Kicking back with Sri Lanka’s new surf heroes
- Text by Dhillon Shukla
- Photography by Dhillon Shukla

In December 2017 I travelled to Sri Lanka for the first time. I was shooting a video in Kandy – a city located in the country’s central province – for two days. Not wanting to take the long flight back to London so soon, I decided to extend my stay by five nights and go in search of a personal project to photograph.
My uncle – who had lived in Colombo, the capital, for two years – tipped me off about the coastal communities of southern Sri Lanka, where there is a rapidly growing surf subculture. It has remained somewhat undiscovered by the Western world. So, that’s where I went.
The subsequent photos capture the eclectic communities of Weligama bay and its neighbouring beaches (Midigama and Mirissa), illustrating how California’s slider culture has reached an unexpected pocket of Asia.
Here, inhabitants embrace the archetypal ‘surfer’s uniform’ of Hawaiian shirts and sun-bleached wavy hair. Boldly identifying with these Western inspirations while still embracing their uniqueness, they dub themselves ‘Kalu Sliders’: Sinhalese for ‘black surfers’.
On my first day, I arrived on the beach at dawn; the combination of sunrise and a two-and-a-half-acre tropical island situated a 100 metres into the ocean (the only thing standing between this coastline and the South Pole) gave it an ethereal feel.
Mixing with the locals, I encountered young couples who had eschewed city life for a laid back lifestyle, families spending quality time in the surf, and pre-teens wanting to emulate their older peers.
Over the next five days I heard how for many in this seven-mile stretch, their first memories of the water were the three giant waves which hit during the 2004 tsunami, in which two-thirds of people lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones.
15 years on, these coastal communities have been rebuilt – and the inhabitants continue to repair their relationships with the ocean.







See more of Dhillon Shulka’s work on his official website or follow him on Instagram.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck

Nxdia: “Poems became an escape for me”
What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s Egyptian-British alt-pop shapeshifter Nxdia.
Written by: Nxdia

Kathy Shorr’s splashy portraits inside limousines
The Ride of a Lifetime — Wanting to marry a love of cars and photography, Kathy Shorr worked as a limousine driver in the ’80s to use as a studio on wheels. Her new photobook explores her archive.
Written by: Miss Rosen

Lewd tales of live sex shows in ’80s Times Square
Peep Man — Before its LED-beaming modern refresh, the Manhattan plaza was a hotbed for seedy transgression. A new memoir revisits its red light district heyday.
Written by: Miss Rosen

In a world of noise, IC3PEAK are finding radicality in the quiet
Coming Home — Having once been held up as a symbol of Russian youth activism and rebellion, the experimental duo are now living in exile. Their latest album explores their new reality.
Written by: Isaac Muk

Are we steamrolling towards the apocalypse?
One second closer to midnight — While the rolling news cycle, intensifying climate crisis and rapidly advancing technology can make it feel as if the end days are upon us, newsletter columnist Emma Garland remembers that things have always been terrible, and that is a natural part of human life.
Written by: Emma Garland

Analogue Appreciation: Maria Teriaeva’s five pieces that remind her of home
From Sayan to Savoie — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. First up, the Siberian-born, Paris-based composer and synthesist.
Written by: Maria Teriaeva