Lessons in the Waiting | Mala’e in Mentawai

The Mentawai's are a special place for surfers globally, and LIFT team rider Mala'e speaks of how it shifted his thinking, sparking a realisation of why we ride in the first place.

“It’s hard to put into words what the ocean means, but sessions like this make you want to come back”. At 17, Lift team rider Mala’e Mcelheny left home for his first international trip, Mentawai, the proving ground every surfer dreams of. When he arrived, and settled from the chaos of the trip, the charts were quiet. The waves flat. And then the waiting began. But the downtime had its own rhythm, and its own payoff. Somewhere in that slower pace something shifted, a realization of why we ride in the first place. And then the swell showed up. When it did, everything fell into place. This wasn’t just a surf trip of a lifetime, or a lead-in to M2O. It was a reset. A lesson in patience, presence, and progression.