Each year, a stack of the world’s best surfers dedicate themselves to getting royally coned. From Indo to the North Shore, thousands of tubes are threaded annually — most forgotten as quickly as they’re packed, but a select few burned into memory.
The difference? Commitment, positioning, and that rare ability to make the impossible look routine.
To separate the deep from the merely decent, we asked some of the world’s most respected tube lords to weigh in. Their task: cut through the noise and crown the surfer who defined the art of the cone in 2025 — the true cream of the crop for the sport’s most obsessive connoisseurs.
Check out our judging panel below, why we asked them and who their choice was for 2025.
Tracks’ pick – James Thompson aka Jimmy
Jimmy’s the resident surf guide at Aura Surf Resort on the island of Simeulue in Indo. Having spent time at Aura myself in 2019, I quickly learnt that Jimmy has the place dialed. There’s one particular stretch of reef which he makes his own. A quick glance at his social media shows you that his ability to stuff himself deep inside a shallow spitting funnel, is second to none. His social media feed is full blown A1 tube porn. Any day there’s a wave with tubes on that island, Jimmy will be all over it. Whether it’s the peak out front of Aura, a well known right hander further down the coast or one of the many nooks and crannies on the island, he’s always finding some place to stuff himself deep in the tube.
Tai Buddha – Bruno Santos
Tai Buddha is on one of the best programs in Indo. He divides his time between co-owning lifestyle hospitality group, Project Black, in Bali – which is in charge of close to 2000 staff and a number of venues including Single Fin at Uluwatu and The Lawn in Canggu – and doing strike missions to every nook and cranny in Indo. Whether he’s on a boat trip with his Billabong tea mates, or testing his JS ‘Big Horse’ model, you can guarantee Tai is clocking up cone time.
When we reached out to him to ask who he thinks is the most tubed of 2025, he chose someone who is on a similar program, spending most of his time in Indo chasing waves: Bruno Santos.
“Dude spends more than half the day in the pit,” said Tai.
Tommy Myers – Nathan Florence
Tommy Myers has had the year of all years. If you didn’t know who the underground charger from Sydney’s Northern Beaches was prior to 2025, you definitely will now. In the space of three months he went viral for two almost identical XL caverns at the Queenscliff Bombie. One of which has won multiple awards this year. This led to him being picked up by Florence Marine X, Pyzel and Veia. When we asked him for his vote, he chose his boss and fellow team rider Nathan Florence.
“I’d have to say the most tubed surfer is Nathan Florence. He’s on every significant swell around the planet every year and 2025 has been no different. There may be guys who technically clock up more actual time in the tube in terms of small waves, but in waves of consequence, he’s getting mortally coned on every sell. I don’t think any amount of 4ft tube vision could eclipse what him and the boys are doing in any given year.”
Tosh Tudor – Bruno Santos
In October we wrote a piece titled: “Is Tosh Tudor the most barreled surfer of 2025?” At the time Tosh had just released his 20 minute film ‘Tubefession’ which featured 69 tubes and only three turns from time spent at Pipe, Desert Point, Krui, Ireland and Chopes. Tosh could easily throw his own name into the mix for the cone lord of the year, but his choice is Bruno Santos:
“I think it’s gotta be Bruno Santos. He’s got probably the best program in the world if you’re a goofy footed surfer that absolutely loves getting tubed. His style and technique is impeccable too.”
Soli Bailey – Nathan Florence or Tai Buddha
Soli Bailey took the cake for us as the most tubed surfer of 2024. He went on a career defining run that included multiple Maps to Nowhere trips with O’Neill and Surfline chasing some of the most remote waves in the world, a victory at the Natural Selection slab in Micronesia and wave of the day at the swell of the year at both Shippies and Cloudbreak. However, he’s spent most of this year out of the water with a serious neck injury and therefore isn’t in the running for the title again in 2025. When we asked for his pick, he gave us two: Nathan Florence or Tai Buddha.
“I don’t think you can ever look past Nathan, he’s literally chasing every significant swell around the globe year on year, he’s always surfing the heaviest slabs and clocks up endless amounts of tubes. Aside from Nathan, I’d probably give it to Tai Buddha. I saw a clip of Tai surfing some mental left wedgy slab recently and it makes you think just how dialed in he is to what’s going on in Indo. He seems to know every nook and cranny there is and he’s always scoring.”
Erin Brooks – Dylan Wilcoxen
Erin Brooks is no stranger to the inside of a tube. She backed up her wildcard win at the CT event in Fiji last year with a promising debut campaign in surfing’s big league, which included a string of 3rd place finishes and a 5th in Tahiti. She chose fellow Rip Curl team rider Dylan Wilcoxen as the most tubed of 2025:
“It has to be Dylan Wilcoxen who lives at Kandui. Being in the Ments all year round has its privileges and an endless supply of barrels.”
Russell Bierke – Nathan Florence
Year on year Russ Bierke continues to blow our minds by charging some of the heaviest waves in the world. They often defy belief and have us making the most dramatic interjections at our screens. His choice for the cone connoisseur of 2025 goes to fellow slab charger Nathan Florence. Both Russ and Nate could stake a claim for surfing some of the scariest set ups in the world.
“I had a good think and Nate has to take the title for me. Just with the variety of locations and the size of the barrels he’s had,” said Russ.
