Wavelength Surf Magazine – since 1981

British Shredder Allannah Brown ‘Bullied Out Of The Water’ In Bali

It’s no secret that tensions often run high in super crowded Bali lineups as hordes of tourists battle with crews of locals.

Social media is currently erupting after British shredder Allannah Brown posted a sequence of images and a story documenting a run in she had with one particular local at Medewi in Western Bali.

“Today i was bullied out of the water here in Medewi, Bali.” she wrote.

“I was sat in the line up for 40 minutes, this was my SECOND wave of the day and i was sat behind the main pack waiting for scraps because it was so busy.

I have been coming back to Medewi for 9 years and today on this wave, i was dropped in on by Local sponsored Volcom surfer Muklis Anwar.

He screamed and swore, raced up to me and tried to run my board over, hitting me, but luckily i managed to dodge him, so he violently kicked his board at me…

he then told me to f**k off and to leave the water. I left the water hysterical.

I now feel completely shocked at how i have been treated, let alone as a girl and incredibly intimidated by somebody that is supposed to be a role model to the younger generation of surfers in Bali. How am i supposed to react to this in water? Im not an aggressive, violent person and as a female i shouldn’t have to deal with being victimized by anyone.

As you can see in the photos, i have done nothing wrong, just trying to have fun in the ocean, because that’s why we surf? I was supposed to be staying here in Medewi for a month, now im leaving out of principle and how am i supposed to feel comfortable here? Guess i wont be coming back to Medewi for the 10th year.”

There is of course always two sides to every story and and the accused surfer recently replied on the post, hitting back at the accuser and sharing his anger at the volume of tourists at his home break. “I don’t give a fuck!!!” he wrote. “To many fuckin people at my home! Out of medewi you c—!!!” (ed. [sic] apart from the final word, which we’ve cut)

People were understandably angered by Anwar’s response, rushing to give him a wrap over the knuckles. Apparently seeing the error of his ways, he later posted the following on his account:

“I have a bad day today! Sorry I know I have dropped on a girl today and she have a photos showing that I am on a bad side. I would love to say sorry about it. It wasn’t like this. I was try to make a joke at the beginning of the waves and she were screaming at me so hard and so u know I were angry but to be honest I were not a guy that normally did this! It’s surfing everyone can have a bad day of surfing and specially I just try to surf my own break with so much people on it! I try to go and meet her to talk about it but unfortunately she’s left! Sorry once again! It’s my fouls! ?? Everyone make mistakes And This Was mine! Sorry to allanah brown”

Of course we imagine having your local line up full of tourists can get frustrating, but Allannah seems to have done nothing wrong in the exchange. Surf tourism is a huge part of the Bali economy, serving as a double-edge sword for the locals that has existed since man first touch down in foreign lands with a surfboard tucked under his arm. Indeed at least one commentator (who we know personally to be a fairly reputable chap) has suggested that Anwar is involved with the running of a home stay near the break in question, putting him in a precarious position within the debate.

Perhaps you think there’s more to this than meets the eye, or perhaps you reckon there’s no excuse for behaviour like this. Let us know in the comments.