For the birthday celebration Joel sat down with Rakul to talk about his time at Soul & Surf — From Washing Dishes to Head of Vibes.
Words by Joel Rollason | 8th October 25
Joel & Rakhul have a special relationship, beyond the waves, the parotta, the beef fry. A connection across thousands miles to link to a special place in Varkala, Soul & Surf. The two met in 2018 in Soul & Surf Sri Lanka and have grown as friends since then. Joel caught up with Rakhul to talk about his journey through the years of Soul & Surf, how it started and where it is now, and more importantly, his story.
“It all started with a candle,” Rakul says, laughing. Back in Kovalam, before Soul & Surf, he was running a small hotel. “I couldn’t sleep one night… so I’m standing on the roof… and I see this guy sitting there, reading by candlelight. And I’m like… bro, there’s power. Why the candle?”
He went over and asked. The guy? Krishna (our future hotel manager). Reading Dracula by candle. “Seriously, bro, I laughed. Then we talked, hung out… became friends. A few days later he messages me, Hey, I found a cool place to work. Come check it out. That’s how I ended up at Soul & Surf.”
When Rakul first arrived in Varkala, he didn’t start on the waves. “The dishwasher had gotten injured somehow… It was peak season… Everyone was stressed… plates everywhere. I said, I can wash the dishes. So I did. A week later, the guy comes back. And Min, the café manager, says, Hey, you can stay anyway. ” That’s how it started.”
It was a small, messy beginning. But you can see it already — He’s the kind of guy who jumps in, fixes what’s broken, and doesn’t wait for someone else to do it.
Rakhul
“My first surf lesson was with Fred Andrews, a guy from the UK” he says. “But to really teach? That came from Adam, Nick Kelly, Andy & you… Nick especially, he taught me everything — surfing, teaching, even driving. Yeah, driving… We’d go to the helipad, practice. Empty, quiet. Perfect.”
“I have a few tricks, for coaching people, the sand mountain and the tennis ball trick (it's now a watch, because well… the tennis balls kept going missing) they are both from Nick”
Nick Kelly — A Lasting Influence
Whenever Rakhul is talking about Nick, you can tell he meant to Rakhul and to anyone in Varkala’s surfing community.
“Nick… he passed away. He always tried to educate us, lift everyone up… Sujith, Jithu, Praveen… everyone. He taught everything — surfing, swimming & every afternoon we’d go to the helipad to practice driving. He was amazing, really special for all of us.”
“It’s very sad he’s not here anymore, but what he taught stays. He lifted everyone at the surf team… He was very special.”
The bodysurf king
Rakul has always been the guy on the cliff at sunset, joking, listening, being there. “I just like meeting people… talking about surfing… showing them the ocean isn’t scary.” & thats why we had to give him the job title ‘Head of Vibes’, he’s always sharing them, with everyone who walks through the doors at Soul & Surf.
A little anecdote from how I met him. We were in Sri Lanka, the first day we were sat in the surf hut talking waves, a guest ran in and freaked out about a snake near their room. Rakhul: “Don’t worry, I got this.” He runs to the room, here I am thinking he’s some kind of George of the jungle, there he is doing his best snake-charmer impression. The snake was more confused than us, but… we all laughed anyway.
And that's when I knew I'd met a special person, the ability to laugh at yourself doing something so ridiculous with people that you’d only met 30 seconds ago, it's refreshing. If you don’t know the snake charmer thing, ask him when you see him.
Rakhul's many talents
“Man… Soul & Surf gave me… the ocean. Surfing. Friends for life. People I’d never meet anywhere else. And… you know, life… everyone deserves fun. Everyone’s having a hard time. Everyone deserves a wave.”
He pauses. “Meeting you, man… meeting Evelyne… Franco… Adam, all the people along the way. That’s the gift. That’s what I got. I’d never have had that if I hadn’t come here.”
Varkala’s changed. “Before, it was a hidden gem. Quiet. Surfing was rare. Now it’s a little less hidden, but still a gem. Indian people surf too, which is great… but yeah, some days are crowded… used to annoy me. But… you know, everyone needs fun.”
“That’s how I see it now. Everyone deserves a wave.”
Thirteen years, from washing dishes to teaching hundreds to surf, to Head of Vibes, to snake-charmer extraordinaire. Rakul won’t slow down. He’s still the guy hanging at the cliff at sunset, still sharing the vibes of the ocean, still cracking (the same) jokes, still making people laugh.
“It’s been crazy,” he says. “But… I want to keep going. There’s still waves to catch, people to meet, vibes to share. That’s life, yeah?”
