Hard to talk aerial surfing, these days, without coughing up the name Hughie Vaughan. Harder still to believe he’s only 19 years old.

He’s really taken flight, if you will, over the past few years. The original seed for the Bottle Rockets division. Entered Stab High Lakey Peak as a tiny 15-year-old and levitated around the comp-site like a garden bird. Proved he could hang with fully grown men despite weighing the same as a damp towel.

Couple years later, Japan 2025, Hughie comes of age and wins the men’s title, a spear tackle from Mikey Wright to seal it. Then: the Hughie Flip at The Nines, reshared and baptised by Tony Hawk. Mainstream television appearances in Australia followed; Hughie now a nationally recognised flying object.

A day out from the opening horn of Stab High Virginia Beach presented by Monster Energy, and we get the former champ and in many circles, the overwhelming favourite, Hughie Vaughan. He discusses all there is to discuss about aerial surfing, including his current top air guys on earth, what he sees as the limitations of competitive surfing, and a genuinely moving section on family and the lessons left behind by his late mother.