Weird Ideas Only 

Nobody really knew how the Swatch Nines would play out in surfing. 

The event’s been around since 2008, but it had never before veered in the direction of wave riding. It started as a mountain event founded by a former professional skier from Germany. Skepticism would be fair enough. 

But its core premise proved to be easily translatable. That premise being: When you get a bunch of talented people together and find novel ways to remove pressure, big things happen. Proof? Here you are. 

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Removing pressure means creating an environment that screams fun, and the organizers take the idea of annual reinvention quite seriously. Each year, they host a creative workshop where the juices are meant to flow freely, as if from the famous fountain. 

Dylan Graves went to the event for the first time last year. Then he made a great video breaking the event down. Naturally, he was tapped to attend this year’s workshop. 

“Everybody wants to see and try new shit,” Dylan told us. “You show up with crazy ideas and get to channel them through a good crowd. One idea kinda sparks another from someone else, and it just snowballs.” 

“It’s so fun to go into a room knowing you can say anything and not be judged. It’s like therapy, honestly. In surfing, it’s not really something we get to do, which is surprising. You normally get told what to do and have to try to fit into these boxes. I think the Swatch Nines crew is putting a lot of effort into breaking that. After going to the workshop, you’re like, ‘Wow… why don’t we get to do this more?’” 

This year’s edition will be back at Waco Surf from October 8 – 10, with the 10th being open to the public for the first time. Current whispers hint at rail lines (think: turn, boardslide, air, boardslide on one wave), a gigantic mirror floating in the sky, and a healthy mix of flower petals and pyrotechnics.

We shall keep you updated.