To catch a wave, to stand up - it was just life-changing. There was nothing that even came close. I quit playing all other sports - by the time I was eleven, they were toast.

We dream of the perfect wave, the perfect job, the perfect house. When we get there, we dream of something else.

To catch a wave, to stand up - it was just life-changing. There was nothing that even came close. I quit playing all other sports - by the time I was eleven, they were toast.

I've always been a big supporter of the Surfrider Foundation. I started my own foundation, Rob Machado Foundation, which focuses on environmental education for the little people of the world.

The surfing - the waves in Indonesia are amazing.

At any given time, there are a lot of million-dollar luxury charter boats cruising around the Mentawai Islands finding the most incredible waves. And yet the people on shore are suffering. The whole scene is wrong. As a surf community, we have to do something.