This past weekend Rusty’s Rick Downes went for a little surf session and on a fly-away sustained a brutal ear injury. The tail of the board sliced into his head, shattering his ear drum and severing several nerves. Luckily, he went into surgery and everything will be fine in a couple months, but he is temporarily left without control of the left side of his face. This gnarly video depicts the maneuver that caused his injury and some of the operation to repair his ear, so be warned, this is not for the squeamish. From all the Rusty Team we hope you feel better and keep charging!
Katin Pro/Am in Huntington Beach
Watch LIVE as Rusty’s team made up of Anthony Petruso, Porter Hogan, and Rick Downes competes in the Katin Pro/Am. Petruso is going in the 10th heat, Downes in the 13th heat, and Hogan in the 20th heat. Also, Santa Cruz local and team rider, Omar Etcheverry is an announcer for the event.
Rick Downes Checks in from Bali
It took me 12 hours and a two hour delay in change planes just to get through to Taipe Taiwan and on the next plane flight. On the way to Taiwan I was sitting next to an Indian couple with a sick baby and 20 mins into the flight she ask the stewardess if she had any medication for a fever! I was just jumping for joy inside because that was just what I needed a 101 degree fever from India on my way to Indonesia…hahaha. Luckily I didn’t get sick and once the plane landed I bolted straight for the exit. In Taiwan the food is really salty but really good because it just seemed fresh. After the 5 hour flight to Denpensar (bali) I was confronted with an hour and a half line for my visa and a two hour security check because there was a bombing in Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia). It was believed that the terrorists fled to denpansar (bali).
The surfing photos are from Uluwatu. Those waves were about 6′-8′ with plus sets around 10′. That’s what was waiting for me right when I got off the plane it was so awesome! The locals here are so awesome and so mellow I forget sometimes that I am on Bali time which is a couple clicks slower than the U.S. After getting thrown into 6-8 foot surf I got pulled in across the “track” formally known as “the racetrack” and I paid the price by bouncing off the reef. Now the trick is to keep the wound dry so it doesn’t get infected.
-Rick Downes
