How To Land A New Deal With A Watch Company 

This almost didn’t happen. 

Let’s flash back to early June. Hughie Vaughan is fresh off his Stab High win and is enjoying a bit of time at home on the Central Coast. He’s already checked the Today Show box — and despite everything you’ve heard about cable news’ demographic — his DMs have been flooded by baddies since the interview went live. Other than a few comps, Hughie doesn’t have too much planned until a few Indo trips come up in July. He sees the online contest to get invited to the Swatch Nines event and figures he’ll toss his hat in the ring. 

Of course, he wins and secures an invite. 

But then he checks flights. The event is in two weeks, and flights ain’t cheap. Hughie doesn’t want to spend a quarter of his Stab High winnings on a ticket. So, he politely declines the invite. 

The story could have ended there. But, a few days, phone calls, and inter-brand handshakes later, and Hughie’s flight is booked. Ten days later, he shows up at the event and lands the best air ever done (yes, we asked around). 

Now, surprise surprise, Swatch just announced Hughie as the newest member of their team. 

“The Nines event was sick,” Hughie tells us. “We had so much time in the pool. I got to meet a bunch of the Swatch crew, and we started to talk about working something out.” 

Hughie joins Coco Ho, Noah Beschen, and Patti Zhou on Swatch’s expanding surf program. Coco’s been with the brand for 10+ years, while Noah, Patti, and Hughie all jumped on in the last 18 months. 

It’s a three year deal, and whispers suggest he’s got another one with an energy drink on the way. Hint: It always helps to shine at someone’s event. 

On that note, Hughie’s currently at the Quiksilver Festival presented by Swatch in France, where he has landed the best air of the event thus far. Once this wraps, he’s off to the Swatch HQ in Biel, Switzerland, to meet their 500+ person team.

From there, he’s off to Stab High Sydney, where he’s already paid full-clip for tickets for about fifteen of his friends. 

TL;DR: 2025 is the year of Hughie Vaughan.