If any watch brand can be said to have made waves over the last 10 years, it is Tudor, so the news that the Geneva brand will be partnering with the World Surf League (WSL) for two Big Wave events is like kismet. Both the Tudor Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa in Nazaré, Portugal and the Quiksilver Jaws Big Wave Challenge presented by Tudor in Maui, Hawaii are built for the fearless. The former is famous for its 20-metre high waves while the latter is known for its gigantic tubes.
Tudor swears by its #BornToDare motto so catching some extreme waves is appropriate, and we are surprised the brand has not pushed forward on this front before. If we are to judge this news from the press release, it seems that the right combination of danger and exclusivity was hard to come by.
When it comes to WSL Even the process for competing is challenging. Big Wave competitions run from November 15 through March 31 next year, for example. Because surfing only takes place on the best days for waves, competitors have to be on stand-by. Then the monitoring teams deem the conditions to be just right, they send out a call that must be answered within 72 hours.
That is how long competitors have to get themselves from wherever they are in the world to the beach in question, competitive spirit and boards in hand. Only a handful of people in the world are willing and able to handle the action at Nazaré and Maui and travel anxiety is probably furthest from their minds. Tudor is the title partner for the Nazaré event and presenting partner for the Jaws event.
Somewhat unusually, as you see here, this news does not include a watch visual, nor does it showcase one of Tudor’s ambassadors. This is probably because there is no specific watch for surfing, and no relevant ambassador has been revealed. We look forward to seeing where this very different watersports direction is taking us – the Tudor Pelagos FXD was not a dive watch, so this makes two bits of brand news that revolve around underwater activities other than diving.
On that note, there is a bit of brand ambassador news from Tudor, which realised that a key part of its constituency is missing its dose of David Beckham magic. This time Tudor shares a short film featuring the soccer star as part of its #BornToDare theme. It tells the story of Beckham as a young lad with big dreams on the streets of London.
Here is how Tudor goes on to describe the action: “In a sort of flashback, (the film) splits between the enthusiastic young dreamer and the man pushing him to outdo himself. David Beckham was this child. He’s experienced highs and lows. He’s managed to achieve great things. Since then, he’s become an icon, with a spirit that inspires. The spirit of being Born to Dare.” Throughout the story he wears the Tudor Black Bay Chronograph M79360N-0002, which manages to hold its own against his charisma.
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