Nikolas Plytas just did what no foil surfer ever has after 800 attempts

Time of India

25-05-2025

Nikolas Plytas Lands World's First Double Backflip on Hydrofoil/ Instagram
Greek water sports phenom Nikolas Plytas has pulled off a groundbreaking feat, landing the world's first-ever double backflip on a hydrofoil board. The achievement, captured on video and shared on Instagram, marks a milestone in aerial foilboarding and comes after over 800 grueling attempts.
A trick six months in the making
Plytas, a professional athlete known for his work across waterskiing, snowboarding, and foil surfing, devoted half a year solely to this single goal.
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'Hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and also the world's first double backflip in foilboarding,' Plytas wrote on Instagram.
'Over the past six months, I gave everything to this trick. Every time I was on the water, my only focus was landing it.'
Despite the inherent danger and complexity of the trick, flipping twice while riding a foil-equipped surfboard, Plytas remained determined to push the limits of what's possible on water.
Who is Nikolas Plytas?
Born July 30, 1995, in Athens, Greece, Nikolas Plytas has long been a standout figure in extreme sports. He began his career in 2006 and competes across multiple disciplines including:
Waterskiing
Foil surfing
Wing foiling
Snowboard slopestyle
From early on, Plytas displayed a taste for ambitious stunts. At 19, he famously performed tricks over the rusted remains of a shipwreck at Elefsina. He's also set a national record in the Men's Tricks category, scoring 8,780 points during the first Hatzis Open at his home base, Hatzis Waterski Paradise School, run by his coach George Hatzis, at Aliartos Lake.
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He divides his time training between Lake Caiaphas in Zacharo and Aliartos Lake, and even experiments with creative crossover projects. In 2021, Plytas combined snowboarding and water skiing in a hybrid video titled H2O, where he transitioned between snow and water using a jet ski and portable winch.
Not his 'First'
This isn't the first time Plytas has claimed a world-first trick on a foilboard. In 2024, he landed what he called the first-ever backside rodeo 540, a complex aerial spin.
While the maneuver drew widespread praise, it also sparked debate. Legendary surfer Kelly Slater weighed in on the terminology of the trick:
'I'm sure I'll get tarred and feathered for this comment but… I get that skaters call rotation based on direction of rotation, but in surfing, everything done facing the wall is and always will be considered frontside,' Slater commented.
'The first rodeo (clowns) were done going (and called) backside rotating opposite to this.
If skating is a precursor for direction of spin, then should this just be called a backside McTwist and not a rodeo? Seems the medium you're riding matters when distinguishing and thus the confusion we surfers suffer. Super sick though no matter what.'
Whether or not the label sticks, Plytas's groundbreaking tricks are redefining boundaries in the evolving world of hydrofoil surfing.
Hydrofoils have often been criticized within traditional surfing circles for their dangers, likened to 'an underwater guillotine' by some purists.
But Plytas is among a growing group of elite athletes who are embracing the foil, not just for small wave efficiency or open ocean rides, but as a platform for elite aerial performance.
His double backflip isn't just a personal triumph. It represents a bold step forward for the sport itself.
From crashing over 800 times to rewriting the rulebook on aerial hydrofoiling, Nikolas Plytas's relentless pursuit of innovation continues to make waves, literally and figuratively, across the global water sports scene.
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