Impact Driven Surf Documentary Series
Source: Instagram Surfer´s Dharma
@surfersdharma
Why It’s Important
Melisa is one of our surf mates in Bali. We always see her smiling in the water and share waves with her in our beautiful longboard spots around the Bukit, especially Baby Padang.
We are so excited to talk with her and learn a little bit more about her new project and the kickstarter campaign that is officially live until April 11th!
Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/891878617/surfers-dharma-water-people-living-their-purpose
Mel in the water wearing Ninefoot Padang top and Nusa bottom in white
****click on the image to see the products
Here is the interview we did with her:
- Melisa can you explain to us a little bit more about how you ended up surfing and living overseas?
I have been traveling and living overseas for a good part of the last decade. My home base throughout my 20s was San Francisco, California but working as a remote health coach allowed me to take my work anywhere with me and my wanderlust seeking soul saw this as an opportunity to live abroad. I lived in Australia, Bali, and even Guatemala.
I grew up near the ocean in California so I've always felt a closeness with the ocean and a desire to be near her at all times however I didn't develop an interest to start surfing until college. My friends tried to teach me how to surf here and there and any time I traveled I would rent a soft top and jump in the water but I could never push past the beginner stage as I was never living somewhere where it was convenient enough to go as consistently as I needed to truly progress.
After a life changing surf and yoga retreat in Sri Lanka with Sunshine Stories back in 2019 I finally felt I had the skills needed to progress. Fast forward to July of 2020. I made the difficult decision to stay in Bali instead of returning home with one main goal in mind, to live in Uluwatu and surf every day until I was in a place where when people asked me "do you surf?" I could confidently answer “yes”! And I'm happy to say that after much time, dedication, and consistency, I am now in that place :)
- How was your life before living here?
Before living in Bali, I spent most of my time living in San Francisco, CA working as a corporate health coach, teaching spin classes, camping on the weekends, going to concerts, and traveling during my vacation days. I would travel to 2-3 countries each year using every second of my time off to explore a new place.
I've always lived for experiences rather than things. I had an incredible and solid group of friends and lived near my younger sister. I’ve always had a way of optimizing any opportunity that presents itself to me which has allowed me to consistently create the life I want and not settle for anything less and for this I am very grateful.
However, it wasn't until my yoga teacher training that I realized how out of balance my life really was. How much I was “doing” and how little time I gave myself to sit still and be and reflect. I wasn't even aware of my anxiety and my need to constantly be “doing” because it was just the normal amongst my community and in our Western society.
My life now is much slower, calmer, grounded and full of questioning, introspection, reflection, and therefore an increased sensitivity and awareness to my surroundings. One of my mantras from the last year and half has been “less is more” and whenever I feel the overwhelm coming back I return to this reminder.
Mel getting ready for surf
Mel in the water wearing Ninefoot Padang top and Nusa bottom in white
****click on the image to see the products
- What new opportunities have presented themselves to you since moving to Bali?
Since moving to Bali I have been presented with many new opportunities. Besides living my a life I only ever dreamed of walking distance to one of the most beautiful breaks in the world, eating clean and nourishing food, enjoying endless sunshine, and meeting interesting and inspiring people on the daily,
I've also been in a fortunate situation to explore some of the other islands of Indonesia and witness untouched nature and the different ways of life there. From Lombok to Sumbawa, free diving with whale sharks in Sulawesi, scuba diving in the remote and extremely biodiverse Raja Ampat, and living off grid learning about permaculture in Sumba, I've been consistently shown how much magic lives within these islands.
The island life is simple. It is slower. Yet it is rich. I've witnessed true devotion from the Balinese on a daily basis. A reminder to practice gratitude and prayer, something I never fully understood or was exposed to much before living here. And there really isn't much that compares to witnessing untouched wild nature, both on land and under the sea. But in addition to these highs, I have also been exposed to the devastation and poverty that exists here, both in the oceans and within the communities on land; and the polarity has been quite eye opening.
Mel in the water wearing Ninefoot Padang top and Nusa bottom in white ****click on the image to see the products
- What are you doing right now? How did you end up being involved in this amazing project?
