What is Swatch Nines? Swatch Nines Surf isn’t your average event. It’s a creative playground for the world’s best surfers, skaters, and BMX riders to come together, experiment with new features, push the limits of their sports, and collaborate across disciplines. Hosted this year at Waco Surf in Texas, the three-day gathering is part dream session, part film shoot, and part innovation lab.
Far from the pressure of competition, Swatch Nines brings progression and creativity to the forefront. With high-performance tools like the remote-controlled Motowinch, a surreal skate/surf setup suspended from cranes, and completely custom features like the Flying O and rotating Reef Fanning Wallride, athletes are given a chance to rewrite what’s possible.
Hughie Vaughan Lands a World First Among all the standout performances at this year’s Nines, one moment cut through the noise and made history. Australian surfer Hughie Vaughan stomped a fully committed stalefish backflip—a trick never before landed in a surf environment.
Launched by the Motowinch system and channeling the energy of the crossover atmosphere, Hughie’s air was explosive, clean, and jaw-droppingly stylish. It quickly went viral, not just for the sheer technical difficulty, but for the way it encapsulated the spirit of the event: bold, collaborative, and boundary-breaking.
Zoe McDougall captured it best, saying, “We saw Hughie Vaughan land one of the craziest airs I’ve ever seen, if not the craziest I’ve ever seen. I think that was a special moment for everyone here, to see him complete that and celebrate with him. And I think that definitely took aerial surfing to a new level.”
Stay tuned to SBC Surf for more coverage, highlight reels, and exclusive interviews from Swatch Nines 2025.
