Tony Hawk Just Named Hughie Vaughan’s Internet-Breaking Air Because… No One Else Can
89% of our IG poll respondents claimed the ‘stale fish flipper’ was the best air ever done. Period.
So… how much credit does Lee Wilson get for this?
Day 2 of the Swatch-9’s just wrapped, and Hughie Vaughan is now officially the third-deadliest thing in the sky — behind B2 bombers, ICBMs, and possibly your unc’s drone that he immediately plowed into a power line.
According to BDPS, who was poolside in Texas for the three-day surf-skate-slide circus, Hughie’s internet-breaking banger was the first air he’s landed since greasing that upside-down backside indy full-rote in Shizunami — which netted him a cool $20K USD.
(Fun fact: the invoice for that prize just got approved, which probably added another six feet to the swell of endorphins flooding his cortex today.)
“He didn’t think of that trick in advance. He was trying Kerrupts and started getting weirder and weirder with it — then bam.”
Also worth noting: the no-claim. Ice cold. You know Mikey Wright’s voice would’ve been replaying in his head telling him to keep the gesticulations to a minimum.
Every high-profile surfer and their dog has since weighed in. Some highlights:
- “Good job ripper 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥” — Gabriel Medina
- “Insane” — Italo Ferreira
- “There’s a new standard. That was unbelievable.” — Julian Wilson
- “Is this AI?” — Diplo
- “Wowsers. Had to watch it 50 times just to figure out what happened. Amazing.” — Mick Fanning
- “Most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” — Jackson Dorian
- “Wow that was absolutely incredible.” — Jamie O’Brien
- “Best air ever done.” — Jesse Mendes, Eric Geiselman, Jackson Baker
89% of the respondents on Stab’s IG poll concurred: best air ever done.
But to be the best, you gotta beat the best.
Here’s a rough list of other contenders, off the dome:
– Jordy Smith’s tube to oop at North Point
– Mikey Wright’s monster straighty at Lakey Peak
– Shion Crawford’s indy full rotation at Rocky Point
– Luke Swanson’s backflip at Kandui Lefts
– Noa Deane’s tube to oop at North Point
– Kolohe’s tube to oop in Portugal
– Filipe’s backside air rev in Brazil
– Julian’s lien oop at Keramas
– Shaun Manners’ straight air at North Point
– John Florence’s alleyoop* at Backdoor
– Kelly Slater’s double-spin in Portugal
– Albee Layer’s double-oop in Maui
– Matt Meola’s ‘Spindle Flip’ in Maui
– Noah Beschen’s backside double spin at Rocky’s
– Albee Layer’s backside double-spin in Maui
– Reef Heazlewood’s slo-ro slob at Rocky’s
– Kael Walsh’s flip thing in WA
Important disclaimer: all these airs happened in the ocean. Let’s not pretend it’s not a factor. Every pool air comes with an asterisk. But this one? It’s written in size 2 font. Barely noticeable.
Chlorinated Air Progression Just Hit a New High-Water Mark
Why now? Maybe because of Lee Wilson — who got tagged by both Stab High Japan judges Josh Kerr and Dion Agius after Hughie’s flight.
“Okay a whole new benchmark has been set! @hughievaughan maybe @royalbeachbum was right all along.” — Josh Kerr
“That’s the nail in the coffin for the old double grab right there… May it rest in peace @royalbeachbum” — Dion Agius
In case you’ve been living under a rock: Lee is the 2x Stab High Japan villain, the staunchest anti-double-grab purist since, well, ever.
In 2024, he handed Luke Swanson’s lofty backflip a 5.0. In 2025, he capped Arthur Villar’s Kerrupts at a 7. Why? Because he believes “double grabs are evil”.
Earlier this year he posted a Beetlejuice meme to telegraph his position, and further elaborated on his prejudice in a more recent interview:
“Double grabs need to stop already. Do your homework. You see anybody double grab in snowboarding or skating? Hell the fuck no, bro. It’s a disease. It’s demonic. Half the surfing world hates me for it, but I don’t care. The culture is being misled. The majority of the world sees this shit and froths so hard, and I’m like — you’ve been tricked.”
To be crystal clear: Lee got absolutely torched in the comments for holding the line. He refused to blink and dug his heels in.
And maybe — just maybe — he was right. Had it not been for Lee’s unyielding crusade against the “undignified,” “poisonous” double grab, would Hughie have unlocked something new?
Hard to say.
What we can say is this: Hughie Vaughan just pushed aerial surfing forward, no matter what water it happened in.
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