Right now I am working on quite a few projects. Every week I volunteer at a community permaculture garden and food forest, Ulu Food Forest, and help with their social media. I was inspired to join after completing my Permaculture Design Course last year in Sumba. It’s an amazing way to reconnect with the land and gain greater appreciation for where our food comes from.
I am also getting back into my health coaching and offering astrology readings on an online app as well as teaching yoga and spin classes again! I spent much of last year not working for the first time in my life and because of this was in a place to be able to give and share my time in the exact ways I wanted to. It allowed me to take a step back from going through the motions and be more intentional with how and why I spend my time the way I do, and it allowed me to give more than I have in the past.
It also allowed me to start helping with Surfers’ Dharma in a very organic way purely because the project spoke so deeply to my heart and I had space to help. I met Uriel, the filmmaker and director, on one of his incredible surf and yoga retreats last year in Sumba with @indosurfcrew. It was clear pretty immediately that we both have similar visions, values, and ideas around how we live life so when he told me about his idea back in May of 2021 I was immediately on board and wanting to help. Fast forward to now and it’s all happening!
Uriel is the fimmaker who participates on the Surfer´s Dharma project
Source: Instagram Surfer´s Dharma
@surfersdharma
- What will be your role in this project?
I am taking on the role of co-producer and marketing manager in this project. Uriel and I have essentially created the entire project together however he is leading the creative vision more deeply and I am taking on more of the behind the scenes work now.
As it’s just the two of us plus a recent editor, we are both taking on all parts of the business together - marketing, PR, outreach, design, creation, etc. It’s quite the fast learning curve! Last year I realized that one of my skills is connecting and bringing people together and because of this I was able to help with the character list and plenty of outreach. I am helping to create the structure needed to bring Uriel's incredible creative visions to life.
I have been exposed to so many new ways of life, healing, being, etc. the last couple years living in Indonesia that have changed my life for the better and want to share these stories and ways with the world in hopes of touching others. If we can give back to Indonesia in the process as well, that is even more reason to make this happen. .
- Where do you want to show this series?
We are not sure where we will show the series yet. Step 1 is to raise enough funding to start producing the first episode. After that, we are open to showing it on a larger platform like Netflix, HBO, or another aligned brand like Patagonia.
Mel in the water wearing Ninefoot Padang top and Nusa bottom in white
****click on the image to see the products
Mel in the water wearing Ninefoot Padang top and Nusa bottom in white
****click on the image to see the products
- Final words...
Surfers’ Dharma is a project done from the heart out of the desire to create lasting change. As watermen and women who spend hours of our time in the ocean, surfers are in a way on the frontline of the environmental crisis and other worldly issues and therefore, we felt, a good initial audience.
Our mission with creating this series is to empower people to step into their unique gifts, shed light on conversations too little shared in the surf media, and support organizations who are already making an impact.
We will shine light on conversations that deserve more attention including mental health, addiction, the power of mindfulness and meditation, the rise of women and equality, the importance of Indigenous wisdom, the shadow sides of the industry, permaculture and going zero waste, and more.
We believe in its potential to create lasting change in terms of global sustainability, mindset, and awareness and plan to connect with as many other Earth conscious, people conscious organizations in order to uplift them and collectively work together towards a healthier planet.
If anyone reading this is interested in being a part of our journey or knows someone who would like to be, please have them reach out to us at surfersdharma@gmail.com or on our IG @surfersdharma.
Surfer´s Dharma project is A New Impact Driven Surf Documentary
Series
Source: Instagram Surfer´s Dharma
@surfersdharma
Let your surf buddies know!
We just started raising funds through our Kickstarter campaign (ends April 11th) so that we can produce the first episode.
On our page you can watch our 6 minute trailer video to give you an idea of the feeling of the show and learn more about the project.
Any support and sharing is much appreciated so that we can get the word out, hit our goal, and bring this series to life!
Let’s make waves together :)
Thank you NineFoot Studio!
Mel in the water wearing Ninefoot Padang top and Nusa bottom in white
****click on the image to see the products
Thanks to Melisa for the interview and her effort to make a change by creating something beautiful and meaningful.
Melisa is wearing the Padang top and Nusa bottom in white.
Big thanks to @sashamuria for taking the photos of Melisa.
Thank you for taking time and reading this article. Let´s keep support each other and keep making this world better by our actions.
From us to you ...
The ninefoot Team
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