Tatler spoke to surfers from across the region about how an interest in surfing is leading the charge on issues as diverse as body positivity and challenging postcolonial legacies.
PHILIPPINES
ARCHIE GEOTINA
Anticolonialism
During the Covid-19 pandemic, with the borders closed and the beach emptied of tourists, the surfing community on the island of Siargao suffered. Siargao-based surfer and artist Archie Geotina’s friends, professional surfers and sisters Ikit and Aping Agudo, shared with him their worries about their income. “I told them, I’m not a businessman, I can’t help you make money,” he tells Tatler. “But I can try to create something.”
It was the perfect opportunity for Geotina to shift the focus onto the local surfing community, a group of people who are usually underrepresented on Siargao’s beaches, he says. “People think that our waves are only surfed by foreigners and that locals just stay on the beach taking care of businesses to serve tourists. That’s a really imperialist vision that continues to negatively impact our people.
“Surfing has a deep history of white-washing and racism. I really wanted to take the opportunity to show our pride: I wanted to empower the brownness in us, as well as the femininity of our culture.”
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Tatler Singapore.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Tatler Singapore.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
How To Live Like A Royal In The British Countryside
From Windsor to Bray, all it takes is a speedy jaunt away from the hustle and bustle of London to gain first-hand insights into the lives of the British royal family
Where Science Meets Skincare
Through years of research, Chanel has determined the relationship between skin health and well‑being based on neuroscience technologies—and it has the products to prove it
Powder, Peaks And Pro Tips
Embark on a winter wonderland getaway with this Tatler guide to all things ski, from the best destinations in Asia and Europe to looking chic on the slopes
HAUTE SPOTS
Nearly 15 years since her first visit to Niseko, Grace Chong-Tan’s love for this popular ski town in Hokkaido, Japan, continues to grow over the years. The founder and managing director of a dental practice shares her must-visit list
THE GOLDEN AGE
At the launch of the L'Or de Jean Martell collection in Cognac, France, Martell's cellar master Christophe Valtaud unveils the first limited-edition expression of the Réserve du Château series
KINGDOM REIGN
How UAE's largest property developer Aldar is transforming Abu Dhabi into a land of real estate gold for the investment-seeking jetsetter elite
LET'S GET (META) PHYSICAL
Contrary to popular belief, the traditional practices of feng shui and ba zi are not only alive and well, but thriving among the younger set. Today's masters of Chinese metaphysics share how they are modernising the craft
COMING OF AGE
Meet the ladies at the front and centre of last year’s Le Bal des Débutantes
The Path to Parity
Four prominent Singapore female leaders shed light on the under-representation of Asian women in global leadership through the lens of their own struggles and triumphs
Set in Stone
Tatler chats with Victoria Reynolds, the chief gemologist and vice president of Tiffany & Co, about the intricacies of design, her favourite jewellery and what it means to be a female leader in a male-dominated industry