Leading surfer Jordy Smith, a two-time Olympian, has used a lavishly-shot short film called Plus 27 to announce his presence on YouTube.
The popular South African, who has around 570K followers on Instagram, opened his account this month by uploading Plus 27, a 24-minute film that features Smith and several other top surfers throughout Africa during his 2024 off-season.
Speaking via Instagram, Smith said: “I know I’m late to the punch, but better late than never. I’m going to be posting my surfs and things that I get up to on a regular basis.”
Produced with Nick Christy, the film was initially released in mid-2024 and has been available via Red Bull TV. Durban-born Smith has a long-standing relationship with Red Bull and was previously seen in the behind the scenes film Shaping Jordy. The new film opens by saying it is “presented” by surf, snow and lifestyle brand O’ Neill.
Surfing content is widely available on YouTube with leading stars like Jamie O’ Brien and Nathan Florence attracting huge audiences. The World Surf League also has a channel with more than 1 million subscribers. But observers have complemented the quality of Plus 27. Commenting on The Inertia, Cooper Gegan observed: “Plus 27 is the first entry into Smith’s YouTube presence, and it has a little bit of everything, from sweeping vistas, to cheeky faux-vintage establishing shots, to snippets of Jordy and company travelling from location to location. Throughout it all is an attention to craft that makes the endeavour a pleasure to watch.”
