Swatch Nines Surf Highlights: Watch Now!
- One of the many things that stood out from the 2025 Swatch Nines Surf event was how skilled and efficient the filmers, photographers and editors were.
- But when the lights and waves were turned off, their work didn’t end.
- The video above shows just about everything that happened at the second-ever Swatch Nines event on US soil.
One of the many things that stood out from the 2025 Swatch Nines Surf event was how skilled and efficient the filmers, photographers and editors were. It’s a three-day event in late June in Waco, Texas. Even sitting poolside, it’s sweltering. Some lensmen got in the wave pool, but most stood on the perimeter with their cameras, drank water, swatted flies, found slivers of shade and kept the cameras rolling all day.
But when the lights and waves were turned off, their work didn’t end. Instead, they piled into a car and drove down the road to their abode they dubbed “the roadhouse.” They opened laptops, dumped SIM cards into hard drives and edited the footage well after midnight. This went on for two nights, and then the team scrambled on the third day to upload more footage before the final dinner and awards ceremony on June 25. By the time the lights dimmed and drinks were opened, the edit was 90% finished. Like I said, they’re efficient.
The video above shows just about everything that happened at the second-ever Swatch Nines event on US soil. Hughie Vaughan (7:30) and Matt Meola (12:31) had the most impactful airs of the week, but there were heaps more moments worth watching, laughing and cringing over. Noah Beschen slamming into and pulling a boardslide to fakie over the rail. Cam Richards doing the same on the wallride. Fifteen-year-old Skai Suitt stomping a one-footed air. Chippa Wilson is still taking big spins to new heights.
“As a surfer, I never thought I’d be hitting rails,” laughed Dylan Graves after sliding across the kink rail. “It is novelty. It is weird. But I guess it’s about seeing what actually looks cool, what feels cool and what’s something we can incorporate into our sport more.”
The final section is pure cinema. A slow motion flare-lit session set to a soothing clarinet/house track. Hats off to the production team. They went wild in Waco.
Related: Tony Hawk Names “Best Air Ever Done” in Surfing (Video)