Getting Bare with Ash Keillah

Ash Keillah, aka The Friendly Pirate, is a local surfer who we love to watch.

He lives a spicy and fun-filled lifestyle contrary to the 9 to 5, while also pursuing a career as a professional surfer. He is the perfect representation of a balanced lifestyle, and we’re proud to support Ash on his adventures.

Two sentence character description of yourself? Go…

An over-frothing busy clown. Describing yourself is hard. I don’t want to sound cocky, so I’ll leave it at that.

What helps you stay on top of your game?

The people around me. I feel like I influence friends, but I am easily influenced at the same time. So working with crew who amp me up helps a lot.
And seeing my friends do really well, and having a creative community around me. It’s when we can help each other in those ways. For example, a friend of my who produces music let me borrow some of his tracks to put behind my surf films. When making a film on a small budget, things like finding and paying for music to use can be tricky, so everyone helping out really makes a big difference.

Also, trying to be a little bit motivational helps me stay on top of my game. After losing an eye, it was important for me to show people that it’s possible to still be happy.

And also just getting in the water.

How important is it to maintain a healthy lifestyle?

I’ve only just found a balance between partying and being healthy and active. I was always so up and down, I would also go 110% into surfing, so much so that I wouldn’t even have a beer. But over the last year, and with big thanks to my girlfriend, I’ve managed to find that balance. I now know that I’m not going to lose my mind or feel guilty if I have a couple of beers.

How does the rest of your year look?

There are no competitions that I’m going to enter for the rest of the year, so I’m going to work my hardest until the contests pick up in January. There are competitions in Sydney, the Gold Coast early next year that I’m going to work towards. I’m not sure if I’ll have enough points to get into the Australian Open, but if I don’t, I’ll go down and compete in the trials for it.

I might be going to Indonesia next week if there’s swell.

You spend a lot of time in Indonesia, is that one of your favourite destinations?

Definitely. It’s just the easiest to get to. There’s good waves, it’s cheap, and you can stay away from the party scene. The waves are so good there that I don’t even want to drink or do anything else. I spent two months there this year, and all I did was surf, sometimes four times a day. I came back super skinny.

I’m also planning on going to Fiji in November, which will be fun. That’s just a surf trip that I want to go on, and I’m going to take my girlfriend for her birthday. We’re going to make one of those cheesy holiday movies!

Is that your favourite wave, in Indonesia?

Yeah, all of the waves around there. I like a lot of waves that people don’t like, because it’s too busy or whatever. I’m a goofy footer, and if I get a little left, I’m happy.

But I like surfing everywhere! It doesn’t take much to get me excited.

Apart from chasing waves, what do you do for fun?

At the moment, I’ve been playing a bit of tennis. I actually even played a bit of golf the other day. It was the first time I’d played since losing my eye, and I did well. I even got a couple of pars, so I was surprised, that was good.

For fun, I just hang out and eat a lot.

If you could be born in any era, what would it be?

The 80’s for sure! For a lot of reasons. One would be that for the best surfers in the world, the standard’s not that high, so I could go straight for a world title! Haha.

Empty lineups, and more of a relaxed attitude. I love a bit of a relaxed lifestyle anyway, so I’ve kind of bought the 80’s here, for myself.

What is your guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure is cheese! I have an obsession with blue cheese at the moment. If I’m feeling wound up or surfed out, my little guilty pleasure is getting some blue cheese and dips and sitting on my deck at my place and listening to a Joe Rogan podcast.

Favourite Bare Blends product?

Bare Greens. I’ve been using them for energy every day. I notice when I don’t have it. It’s really good, it makes me feel really healthy.

Instagram: @thefriendlypirate